Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

Complex endorsement as a student pilot, still valid as a private pilot?

Asked by: 540 views , , , ,
FAA Regulations, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

Hello all, 

I have been trying to find the answer to this question in the FAR/AIM without success, hoping someone on here has some helpful information!

If an endorsement is obtained as a student pilot, such as a Complex or High Performance, does the endorsement carry over once you obtain your PPL, or must you receive the endorsement again at that point?

I did some of my student training in a Beechcraft that was both High Performance and Complex and received an endorsement for both in that aircraft as a student. I have now received my PPL in a different aircraft and I am curious if those endorsements need to be obtained again as a private pilot or if they carry over from when I held a student license?

Thanks for any input!

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. Russ Roslewski on Jul 07, 2023

    Yes, it carries over. No, you don’t need to redo it.

    You won’t find a cite in the FARs, because none are needed. The endorsement doesn’t have an expiration date, therefore it doesn’t expire.

    Student pilot training in complex, high performance, or tailwheel aircraft is not uncommon.

    +3 Votes Thumb up 3 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.