Are electronic pilot logbooks legal? FAA, EASA and CASA rules

FAA: is an electronic logbook acceptable?

14 CFR 61.51(a) requires you to "document and record" your training and aeronautical experience "in a manner acceptable to the Administrator". It names no medium. 61.51(b) then lists what each entry must hold: date, total flight time, departure and arrival, aircraft type and identification, your role and the conditions of flight.

The FAA's guidance is AC 120-78B, dated 11 December 2024, which replaced AC 120-78A. Paragraph 1.9.5 says "The use of an electronic signature, electronic recordkeeping system, or electronic manual system under 14 CFR part 61 ... does not require formal FAA approval, acceptance, or authorization". It adds that the FAA "may question its validity" if a record is missing the elements the AC lists. For a pilot logbook those include when and where the event took place, who was involved, and "Aircraft type and registration number for pilot logbook records" (3.1.1.6).

Since 3 November 2025 the falsification rule that was 61.59 sits in 14 CFR 3.403, and 3.401(b) says it covers a "document in any format", "electronic or physical". An app entry carries the same weight as ink.

EASA: AMC1 FCL.050 and electronic records

FCL.050 says "The pilot shall keep a reliable record of the details of all flights flown in a form and manner established by the competent authority." The AMC, last amended by ED Decision 2025/002/R, gives the content and the layout. For flights other than commercial air transport, "the pilot should record the details of the flights flown in the following logbook format, which may be kept in electronic format" (AMC1 FCL.050(c)(2)).

Paper entries "should be made in ink or indelible pencil". Electronic entries "should be made and kept in a way to be readily available at the request of a competent authority, and contain all relevant items that are mentioned in (a), certified by the pilot, and in a format acceptable by the competent authority" (AMC1 FCL.050(e)). The format test is your national authority's, so check its published position before you retire a paper book.

For airline flying, "details of flights flown under commercial air transport may be recorded in an electronic format maintained by the operator", and the operator should make those records available to you on request (AMC1 FCL.050(c)(1)). Keep your own record as well: the operator's copy stays with the operator when you leave.

CASA: CASR 61.345 to 61.365

CASR 61.345 requires every licence holder to keep a personal logbook and lists what to record after each flight. CASA's logbook page says your logbook "can be paper or electronic" and that you can "use an electronic program or app".

If CASA directs you to produce it, you have 7 days to produce "an up to date version" (61.365(2)). For an electronic logbook the requirement is met if you produce "a printed copy of the logbook" and "each page is certified by the holder as a true copy of the logbook records set out on the page" (61.365(3)). You must keep the logbook for 7 years after the last entry with "each entry in the logbook ... retained unaltered" (61.355). A false or misleading entry is an offence, and CASA can direct you to correct an entry within 14 days (61.360).

Signatures and instructor endorsements

Your own certification is the easy part. The pages and totals you print can carry your signature, and EASA's AMC asks you to certify accumulated totals on each completed page (AMC1 FCL.050(j)).

Other people's signatures are the hard part. Under the FAA rules, training time "must be endorsed in a legible manner by the authorized instructor" with a description of the training, its length and "the authorized instructor's signature, certificate number, and certificate expiration date or recent experience end date" (61.51(h)(2)). A checkride endorsement must be "in the applicant's logbook or training record" and signed by an authorized instructor (61.39(a)(6)). Under EASA, SPIC and PICUS time and some revalidation flights need the PIC's, instructor's or examiner's name and signature in the remarks column (AMC1 FCL.050(i)(10)). AC 120-78B lists what an electronic signature process should do: identify the signer uniquely, show intent to sign, and make the signature "permanent and unalterable" once affixed (2.2.1 to 2.2.7). An instructor's name that you type into an app meets none of that, so keep signed endorsements on paper or in the instructor's signed training record unless your software captures a real signature.

Backups, printing for checkrides and what examiners ask for

AC 120-78B 3.2.7 says an electronic recordkeeping system "includes backup measures to maintain and provide access to records in the event of a system failure", and lists a separate electronic system, a backup server, external drives and "Printed records" as examples. Treat that as the standard for your own logbook: at least one copy that does not live on the device you fly with.

To be eligible for an FAA practical test you must have "obtained the aeronautical experience prescribed by this part" and hold any required endorsement (61.39(a)), and the examiner checks both. Bring what shows them: the app on a charged device, a printed or PDF summary of the experience the certificate needs, and the signed endorsements. For CASA, a printed copy is what the regulation names when CASA asks for your logbook, so a certified print is the format to have ready. Airlines set their own requirements for applications and interviews; read the employer's instructions and bring what they list.