Do you need another medical exam?

For many of these pilots, one more trip to an aviation medical examiner will be required for them to continue to legally exercise their pilot privileges. (Learn more in AOPA's medical reform FAQs.)

The first step is to gather all pertinent medical records for the last three years, per the directions on AOPA’s TurboMedical tool and the FAA’s MedXPress website. Keep this information up to date in an electronic calendar or app so that you can easily search for long-forgotten medical appointments.

Step two is to fill out AOPA’s interactive TurboMedical tool, which walks pilots through basic questions before drilling down to specific medical history. Pilots who’ve moved since their last medical exam should make sure their address is up to date. Recording total flight hours and recent flight time requested on the medical form could help save the day if your logbooks are lost.

The form requires the date of the most recent medical exam, so it’s helpful to have that information handy, along with the dates, names, and reasons for medical visits within the last three years. There’s a place on the form for pilots to indicate previously reported hospital admissions and surgeries. Check out AOPA’s searchable medication database if you are unsure about permissible medications.

Pilots can manually transfer these answers to the FAA’s MedXPress website. A careful review is in order before submitting the form to the FAA because a mistake on the FAA medical form could lead to unwanted delays in a doctor’s office. After submitting the paperwork online, pilots should take a copy to the airman’s medical examination, along with their unique MedXPress confirmation number.

The entire application process can be completed in less than 30 minutes.

For any questions, AOPA members “on the bubble” can call the association’s Pilot Information Center (800/USA-AOPA) and speak to a medical representative.