When the FAA Requires Your Medical Records

“My doctor says I’m doing well. Why does the FAA still need my medical records?”

It is a reasonable question. A treating physician may be focused on whether your condition is improving, while the FAA must determine whether your medical history, current condition, and treatment meet aviation medical standards. A short reassurance does not necessarily answer those questions.

Understanding which records to request—and what to do when they cannot be found—can help you avoid submitting an incomplete package.

Why the FAA asks for original medical records

The underlying clinical records document what happened: symptoms, examination findings, testing, diagnoses, treatment, complications, and recovery. They help the FAA assess issues such as stability, recurrence, functional limitations, and medication effects. A later summary can provide useful context, but it may omit details that matter to the certification decision.

“Original records” should not be confused with a universal requirement to surrender the provider’s only paper chart. The important distinction is between copies of the actual clinical documentation and a newly written summary of it. The FAA’s own neurocognitive evaluation guidance, for example, specifically requests copies of relevant records. Follow your FAA letter’s instructions about format and submission, and retain your own complete copy.

The FAA’s authority to request additional medical information is established in 14 CFR § 67.413. When the FAA determines that additional information is necessary, the regulation requires the applicant or certificate holder to furnish it or authorize its release. Failure to provide the requested information or authorization can result in denial of an application or action against an existing medical certificate.

That does not mean every applicant must submit every record from every medical visit. Your FAA request, the applicable condition-specific guidance, and your AME’s instructions determine the scope.

What types of medical records might the FAA request?

Depending on the condition and the questions under review, a records package may include:

• Office and specialist progress notes: the initial evaluation, important follow-up visits, and a current assessment.
• Emergency department and hospital records: the presenting complaint, history and physical, consultations, relevant inpatient notes, and discharge summary.
• Surgical records: the operative report, pathology report when relevant, and postoperative follow-up—not simply proof that a procedure occurred.
• Diagnostic testing: the actual laboratory, imaging, cardiac, sleep-study, or other test reports requested. A note saying a test was “normal” may not provide the needed detail. Images, tracings, or raw data may be needed when specifically requested.
• Mental health or substance-related treatment records: evaluations, treatment history, discharge documentation, and follow-up information as required by the applicable FAA pathway. Ask your AME about the exact scope and appropriate handling of sensitive records.
• Medication and treatment history: what you took, why, the dose, relevant start or stop dates, treatment response, and side effects.
• VA and military documentation: relevant service treatment records, VA clinical records, disability rating decisions, and supporting examinations when applicable.

This is a guide to possible record types, not a universal FAA checklist. Collect what is requested and make sure each document is complete, legible, and identifiable by patient, provider, and date.

What is a Detailed Clinical Progress Note (DCPN)?

A Detailed Clinical Progress Note is the treating clinician’s documentation of an actual clinical encounter. It may be called a progress note, SOAP note, patient note, current status report, or status report. Its content matters more than its title.

The FAA’s Current, Detailed Clinical Progress Note handout, updated September 25, 2024, identifies the information it expects:

1. A summary of the history of the condition.
2. Current medications, dosages, and side effects, if any.
3. Clinical examination findings.
4. Results of testing performed.
5. The diagnosis.
6. The assessment and treatment plan.
7. The prognosis.
8. The follow-up plan.

Prognosis deserves special attention. The FAA explicitly notes that it may not appear in a standard progress note and asks that the physician add it. Prognosis means the clinician’s assessment of the expected course of the condition—not a promise that the FAA will approve certification.

In some cases, the FAA specifies which specialist must provide the evaluation. If a request says the report “must specifically include” certain information, those items need to be addressed even if they are not normally part of that clinician’s note.

How recent does the note need to be?

The FAA’s current handout says that, in most cases, the encounter should have occurred no more than 90 days ago. This is not a universal deadline for every condition or every record. Check the applicable FAA instructions before scheduling an appointment or ordering testing. A newly printed copy of an old encounter does not make that evaluation current, and older historical records serve a different purpose.

Why an after-visit summary may not be enough

An after-visit summary usually tells you what to do next: pick up a prescription, schedule a test, or return in six months. It may list vital signs and medications without documenting the clinician’s examination, reasoning, prognosis, or assessment.

A patient portal is not inherently the problem. Some portals provide the full, finalized clinical note; others initially show only the after-visit summary. The FAA handout explains that a detailed note may take days for the physician to review and sign.

Likewise, a short letter saying “okay to fly” is not a substitute for a DCPN. The FAA needs the clinical information supporting its decision, not only a treating clinician’s conclusion.

Try this wording when requesting the note: “Please provide the complete, finalized clinical progress note for my visit on [date], including the assessment and plan, medication doses and side effects, examination and test findings, prognosis, and follow-up. I need the actual clinical note, not only the after-visit summary. I have attached the FAA’s requirements.”

Getting VA records: treatment, benefits, and examinations are different

Veterans may need to make more than one request. A VA treatment-record download, a disability award letter, and a military service treatment record are not interchangeable.

1. VA medical treatment records

Start with My HealtheVet on VA.gov, where eligible users can review and download clinical notes, care summaries, medications, and test results. Many veterans know the downloadable report as the VA Blue Button report. Check the date range and included record types rather than assuming one download contains every historical document.

For a complete copy or missing records, contact the facility’s Release of Information office. The VA’s official medical-records request instructions describe secure messaging and requests by mail, fax, or in person. For a copy of your own health information, the VA identifies VA Form 10-5345a.

