FAA Form 8710-13: the paper route to a remote pilot certificate

FAA Form 8710-13 is the Remote Pilot Certificate and/or Rating Application, the paper document behind every Part 107 certificate ever issued. Most applicants never see it as paper, because the FAA's online certification system is the same form rendered as a website, filled and signed electronically. The paper version still exists, still works, and still has two legitimate audiences: applicants who cannot or will not use the online system, and current Part 61 pilots who want a remote pilot certificate issued the same day at a field office. Everyone else should understand it mainly so the online process makes sense.

This article covers what the form is and who genuinely benefits from filing it on paper, where the current version lives and what it asks for, and how the two paper filing routes differ. It closes with the recordkeeping angle, because paper applications generate documents that deserve better than a manila folder's usual fate.

What the form is and who still uses it

The form collects what any airman application collects: identity, physical description, addresses, existing certificates, the basis for eligibility, and a signed certification that the statements are true, along with the Pilot's Bill of Rights notification that accompanies every airman application. For a first time remote pilot, eligibility rests on a passing knowledge test; for a Part 61 pilot with a current flight review, it rests on completing the FAA's online UAS training course instead. The same form serves both, on screen or on paper.

The paper route earns its keep in two cases. The first is the applicant outside the online system, no account, identity questions the website cannot resolve, or a simple preference for paper, who mails the package to the FAA's Airmen Certification Branch. The second is more interesting: a certificated Part 61 pilot with a current flight review can bring the completed paper form and training certificate to an FAA authorized individual and walk out with a temporary remote pilot certificate the same day, which matters when a contract starts Monday and the online queue does not care.

Where the form lives and what it asks for

The current edition is published in the FAA's forms library, listed as Form FAA 8710-13, where the entry shows its status, edition date, and the downloadable document itself. Pulling it from the library matters more than it sounds, because outdated copies of FAA forms circulate for years on training sites and in old employer files, and an obsolete edition is a polite rejection waiting to happen. The library entry is also the authoritative answer to whether the form is still active, which for this one it is.

Filling it out rewards care with details the online system would have validated automatically. The name must match identification exactly and follow the FAA's conventions for middle names and suffixes. Dates go in the specified format. The eligibility blocks must match the attachment, knowledge test report for the test path, training completion certificate for the Part 61 path, and the signature certifies the whole package under penalties that are not decorative. An application bounced for a mismatched name costs weeks, which is the paper route's characteristic failure mode.

Mailing it in, or meeting an authorized individual

How a paper application travels depends entirely on how the applicant became eligible. Someone who passed the knowledge test meets nobody, because identity was already established at the testing center. The completed form goes in the mail with the original test report to the Airmen Certification Branch in Oklahoma City, and that route issues no temporary certificate at all. The applicant simply waits for the permanent card, which is exactly why nearly everyone coming from the knowledge test files electronically instead, where a printable temporary arrives weeks sooner.

The Part 61 path is where paper earns its keep. A certificated pilot with a current flight review completes the FAA's online training course rather than the knowledge test, fills out the form, and meets an FAA authorized individual, meaning a certificated flight instructor, an airman certification representative, a person designated by a Flight Standards District Office, or a remote pilot examiner, who verifies identity and the supporting documents. Most of those can issue a temporary certificate on the spot, though a flight instructor cannot. The FAA notes plainly that paper filings delay the permanent certificate, since the package is handled by hand through the authorized individual, the field office, and the registry.

Paper applications produce records worth keeping too

An online application leaves a tidy electronic trail. The paper route leaves a physical one, and it scatters: a copy of the form, the knowledge test report or training certificate attached to it, any temporary certificate issued at the counter, the mailing or appointment date, and the name of whoever processed it. Each piece answers a question someone eventually asks, when was the application filed, what eligibility basis was claimed, who verified identity, and the applicant who kept nothing answers all of them with a shrug.

For a company sponsoring the pilot, the standard is simple: the pilot's file should reconstruct the application without the pilot's memory. Scan the completed form before it leaves, file the attachment and any temporary certificate the day they exist, and log the certificate number and issue date when the permanent card lands. This is the same discipline the online route deserves, applied to documents that are easier to lose. Paper does not forgive; it just waits in the wrong drawer until an audit finds the gap.

Common mistakes in paper certificate applications

Using a stale copy of the form. Old editions circulate indefinitely in training packets and shared drives. Pull the current version from the FAA forms library each time, because an obsolete edition is grounds for the package to bounce.

Mismatching the name against identification. The form's name block must match the photo identification presented and the FAA's formatting conventions. A middle initial that disagrees with a passport costs a new appointment and weeks of calendar.

Sending or showing the form without its attachment. The form asserts a basis, knowledge test or Part 61 training course, and the proof travels with it. A mailed package missing the original test report, or an appointment missing the completion certificate, stalls on arrival.

Expecting same day issuance without Part 61 status. The walk out temporary belongs to current Part 61 pilots with a flight review. Paper applicants coming from the knowledge test receive no temporary at all and wait on the mailed card, so plan the start date accordingly.

Parting with the only copy. The completed form, attachment, and any temporary certificate are records the applicant and any sponsoring company will need again. Scan everything before it is mailed or handed over, then file the permanent card details on arrival.

FAQ

What is FAA Form 8710-13 used for?

It is the Remote Pilot Certificate and/or Rating Application, the application behind every Part 107 certificate. The online certification system is the electronic version of the same form, and the paper edition serves in person filings through FAA authorized individuals.

Who should file the paper form instead of applying online?

Two groups: applicants who cannot use the online system, who mail the package to the Airmen Certification Branch, and current Part 61 pilots with a flight review seeking a same day temporary certificate from an FAA authorized individual.

Can you really get a remote pilot certificate the same day?

A certificated Part 61 pilot with a current flight review can present the completed form and online training completion certificate to an FAA authorized individual and receive a temporary certificate that day, though a flight instructor cannot issue one.

Does the paper route take longer overall?

Yes, for the permanent certificate. Paper packages are verified and forwarded by hand through the authorized individual, field office, and registry, so the FAA notes they delay permanent issuance compared with electronic filing.

Closing thought

The paper form is a fallback for most applicants and a genuine shortcut for one specific group, and knowing which one you are decides everything about how to use it. Either way, the application is a brief errand that produces documents with a long working life, and the pilots and programs who treat those documents as records rather than souvenirs never have to explain a gap.

If you are processing remote pilot applications the paper way, FlybyOps was built for the operational record problem at the center of regulated drone work. A pilot registry that tracks certification and currency, a document vault with expiration tracking, and an append-only audit log are all part of how the platform keeps application dates, form copies, and the certificates they produced filed against each pilot.