Official Summaries

Pilot Certificate Accessibility Act

This bill allows a pilot to present a digital copy of certain certificates (e.g., an airman certificate or a medical certificate) when required to present such documentation by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector.

Under current FAA regulations, a pilot must present for inspection a physical copy of an airman certificate and other paperwork upon a request from the FAA; a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer; or an authorized representative of the Transportation Security Administration or the National Transportation Safety Board. This bill allows a pilot to present a certificate such as an airman certificate or a medical certificate to an FAA inspector as (1) a physical, original copy; or (2) a digital copy stored on an electronic device or cloud storage platform.

The FAA must update current regulations to implement this change.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2247 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2247


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 25, 2026

    Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize the use of physical 
or digital copies of certain certificates for certain Federal Aviation 
          Administration inspections, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Airmen Certificate Accessibility 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF CERTIFICATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 44703 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Sufficiency of Digital and Physical Airman Certificates.--An 
individual issued a certificate pursuant to this section (including a 
medical certificate) may present such certificate to an inspector of 
the Federal Aviation Administration in any of the following formats:
            ``(1) A physical certificate issued by the Administrator 
        (or his or her designee).
            ``(2) A digital certificate issued by the Administrator 
        that is stored on an electronic device or, in areas where there 
        is sufficient connectivity to do so, a cloud-based system, and 
        presented in accordance with authentication and verification 
        requirements established by the Administrator.''.
    (b) Rulemaking.--Not later than November 30, 2028, the 
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue a 
final rule to update regulations in parts 61, 63, 65, 67, and 107 of 
title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to implement the amendments made 
by this section, and any applicable guidance and policies.

            Passed the House of Representatives March 24, 2026.

            Attest:

                                             KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

                                                                 Clerk.