Specify the treatment dates, facilities, and documents needed. If relevant care occurred with a non-VA community provider, check whether the underlying records are included; you may need a separate request to that provider.

2. Disability decisions and the claims file

A benefit summary letter can establish benefit status, but it is not the same as the detailed decision or supporting medical evidence. The VA’s benefit letters page also directs veterans to the claim-status tool for available decision letters.

If you need additional compensation or benefits records, use the VA’s personal-records request process, VA Form 20-10206. Be specific about the rating decisions, relevant claims-file materials, and supporting medical examinations you need.

3. Compensation and pension examinations

The VA states that a copy of a final C&P examination report must be requested; it cannot be obtained at the examination or directly from the examiner. Its C&P examination guidance directs veterans to Form 20-10206. Include relevant Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQs) in your request when needed.

Do not assume every C&P report will be in a routine treatment-record download. Also, a VA disability percentage is not itself an FAA certification decision. The FAA needs to understand the underlying condition. Its Item 18.y guidance requires reporting disability benefits regardless of source or amount.

Getting military service treatment records

If you are still serving or preparing to separate, request a complete copy of your Service Treatment Record from your military treatment facility’s records office. Include relevant separation evaluations and verify that digital files actually open before relying on them.

The MHS GENESIS Patient Portal provides access to available clinical notes, laboratory results, radiology results, and other health information. However, portal access should not be treated as proof that all older records are included. TRICARE Online is no longer available as of April 2025; older instructions telling you to log in there are outdated.

After separation, the correct records custodian depends on your branch, separation date, and record type. Use the National Archives’ medical-records location chart to identify where to direct the request. The National Archives records-request page explains available request methods, including Standard Form 180.

Two distinctions can prevent a lengthy search in the wrong place:

• A personnel file or DD214 is not a complete medical record. Personnel-record tools should not be assumed to provide all service treatment records.
• Inpatient hospital records may be filed separately. The National Archives explains that these are typically not filed with the routine health record. Identify the treating hospital and approximate admission dates when requesting them.

A VA clinical-record download also should not be assumed to contain your complete active-duty history. Plan early and keep secure copies of what you obtain.

What if you cannot obtain the requested records?

Practices close, records move to another custodian, and older charts may be destroyed under applicable retention rules. Retention requirements vary; there is no single age after which every medical record disappears.

Missing records do not automatically mean the FAA will deny your application—but they do not automatically excuse a request, either. Section 67.413 does not establish a blanket missing-records exemption or say that a personal statement alone satisfies the FAA. The following steps are GFM’s practical recommendations for documenting the problem and seeking case-specific guidance.

Document the search

1. Make a written request. Identify the provider, facility, treatment dates, and records sought. Retain the request, release authorization, delivery confirmation, and subsequent correspondence.
2. Check for another custodian. A closed practice may have transferred records to a successor, hospital system, or records-storage company. A closure notice does not by itself establish that the chart was destroyed.
3. Ask for a written response. If the records cannot be supplied, ask the records office to explain whether they were destroyed, transferred, never held there, or could not be located. Do not label records “destroyed” unless that is confirmed.
4. Check legitimate alternative sources. Another treating clinician, a hospital, or an earlier personal archive may hold copies. If records were previously sent to the FAA, its airman medical-records request process may help recover what is already in your FAA file.
5. Keep track of the FAA deadline. Contact the office identified in your FAA letter before the response date if retrieval is delayed. Explain what is pending and ask for guidance or an extension. Do not assume a request automatically extends the deadline.

Use a personal statement to explain the gap

At Go Flight Medicine, we typically recommend a clear, factual personal statement explaining the missing records. GFM has custom personal-statement templates for this purpose to help applicants organize the facts and document their efforts.

Your statement should identify:

• The condition, event, or treatment involved, with approximate dates clearly labeled when necessary.
• The providers or facilities that held the records.
• When and how you requested them, including follow-up attempts.
• The responses received and the confirmed reason the records are unavailable—or what remains unknown.
• Any surviving documentation and an accurate account of your subsequent treatment and current status.

Attach the supporting requests and responses, then sign and date the statement. If nobody responds, document that accurately rather than implying you received confirmation. Distinguish your recollection from facts established by records; do not guess diagnoses, dates, or outcomes.

The statement explains the documentation gap; it does not recreate the missing chart or guarantee FAA acceptance. Your AME can help determine whether a current specialist evaluation or other evidence may be appropriate. The FAA may still request additional information. Do not order expensive replacement testing on the assumption that it will automatically satisfy the request.

Before you submit your FAA records package

• Compare the package with every item in the FAA’s request.
• Confirm that a requested DCPN is a complete clinical note, not only an after-visit summary.
• Check the encounter date, required specialist, prognosis, and condition-specific details.
• Include the actual requested test reports and relevant historical records.
• Explain missing documents with a factual statement and supporting correspondence.
• Preserve complete, unaltered records and use the submission method specified for your case. Keep your own copy and proof of submission.

Good preparation cannot guarantee a certification outcome, but it can reduce avoidable requests for missing information. Go Flight Medicine can help you identify the relevant records, assess whether a clinical note addresses the FAA’s questions, and organize a documented response when records cannot be recovered. Ask your GFM care team about our custom personal-statement templates.

This article provides general educational information, not an individual certification determination. FAA requirements vary by condition and case. Follow your FAA correspondence and obtain guidance from your AME.