IA Renewal Requirements: 14 CFR 65.93, IACRA & Where to Keep Your IA Letter

When Your IA Expires: March 31 of Every Odd-Numbered Year

Your Inspection Authorization renews every odd-numbered calendar year on March 31 — the next deadline is March 31, 2027. To renew, you need to meet a 65.93 activity requirement for each year of the two-year period.

Even after more than a decade holding an IA, it’s easy to find yourself scrambling every March 31 to pull the documentation together — the annual inspections you performed, the major repairs or alterations, or your refresher-course certificate. The fix is knowing exactly what counts, and keeping the paperwork where you can find it.

The Five Ways to Stay Current Under 14 CFR 65.93

For each year of the preceding two-year period, you must show at least one of the following (a combination across years is fine):

1. Annual inspections — performed at least one annual inspection for each 90 days you held the current authority.
2. Major repairs or alterations — performed at least two major repairs or major alterations for each 90 days you held the current authority.
3. Progressive inspection — performed, or supervised and approved, at least one progressive inspection in accordance with standards prescribed by the Administrator.
4. Refresher course — attended and successfully completed a refresher course acceptable to the Administrator, of not less than eight hours of instruction.
5. Oral test — passed an oral test by an FAA inspector showing your knowledge of applicable regulations and standards is current. (In practice, almost nobody uses this one.)

A reliable approach: stay active in the field and attend an annual IA refresher seminar. A yearly seminar guarantees your renewal regardless of what your job role allowed you to log that year — and it’s a great way to network with other IAs in your area.

Staying active is easier with steady work: Grease Pilot’s Mechanic Portal gives independent A&P mechanics a Job Board of aircraft-owner requests for annuals, repairs and pre-buys, plus a members’ Tech Pub Library of aircraft, engine and avionics manuals.

Read the full regulation: 14 CFR 65.93 on eCFR.

From Paper Cards to IACRA

If you got your IA more than a decade ago, the FAA issued you a physical inspection authorization card endorsement. Those are going away — the FAA is moving renewals fully into IACRA, its digital certification system.

If you haven’t used IACRA yet: go to iacra.faa.gov, register, and log in. Your renewals now show in your applicant console — the FAA isn’t mailing cards anymore. From the console you can view your renewal and download it as a PDF.

Where to Keep Your IA Letter So It's Never Lost

You should always have your IA renewal letter available. It’s the proof of your current authority, and renewal season is exactly the wrong time to be hunting for it.

An easy system:

1. Renew your IA in IACRA.
2. Download the renewal PDF from your IACRA applicant console.
3. In your Grease Pilot account, go to your records and choose Upload Document, selecting the IA Certificate type.
4. Attach the file.

Now your IA letter, certificates, and supporting documentation live in one place, and the next March 31 isn’t a scramble.

Document uploads come with Mechanic Free, Grease Pilot’s free membership for A&P mechanics, so your IA letter can sit with the rest of your records without a paid plan.

Conclusion

IA renewal comes down to three habits: know the March 31 odd-year deadline, meet one of the five 65.93 activity options every year, and keep your renewal letter stored where you can always pull it up. The FAA’s move to IACRA makes the paperwork digital — storing it alongside the rest of your records makes it painless.

This article is general information, not official FAA guidance. Confirm requirements with your FSDO and the current regulations.

About the Author

Michael Sawyer is an FAA-certificated A&P mechanic with Inspection Authorization — in his thirteenth year holding an IA — and the founder of Grease Pilot.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does an Inspection Authorization expire?

March 31 of every odd-numbered year. The next deadline is March 31, 2027.

How much activity do I need to renew my IA?

You must meet at least one of the five 14 CFR 65.93 options for each year of the two-year period — annual inspections, major repairs/alterations, a progressive inspection, an 8-hour refresher course, or an oral test with an FAA inspector.

Does the FAA still mail physical IA cards?

The FAA is moving renewals fully into IACRA. Your renewal now appears in your IACRA applicant console, where you can download it as a PDF.

• Your IA expires March 31 of every odd-numbered year — next deadline: March 31, 2027.
• You must meet one of the five 14 CFR 65.93 activity options for each year of the two-year period.
• The FAA is replacing paper IA cards with IACRA — your renewal appears in your applicant console as a PDF.
• Always have your IA renewal letter available: download it from IACRA and store it with your records.