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Obtaining your Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Certificate

In this guide, we will cover the requirements and path necessary to obtaining your FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certification.

You must complete the following in order:

  1. Create an FAA IACRA account
  2. Obtain your FAA Commercial Pilot Certificate and Instrument Rating
  3. Complete the Airline Transport Pilot Certification Training Program (ATP-CTP) course
  4. Take the ATP Written exam at an approved FAA testing center
  5. Pass the ATP Practical checkride in a multi-engine aircraft

Let’s walk through each one of these steps in detail.

Creating an FAA IACRA account

If you have not already done so, you will need to create an IACRA account in order to obtain FAA airman certifications.

Create an FAA IACRA account

Obtaining Your Commercial Pilot Certificate and Instrument Rating

FAA Reference

After completing Pilot Training, you are eligible to receive your Private Pilot License, Instrument Rating, and Commercial License. Many Pilot Training locations have local services that assist you with studying for and taking the Mil Competency (MCN) examination required to obtain your Commercial Pilot Certificate.

If you have not already done this, you must take a 50-question exam and pass with at least a 70% at an approved local FAA Testing Center. After passing the test, you must meet with a local or virtual FSDO to update your FAA Airman Profile in IACRA. Many military base Education Centers offer FAA testing for free, and can be scheduled using the same FAA official website linked below.

Study for the test using Sheppard Air

Schedule your test at a local FAA Testing Center

Completing the ATP-CTP Course

There are a number of options for completing the ATP-CTP course. This is typically a week-long training that includes both classroom academics and simulator training. To help offset the costs, you may prioritize offerings that are Part 141 and VA approved in order to use your GI bill. Roughly 3 months of GI bill credit is required for ATP-CTP reimbursement. See Using your GI Bill Towards an ATP.

Here is a shortlist of ATP-CTP courses, though there are many others. Share us your experiences with ATP-CTP courses in the comments below.

Be sure to seek class availability early as they can fill up, and leverage this as a PTDY opportunity.

Take a picture and/or scan your ATP-CTP certificate as it’s good for life and you don’t want to lose it!

Taking the Air Transport Pilot Multiengine (ATM) Written Exam

In order to take the ATM, you must have a graduation certificate from your ATP-CTP Course. Once completed, allocate at least 2-3 weeks of part-time study towards the ATM. There are over 1000 possible questions.

Schedule your test at a local FAA Testing Center, and then

Study for the test using Sheppard Air

After taking the test, make note of the areas you missed (if any) on your completed Knowledge Test Report, and look them up online. These are areas the DPE is required to include in your ground evaluation during your upcoming ATP Practical Checkride.

Take a picture and/or scan your Knowledge Test Report as it’s good for 60 months (5 years) and you don’t want to lose it!

Passing the ATP Practical Checkride

Once you have the Knowledge Test Report, and 1500 flight hours, you’re eligible for the ATP Practical checkride with an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE).

What if I don’t have 1500 hours? You can obtain a Restricted ATP with 750 hours as a military pilot, and cannot be a Part 121 PIC (Captain) until you have 1500 hours and therefore an unrestricted ATP.

This step requires some study, but not as much as the ATM, and requires you to fly a multi-engine aircraft as PIC to the standards a DPE is looking for, in addition to a ground evaluation. Completing this final step earns you the Air Transport Pilot license. This will replace any existing FAA license you may have.

Here is a shortlist of ATP Practical courses, though there are many others. Share us your experiences with ATP-CTP courses in the comments below.

Keep in mind that if you are seeking an ATP on an aircraft that is type rated, you MUST receive the additional training to earn the type rating before ATP issuance. This does not apply to aircraft that are not type-rated (aircraft under 12,500lbs).

Be sure to seek availability early as they can fill up, and leverage this as a PTDY opportunity.

DPEs may charge a personal fee, generally around $1000.

Once your checkride is complete, and the IACRA has been updated by your DPE, you should receive your new license in the mail about a month later! Congratulations! The gauntlet is over! Now it’s time to prepare for future interviews if you haven’t already.