What must go in an FAA pilot logbook: 14 CFR 61.51
Checked against the sources below on 29 October 2026. How these guides are written
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The FAA requires you to log the time you use for a certificate, rating or flight review, and the time that shows recent experience (61.51(a)). For each of those flights or lessons record the date, total time, departure and arrival, aircraft type and identification, the safety pilot's name if one was required, your role (solo, PIC, SIC, instruction received) and the conditions (day or night, actual or simulated instrument, NVG). Electronic logbooks need no FAA approval under Part 61.
- What must be logged
- Time used for a certificate, rating or flight review; time used for recent experience
- Each flight or lesson used
- 61.51(a)
- General entries
- Date, total time, departure and arrival, aircraft type and identification, safety pilot's name
- Each flight or lesson
- 61.51(b)(1)
- Type of experience
- Solo, PIC, SIC, training received, device training
- Each flight or lesson
- 61.51(b)(2)
- Conditions of flight
- Day or night, actual instrument, simulated instrument, night vision goggles
- Each flight or lesson
- 61.51(b)(3)
- Training entries
- Description, length, instructor's signature, certificate number, expiry or recent experience end date
- Each lesson
- 61.51(h)(2)
- Show your logbook
- On reasonable request by the FAA, the NTSB or a law enforcement officer
- Any time
- 61.51(i)(1)
- Electronic records
- No formal FAA approval, acceptance or authorisation under Part 61
- Guidance, not regulation
- AC 120-78B, 1.9.5
What you must log, and what is optional
61.51(a) says "each person must document and record the following time in a manner acceptable to the Administrator": the "training and aeronautical experience used to meet the requirements for a certificate, rating, or flight review", and "the aeronautical experience required for meeting the recent flight experience requirements". Flying you will never use for a new certificate, rating, flight review or currency is outside what 61.51 requires.
Logging every flight costs little and keeps the record whole if a later rating, an employer or another authority asks for it, and a gap is hard to rebuild later. 61.51(c) lets you use the pilot time the section describes to apply for a certificate or rating or to meet recent experience, and a flight you never logged leaves you no record to use.
The entries 61.51(b) asks for
For each flight or lesson you log, 61.51(b)(1) needs the date, "total flight time or lesson time", the "location where the aircraft departed and arrived" (or where a simulator lesson took place), the "type and identification of aircraft" or device, and "the name of a safety pilot, if required by § 91.109". 61.51(b)(2) needs the type of experience: solo, PIC, SIC, flight and ground training received from an "authorized instructor", and device training from one. 61.51(b)(3) needs the conditions: day or night, actual instrument, simulated instrument, and night vision goggle use.
Two paragraphs add detail. For instrument recency, 61.51(g)(3) needs "the location and type of each instrument approach accomplished" and the safety pilot's name. For training, 61.51(h)(2) needs the entry "endorsed in a legible manner by the authorized instructor", with "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".
That last phrase changed on 1 October 2024 (Amendment 61-155), when the FAA replaced flight instructor certificate expiry with a 24-calendar-month recent experience period in 61.197. AC 61-65K (14 November 2025) shows the new format, for example "/s/ [date] J. J. Jones 987654321CFI RE 12-31-2026". Under 61.189 the instructor must also sign the logbook of each person they train, and keep a record of the solo and test endorsements they give for at least 3 years.
Electronic logbooks
61.51 does not prescribe paper. The test is "a manner acceptable to the Administrator". AC 120-78B, issued 11 December 2024 to replace AC 120-78A, lists pilot logbooks in its scope and says in paragraph 1.9.5 that "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".
The AC is guidance with conditions. It says that if an electronic record "does not contain the key elements or does not follow the guidelines set forth in this AC, the FAA may question its validity". Its guidelines include safeguards against uncontrolled access, records that stay "unalterable without the appropriate certification, verification, and/or authentication", protection against data loss, and a signature "traceable to the individual making the entry", either handwritten or "part of an electronic signature system".
