On June 29, 2020 FAA amended a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) released in late April to address the many regulatory hurdles that have been difficult if not impossible to comply with during the COVID-19 pandemic. The amendment was released because even though some stay-at-home orders are being lifted, there are continued shutdowns of government facilities and limited access to CFIs, DPEs and AMEs.

The amended SFAR extends the validity of medical certificates that expire between March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2020 for an additional 3 months. The original SFAR only covered medical certificates that expired between March 31 and May 31, 2020. The amended SFAR, however, does not extend relief provided in the original SFAR – it provides 3 months of relief to a new group of pilots whose medicals were set to expire between June 30 and September 30, 2020. For example, if your medical expired on March 31, it is extended until June 30. If your medical expires on September 30, it is now valid through December 31.

Individuals with expiring FAA knowledge tests, flight reviews and instrument currency who were given an additional three months to complete requirements in the original SFAR will also have an extension for expirations through September 2020. Similar to the medical certificates, the amended SFAR does not extend the actual length of privileges – it adds pilots whose requirements were set to expire in July, August, or September. The amended SFAR, however, does not extend the grace period for flight instructor certificate renewals past June 30, 2020. See the rule itself for more details.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently issued waiver extensions and a notice of enforcement policy that became effective on July 1, 2020. These actions included extending a waiver until September 30, 2020, for States, CDL Holders, CLP Holders and Interstate Drivers Operating Commercial Motor Vehicles that covers multiple items including CDL renewals, CLP holders and medical examination and certification.

FMCSA also extended a waiver for states regarding third party Commercial Driver License (CDL) skills test examiners in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This waiver allows third party CDL test examiners previously authorized by the State to administer the CDL skills test to also administer the CDL knowledge test without completing a CDL knowledge test training course. Finally, FMSA is extending its enforcement discretion until September 30, 2020 to not take enforcement action for certain expired licenses and medical certificates.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, NAAA has been in frequent contact with the FAA and other regulatory agencies regarding the many issues related to regulatory compliance during the numerous shutdowns caused by the pandemic. You can get the very latest policy guidance on the COVID-19 pandemic important to agricultural aviators at agaviation.org/covidresources.