Copy of FAA Medical legal?

Forensic analysis...i.e. a magnifier with someone who has a clue? It's fairly easy to differentiate pen strokes from even a hires copy. Autograph collectors have been doing it for ages.
 
flyingron said:
Forensic analysis...i.e. a magnifier with someone who has a clue? It's fairly easy to differentiate pen strokes from even a hires copy. Autograph collectors have been doing it for ages.
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Just look at the paper at an angle. Pens make impressions on the paper, printers deposit material (ink or toner) on top of the paper...dot matrix and for us old fogies, daisy wheel printers excepted of course.
 
flyingron said:
Forensic analysis...i.e. a magnifier with someone who has a clue? It's fairly easy to differentiate pen strokes from even a hires copy. Autograph collectors have been doing it for ages.
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I suspect you're right, but Inspector Clouseau himself wouldn't use his magnifier to ground evil airman who make a color copy of their medical certificate.

"WTF, is this a copy? Up against the airplane and spread 'em!"

Just a practical observation.
 
flyingron said:
I don't know why people are worked up. Carry it with you. If you lose your wallet they'll send you a new one. They don't even charge unlike your PILOT CERTIFICATE that they want $2.
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Out of curiosity, what does a replacement certificate look like?

Would it be correct that the replacement doesn't have the ME's signature on it?
 
Y'all had me fact checking myself and since I admit I know very little about most things, I called OKC Aeromedical to fill in the blanks.

Per the FAA website, a lost medical can be replaced with a duplicate issued by OKC for a $2 fee. The replacement certificate will be sent digitally, much as I described getting my SI medical from OKC. So.... is it legal? According to OKC a digital copy of your medical certificate is legal but digital certificates can only be issued by OKC. If you have a typical medical certificate that was issued locally by an AME you're required to carry the original with an original signature. Here's a link regarding replacement medical certificates.

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/medical_certification/faq/response17/
 
Mine's signed by Courtney Scott, the manager of the FAA Aeromedical Division. I assume that's an administrative procedure because I doubt Dr. Scott personally reviewed my case file.
 
I think the answer to the original question is pretty simple. If the paper was given to you by the FAA or its designee, it was "issued" by the FAA and thus is legal. If the paper came out of a photocopier you were operating, it was not "issued" by the FAA, and thus is not legal.

Beyond that, whether you're going to get caught using a copy you made yourself, and what the FAA might do if they happen to find out you're doing that is another story entirely, and one which will depend on the situation and circumstances.
 
Actually, the "answer" is in post #46 above.

If you'd like to fact check your yourselves the FAA's OKC Aeromedical number is (405)-954-4821.
 
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Stewartb said:
Actually, the "answer" is in post #46 above. My faxed certificate is perfectly legal according to OKC a few minutes ago.
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The original question was about a photocopy, not about one faxed from the FAA, so nothing the FAA told you about your faxed certificate (issued by the FAA and thus legal) answers the original question.
 
Stewartb said:
FYI, I addressed the AME issued certificate question in post #46 as well.
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One issued by an AME (an FAA designee) is also "issued" by the FAA, and thus also was not relevant to the question originally asked (which was about a photocopy of the one issued by the FAA).
 
Wow. Let me cut and paste what I said to make it easier. Again, my post was written immediately after speaking with a representative in the Aeromed offices in OKC. I asked specifically about my own electronic certificate and how it related to the duplicate certificate link in my original post #46. This was her answer.

a digital copy of your medical certificate is legal but digital certificates can only be issued by OKC. If you have a typical medical certificate that was issued locally by an AME you're required to carry the original with an original signature. Here's a link regarding replacement medical certificates.

http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certific...aq/response17/
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I posted the link because I found it confusing given that I have a digitally transmitted medical cert in my pocket. I wanted to understand why a faxed duplicate had a 60 day life. The answer is because a re-issuance takes that long. The lady in OKC cleared up my confusion.
 
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Ron Levy said:
I think the answer to the original question is pretty simple. If the paper was given to you by the FAA or its designee, it was "issued" by the FAA and thus is legal. If the paper came out of a photocopier you were operating, it was not "issued" by the FAA, and thus is not legal.

