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Airman Knowledge Test “Name” Question

Asked by: 3437 views General Aviation

I had to change my name on my PPL because it had a suffix that did not belong. I then changed it to exactly match my driver's license (since I have two last names). I then took my IRA written, and the name on there has my old name format. Is this a problem? Do I need to go on IACRA and change something?

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3 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    Bryan on Dec 24, 2022

    First, stop changing your name. 😉

    Second, your names need to match across everything the FAA touches–IACRA, PSI Exams, MedExpress. If they don’t match up, a cranky DPE could put a stop to your instrument ride before you even start. Also, any inconsistency between the ID you present to the DPE and the name in the FAA databases could cause the same sort of issues.

    Have fun flying needles!

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  2. Jeff Baum on Dec 25, 2022

    I’ve had to straighten out a few of these. Do yourself (and the DPE) a favor and contact the DPE ahead of your checkride. Explain what you have done with your “name”, what is on your Government Issued ID which you use, the name on your Pilot Certificate and the name on the AKTR. The DPE may make “corrections” through IACRA, but not name changes.

    As Bryan said, I would be a “Cranky DPE” if your showed up with this issue and no warning. We would not be flying that day.

    I ask the applicant scan and send me images of all of the documents so that I can see if it is a simple correction, or something involved which will require an ASI from the FSDO. If all of the documentation matches and the name on the AKTR is “slightly” different, I haven’t had any issues from Airman Certification Branch as long as I make a comment about the difference.

    In a more involved case, the applicant (and his CFI!!!) submitted an application for his student pilot certificate with is “Nick Name” and not his legal name. With a lot of help and guidance from the Airman Certification Branch, I was able to correct the name issue. But that entailed a couple for days and several phone calls to OKC to find the right person for approval, and then help to make the correction which would be acceptable.

    Talk with your DPE.

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  3. Jeff Baum on Feb 06, 2024

    A follow up. I ended up working with the mentioned applicant as their CFI on a new certificate. Everything as far as OKC was fine from before. The snag we ran into was the new IACRA application reentered the student’s original “Nick Name”. IACRA would not allow us to update his name on the application.

    A quick call to the folks at the IACRA help desk set things to right. Have the student sign in to their IACRA as “APPLICANT”. Next, on the left side menu select “Profile”. Here they may change all of their personal information, including having the names match.

    Note!! This is NOT how you make a legal name change notification with the FAA. That requires the FSDO’s involvement. This is where you make changes to the information which IACRA inserts when you start a new application (corrected name, new address [of which you have previously notified the FAA], and other minor changes).

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