Some processes still want paper. For an SIC Privileges Only type rating, 61.55(d)(3) says that if your records are electronic you "must present a paper copy of those records containing the signature of the trainer". Ask your examiner before a practical test how they want to see endorsements and totals.
Who can ask to see your logbook, and when to carry it
61.51(i)(1) says "persons must present their pilot certificate, medical certificate, logbook, or any other record required by this part for inspection upon a reasonable request by" the FAA, an authorised NTSB representative, or "any Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer".
Only some pilots must carry it. A student pilot carries the logbook on every solo cross-country flight (61.51(i)(2)). A sport pilot carries the logbook or other evidence of the required endorsements on all flights, as does a sport pilot instructor when giving training. A recreational pilot carries it on solo flights beyond 50 nm from the training airport, in airspace that needs ATC communication, between sunset and sunrise, or in an aircraft without the category or class rating. Private, commercial and ATP holders are not required to carry it, and 61.51 itself sets no retention period for your own logbook.
Mistakes pilots make
- Leaving out the safety pilot's name. 61.51(b)(1)(v) and (g)(3)(ii) both require it, and an approach without it does not support recency.
- Accepting an instructor entry without the certificate number and the expiration or recent experience end date that 61.51(h)(2)(ii) requires.
- Keeping endorsements as unsigned notes in an app. AC 120-78B expects a signature traceable to the person who made the entry.
- Not carrying the logbook on a student solo cross-country, or as a sport pilot, where 61.51(i) requires it.
- Skipping flights you later need for a rating or for currency. Only logged time can be used under 61.51(c).
What Off Chocks tracks
- The flight form records the 61.51(b) items: date, Out, Off, On and In times, departure and arrival, aircraft type and registration, your seat (PIC, SIC or Dual Received), Solo, day and night split by civil twilight, actual and simulated instrument time, approaches and crew names.
- It prints an FAA logbook PDF with totals forwarded and totals to date, and a certification block with Name, Signature and Date lines, plus FAA 8710-1 and IACRA hours summaries. Items Off Chocks does not record print blank with a footnote, never as 0.
- Off Chocks does not capture instructor signatures, and it has no night vision goggle or ground training fields. Keep signed endorsements on paper or in your instructor's system; you can list an endorsement in Credentials with its dates and a reminder.
Common questions
- Is an electronic logbook legal under FAA rules?
- Yes. 61.51 asks for records "in a manner acceptable to the Administrator", and AC 120-78B says electronic records under Part 61 need no formal FAA approval. The FAA may question records that lack the elements the AC lists.
- Do I have to log every flight?
- No. You must log time used for a certificate, rating or flight review and time used for recent experience (61.51(a)). Most pilots log everything so it is available later.
- Who can ask to see my logbook?
- The FAA, an authorised NTSB representative, or any federal, state or local law enforcement officer, on reasonable request (61.51(i)(1)).
- Do I have to carry my logbook when I fly?
- Only as a student pilot on solo cross-country flights, as a sport pilot or sport pilot instructor, or as a recreational pilot in the conditions listed in 61.51(i)(4).
- What does an instructor have to write when signing my logbook?
- A description of the training, the lesson length, their signature, certificate number, and certificate expiration date or recent experience end date (61.51(h)(2)(ii)).
Sources
- 14 CFR 61.51 Pilot logbooks (eCFR, up to date as of 27 Oct 2026)
- FAA AC 120-78B, Electronic Signatures, Electronic Recordkeeping, and Electronic Manuals (11 Dec 2024)
- FAA AC 61-65K, Certification: Pilots and Flight and Ground Instructors (14 Nov 2025)
- 14 CFR 61.189 Flight instructor records (eCFR)
- 14 CFR 61.55 Second-in-command qualifications (eCFR)
This is a plain-words summary to help you keep your own records, not legal advice. The regulation and your operator's procedures always take precedence.