Beyond that, whether you're going to get caught using a copy you made yourself, and what the FAA might do if they happen to find out you're doing that is another story entirely, and one which will depend on the situation and circumstances.
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While it's not from the FAA's Chief Counsel (as you often require), I totally understand that the FAA says that to be valid the medical certificate must bear the AME's original signature:

Copy_Not_Valid.jpg

FAA Web Page

However, do you know of even one FAA enforcement proceeding that rebuked a pilot who held a valid medical certificate, but willfully carried a copy?
 
Everskyward said:
It has an AME's signature on it, just not your AME's signature. I assume is some AME on the staff at OKC.
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Stewartb said:
Mine's signed by Courtney Scott, the manager of the FAA Aeromedical Division. I assume that's an administrative procedure because I doubt Dr. Scott personally reviewed my case file.
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I have an expired medical signed by Warren Silberman. There's a good chance that the signature is a copy, but the form came from the FAA, so it was legit. :D
 
Ron Levy said:
I think the answer to the original question is pretty simple. If the paper was given to you by the FAA or its designee, it was "issued" by the FAA and thus is legal. If the paper came out of a photocopier you were operating, it was not "issued" by the FAA, and thus is not legal.

Beyond that, whether you're going to get caught using a copy you made yourself, and what the FAA might do if they happen to find out you're doing that is another story entirely, and one which will depend on the situation and circumstances.
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I fly on a special issuance issued yearly by the FAA in OKC. It comes to me digitally, and it is then mailed. The one they mailed to me is also printed from the digital file. It is NOT hand signed but computer generated.

So, if I read what you wrote correctly, I can use the digital file to print myself a medical. And that's legit by everybody in this thread.

But, if I then take that copy and use the same machine to make a copy, that's not legal?:dunno:

Yeah. Ok. There is officially nothing going on in this forum if that's all you guys have to talk about. I'm gonna go fly. :rofl:
 
retailguy said:
I fly on a special issuance issued yearly by the FAA in OKC. It comes to me digitally, and it is then mailed. The one they mailed to me is also printed from the digital file. It is NOT hand signed but computer generated.

So, if I read what you wrote correctly, I can use the digital file to print myself a medical. And that's legit by everybody in this thread.
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Right -- that's a document issued by the FAA

But, if I then take that copy
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That's not a "copy" -- that's the document issued by the FAA.
and use the same machine to make a copy, that's not legal?:dunno:
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Right -- that copy would be a copy of the originally-issued document, and would not be the document issued by the FAA. The basic idea is that you can only have one valid document of each type (pilot/medical/etc certificate) at a time, and that's the one which must be with you when you fly.
 
Ron Levy said:
Right -- that's a document issued by the FAA

That's not a "copy" -- that's the document issued by the FAA.
Right -- that copy would be a copy of the originally-issued document, and would not be the document issued by the FAA. The basic idea is that you can only have one valid document of each type (pilot/medical/etc certificate) at a time, and that's the one which must be with you when you fly.
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:rofl: Love ya buddy, but you seriously need a vacation. The world is changing, no one, I repeat, no one, is going to care which document I have with me. They cannot tell, even an ink analysis will be inconclusive as they'll likely be both HP ink. You're dicing things not needed to be diced.

If you've got one that is still hand signed by all means use it, but if you don't, it doesn't matter.... those days are gone.
 
I lost my wallet a few months back, they emailed me a PDF version of ,y medical said print it. Never sent a new one.
 
Ghery said:
I have an expired medical signed by Warren Silberman. There's a good chance that the signature is a copy, but the form came from the FAA, so it was legit. :D
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Yeah, I had one of those kicking around here somewhere as well. I'm always surprised the FAA doesn't kick these things back to the guy who did the exam to sign, but given the idiot AME that resulted in my deferral fiasco, I'm glad they didn't. It did have the date of HIS examination on it.
 
murphey said:
Since you can get a replacement by contacting FAA OKC, and a PDF is sent by email, which is printed on your personal printer, who cares?
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flyingron said:
The FAA cares. I'd not risk having only a copy of my certificates. Your signature is always the original.
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murphey said:
But I can print as many copies of the official replacement on my printer. Which one is the original?
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tmyers said:
I think your signature is what makes it original. When I received my SI and Medical I signed it in blue ink. A week or so later I received another copy (not a scan). I signed it in blue ink put it in my trifold and stored the one they e-mailed to me at the house.
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So best tactic is to request at least ten "replacements", sign all of them, and stash them everywhere? LOL


Reloaded Tapatalk and their damn auto-signature came back.
 
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