Logging dual and CFI logbook endorsements: 61.51(h) and 61.189

What the student logs and what the instructor writes

61.51(b)(2) lists "Flight and ground training received from an authorized instructor" and "Training received in a full flight simulator, flight training device, or aviation training device from an authorized instructor" as types of experience you record. 61.51(h)(1) lets you log training time when you receive training from an instructor "in an aircraft, full flight simulator, flight training device, or aviation training device".

61.51(h)(2) says the training time "must be logged in a logbook" and must "Be endorsed in a legible manner by the authorized instructor" and "Include a description of the training given, the length of the training lesson, and the authorized instructor's signature, certificate number, and certificate expiration date or recent experience end date, consistent with the requirements of § 61.197." A signature with no description of the lesson does not meet that.

On the instructor's side, 61.189(a) says "A flight instructor must sign the logbook of each person to whom that instructor has given flight training or ground training." 61.189(b) adds a record, in a logbook or a separate document, of each person endorsed for solo and the date, and each person endorsed for a knowledge or practical test with "the kind of test, the date, and the results". 61.189(c) says to keep those records "for at least 3 years".

Certificate expiry or recent experience end date

Amendment 61-155 (89 FR 80051, 1 October 2024) changed how flight instructor certificates last. 61.197(a) now lets an instructor exercise the privileges "only if, within the preceding 24 calendar months", they met one of the recent experience requirements, and 61.197(e) lets a holder of a certificate "issued before December 1, 2024" renew it before it expires. AC 61-65K says the renewed certificate is issued "without an expiration date".

That is why 61.51(h)(2)(ii) offers two endings. AC 61-65K shows both forms of the signature line: "/s/ [date] J. J. Jones 987654321CFI RE 12-31-2026" for a certificate without an expiration date, and "/s/ [date] J. J. Jones 987654321CFI Exp. 01-31-2025" for one with an expiration date. Each endorsement needs "the instructor's signature, date of signature", certificate number and the RE end date or expiry, and the printed name is optional.

Endorsement wording from AC 61-65K

AC 61-65K, dated 14 November 2025, replaced AC 61-65J (30 October 2024). Its changes are mostly the sport pilot endorsements rewritten for the MOSAIC final rule (90 FR 35034, 24 July 2025). The AC is guidance: "Conformity with the guidance document is voluntary only", and the regulation decides what an endorsement must contain.

Two endorsements come up for every certificated pilot. A.69, flight review: "I certify that [First name, MI, Last name], [grade of pilot certificate], [certificate number], has satisfactorily completed a flight review of 14 CFR § 61.56(a) on [date]." A.71, instrument proficiency check: "... has satisfactorily completed the instrument proficiency check of 14 CFR § 61.57(d) in a [M/M] aircraft on [date]." The AC notes that no entry is required for an unsatisfactory flight review or IPC.

For the instrument practical test, A.43 reads "I certify that [First name, MI, Last name] has received the required training of 14 CFR § 61.65(c) and (d). I have determined they are prepared for the Instrument-[airplane, helicopter, or powered-lift] practical test." A.44 adds the 61.39(a) prerequisites, including training "within 2 calendar months preceding the date of the test".

Electronic logbooks and electronic signatures

61.51(a) requires you to record training and experience "in a manner acceptable to the Administrator". AC 120-78B (11 December 2024, which cancelled AC 120-78A) says the use of an electronic signature or electronic recordkeeping system under part 61 "does not require formal FAA approval, acceptance, or authorization", and that if one does not follow the AC's guidelines "the FAA may question its validity".

The AC's signature process asks for a signature unique to the signer, a prompt that conveys the intent to sign ("Signed by", "Instructor's signature/certification"), notice that the signature was applied, a clear scope of what is being signed, non-repudiation, and access controls so nobody else can apply it. A typed name in a shared spreadsheet meets few of those. An app that captures a drawn or authenticated signature against a locked entry is closer to what the AC describes.