S. 4256 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Mar 26, 2026
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryAllows pilots to show digital certificate copies
Right now, pilots have to carry a physical copy of their airman certificate and medical certificate to show to FAA inspectors when asked. This bill would let pilots show a digital copy instead, stored on their phone, tablet, or cloud storage. The FAA would update its rules to allow this.
How it affects you
If you're a pilot, you'd have the option to keep your certificates on your phone instead of always carrying paper versions. You'd still be able to show the physical copy if you wanted to, but the digital option would give you more flexibility.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Mar 26, 2026)
Airmen Certificate Accessibility Act
This bill allows a pilot to present a digital copy of certain certificates (e.g., an airman certificate or a medical certificate) when required to present such documentation by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector.
Under current FAA regulations, a pilot must present for inspection a physical copy of an airman certificate and other paperwork upon a request from the FAA; a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer; or an authorized representative of the Transportation Security Administration or the National Transportation Safety Board. This bill allows a pilot to present a certificate such as an airman certificate or a medical certificate to an FAA inspector as (1) a physical certificate, or (2) a digital copy stored on an electronic device or cloud storage platform.
The FAA must update current regulations to implement this change.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
2nd SessionS. 4256
A BILL
Airmen Certificate Accessibility Act
Sponsor: Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) · Introduced Mar 26, 2026 · Transportation and Public Works · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Mar 26, 2026: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.”