Apostille of pilot logbooks and flight-hour records
We coordinate the prior certification and the apostille or consular legalization of pilot logbooks, experience letters, training records and other aviation documents for use abroad.
Review before you sign or notarize · For airlines & aviation authorities · Documents from all 50 states
Pilot reviewing a logbook and experience letter in the cockpitWhy apostille a pilot logbook or flight-hour record?
Pilots applying to foreign airlines, aviation authorities or flight schools are often asked to present proof of their flight hours and experience — a logbook, an experience or verification letter, or training records. When these documents are issued or signed in the United States and must be presented abroad, they usually need to be authenticated with an apostille or, for some countries, consular legalization.
We commonly handle logbooks, pilot experience letters, flight training records and certificates of experience for pilots relocating, joining a foreign carrier or validating a license abroad.
A private logbook is not always apostilled directly
A personal logbook is a private record. Before it can be apostilled, it often needs a prior step so a public official's signature or an authorized certification can be authenticated. What is required depends on who signs the document and on what the receiving authority abroad demands.
A pilot's sworn affidavit
The pilot signs a sworn statement before a notary confirming the record; the notarized affidavit is what gets apostilled.
School or employer certification
A flight school, operator or employer certifies the hours or issues an experience letter that can then be authenticated.
Signature before a notary
In some cases a statement or certification can be signed before a notary. The state authority apostilles the notary's signature and commission — it does not verify the flight hours or the technical content of the logbook.
Verification letter or certified copy
Some authorities may accept a verification letter or a certified copy, when it can be issued by an authorized entity and is accepted by the receiving authority.
The FAA maintains certain pilot certification and employment records, but the hours recorded in a personal logbook are not necessarily a public record certified by the FAA. For that reason, the receiving entity may request a sworn affidavit, a verification letter from the school or employer, or another prior certification.
Before signing or notarizing your logbook
Send us the instructions from the receiving airline, aviation authority or school. The format and the certification required can vary by country and by the purpose of the process. Confirming this first avoids signing or notarizing in a way the destination won't accept.
What to ask the receiving entity
Before you start, ask the airline, flight school or foreign authority:
- Do they accept a pilot's sworn affidavit?
- Do they require a letter from the school, operator or employer?
- Do they need all pages or only an hours summary?
- Must it include aircraft categories, type of operation or instructor signature?
- Do they require an apostille or consular legalization?
- Do they require a certified translation?
- Is there a required format or maximum issue date?
Three steps for your aviation documents
Send us a copy and the instructions
Send a clear copy of the logbook, experience letter or training record, together with the instructions from the receiving airline, school or aviation authority.
We identify the document that can be authenticated
We review who issued or signed the document and tell you whether a sworn affidavit, experience letter, school or employer certification, notarized signature or another acceptable document should be prepared.
We coordinate the apostille or legalization
Once the document is properly prepared, we coordinate the authentication before the corresponding state or federal authority and, when needed, consular legalization.
Questions about apostilling aviation documents
Send us your document and the receiving entity's instructions, and we'll tell you exactly what it needs.
Can my logbook be apostilled directly?+
What documents do you handle for pilots?+
Do you guarantee the airline or authority will accept it?+
My country isn't in the Hague Convention. Can you help?+
Do you translate the documents?+
Let's review your aviation documents
Send us your document and the receiving entity's instructions. The initial review is free. Service in Spanish and English.