How long medical certificates last for pilots, commercial drivers and merchant mariners — by class, age and service type
How long a federally required medical certificate remains valid for each regulated transport occupation, and what it depends on. FAA pilot medicals (14 CFR 61.23) cascade by class and age — a first-class certificate carries first-class privileges to the 12th month for pilots under 40 but only the 6th month at 40 or older, then downgrades to second- and third-class privileges on a schedule; commercial drivers need a medical examiner's certificate on a cycle set by 49 CFR 391.45; merchant mariner medical certificates run 2 years for STCW service but 5 years for national-only credentials, and only 1 year for mariners under 18 (46 CFR 10.301). Same question — 'how long is my medical good for?' — three regulators, three completely different answer structures. Answers 'how long is a first class medical valid for a 45-year-old pilot?', 'how often does a truck driver need a DOT physical?', 'why is my mariner medical certificate only valid two years?'
Records17
Sources3
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LicenceAll sources are eCFR (US government work, public domain). We take facts plus short attributed quotes linking back.
The data
| Certificate and class | Occupation / regulator | Age / service condition | Operation / activity covered | Valid for | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Any age | a commercial pilot certificate (other than a commercial pilot certificate with a balloon rating when conducting flight training), a flight engineer certificate, or an air traffic control tower operator certificate | 12th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| first-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Age 40 or older | a recreational pilot certificate, a private pilot certificate, a flight instructor certificate (when acting as pilot in command or a required pilot flight crewmember in operations other than glider or balloon), a student pilot certificate, or a sport pilot certificate (when not using a U.S. driver's license as medical qualification) | 24th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| second-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Age 40 or older | a recreational pilot certificate, a private pilot certificate, a flight instructor certificate (when acting as pilot in command or a required pilot flight crewmember in operations other than glider or balloon), a student pilot certificate, or a sport pilot certificate (when not using a U.S. driver's license as medical qualification) | 24th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| third-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Age 40 or older | a recreational pilot certificate, a private pilot certificate, a flight instructor certificate (when acting as pilot in command or a required pilot flight crewmember in operations other than glider or balloon), a student pilot certificate, or a sport pilot certificate (when not using a U.S. driver's license as medical qualification) | 24th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| first-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Under age 40 | a recreational pilot certificate, a private pilot certificate, a flight instructor certificate (when acting as pilot in command or a required pilot flight crewmember in operations other than glider or balloon), a student pilot certificate, or a sport pilot certificate (when not using a U.S. driver's license as medical qualification) | 60th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| second-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Under age 40 | a recreational pilot certificate, a private pilot certificate, a flight instructor certificate (when acting as pilot in command or a required pilot flight crewmember in operations other than glider or balloon), a student pilot certificate, or a sport pilot certificate (when not using a U.S. driver's license as medical qualification) | 60th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| third-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Under age 40 | a recreational pilot certificate, a private pilot certificate, a flight instructor certificate (when acting as pilot in command or a required pilot flight crewmember in operations other than glider or balloon), a student pilot certificate, or a sport pilot certificate (when not using a U.S. driver's license as medical qualification) | 60th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| medical certificate | merchant mariner (US Coast Guard) | all other mariners | 5 years | 46 CFR 10.301 | |
| first-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Age 40 or older | an airline transport pilot certificate for pilot-in-command privileges, for second-in-command privileges in a flag or supplemental operation in part 121 requiring three or more pilots, or for a pilot flightcrew member in part 121 operations who has reached his or her 60th birthday | 6th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| first-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Under age 40 | an airline transport pilot certificate for pilot-in-command privileges, or for second-in-command privileges in a flag or supplemental operation in part 121 requiring three or more pilots | 12th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| second-class medical certificate | pilot (FAA) | Any age | an airline transport pilot certificate for second-in-command privileges | 12th month after the month of the date of examination shown on the medical certificate | 14 CFR 61.23 |
| medical examiner's certificate | commercial motor vehicle driver (FMCSA) | Any driver who does not satisfy, with the worse eye, either the distant visual acuity standard with corrective lenses or the field of vision standard, or both | 12 months | 49 CFR 391.45 | |
| medical examiner's certificate | commercial motor vehicle driver (FMCSA) | Any driver who has diabetes mellitus treated with insulin for control | 12 months | 49 CFR 391.45 | |
| medically examined and certified as qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle | commercial motor vehicle driver (FMCSA) | Any driver who has not been medically examined and certified as qualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle during the preceding 24 months | 24 months | 49 CFR 391.45 | |
| medical certificate | merchant mariner (US Coast Guard) | All persons employed or engaged onboard vessels to which STCW applies | onboard vessels to which STCW applies | valid for 2 years | 46 CFR 10.301 |
| medical certificate | merchant mariner (US Coast Guard) | the mariner is under the age of 18 | onboard vessels to which STCW applies | 1 year | 46 CFR 10.301 |
| medically examined and certified as qualified to drive in such zone | commercial motor vehicle driver (FMCSA) | Any driver authorized to operate a commercial motor vehicle only within an exempt intracity zone | operate a commercial motor vehicle only within an exempt intracity zone | 12 months | 49 CFR 391.45 |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 3 sources this dataset was assembled from.
- ecfr.govhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-61/subpart-A/section-61.23
- ecfr.govhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-46/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-10/subpart-C/section-10.301
- ecfr.govhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-III/subchapter-B/part-391/subpart-E/section-391.45
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne JSON object per line — every record's frontmatter and quoted span exactly as it is held here, in one fetch.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.