How to request an endorsement or signature from a CFI

DaPilot has two separate ways for an instructor to stand behind your logbook, and they live on two separate screens. A flight signature is a CFI confirming a flight you logged. An endorsement is a CFI issuing a CFR-cited statement, like a solo cross-country endorsement, from the AC 61-65K templates. You ask for either by entering the instructor's FAA certificate number, and the CFI signs inside the app. This guide covers both flows.

A signature is a record, not a determination

DaPilot stores the signature or endorsement as a record. It does not verify the signer's identity or certificate number, and it does not decide whether you are eligible for anything. The signing instructor and the pilot are responsible for the accuracy and the authority of what is signed. Treat the in-app record the way you would treat a logbook your instructor signed in ink: it is evidence of what happened, not a ruling that it was correct.

For endorsements, DaPilot does not claim the in-app record on its own satisfies the carriage requirement in §61.51(i). Each endorsement prints or exports as a PDF, and it references AC 120-78B and 14 CFR 61.51(i) so you and your instructor decide how to carry and retain it. The endorsement wording follows the AC 61-65K templates; the advisory circular is referenced for convenience, not as an approval of this app.

Two different things

	Flight signature	Endorsement
What it is	A CFI confirms a flight you logged	A CFR-cited statement from a template
Requested from	The flight itself	The Endorsements screen (or given directly)
Lives on	The Signatures screen	The Endorsements screen
Prints to PDF	No, it stays an on-file record	Yes, for your §61.51(i)(2) records

Both identify the instructor by FAA certificate number, and there is no manual paper-signature entry: the flow always reaches a CFI who signs in the app.

What you need

DaPilot, free or Pro. Endorsements and signatures are free for everyone.
The instructor's FAA certificate number.
For a signature: the flight, logged. DaPilot saves it before sending so the request has something to attach to.

Get a flight signed (a signature)

1Start the request from the flight

For a new flight you are still logging, the form has a Request a signature button at the bottom. Tap it.

For a flight you already saved, request it from the flights list: swipe the row to the right, or touch and hold it, and tap Request sign-off. Keeping it on the list rather than the edit screen means a request never captures a half-finished edit.

2Look up the instructor by certificate number

In the sheet, type the instructor's FAA certificate number and tap Look up. If the number matches a DaPilot account, you see the name on it ("Pilot found") so you can confirm you have the right person before you send.

DaPilot does not check the number against the FAA. The lookup only matches it to a DaPilot account. You cannot request a signature from your own certificate number.

3Send the request

Tap Send. DaPilot saves the flight to the server first so the request can attach to it, then sends it. If you are offline, it tells you the flight needs to sync first; reconnect and request it again. If the certificate number is not on DaPilot yet, you can invite the instructor, and the request waits for them to join rather than reading as silently stuck. You can have only one open request for the same flight to the same instructor; sending a second is blocked until the first is signed, declined, or cancelled.

4The instructor signs it

The request lands in the instructor's inbox under Signatures, Requests, Incoming. They can sign the flight (signature only), decline it, or act on it in the other ways below. While the request is open, the flight carries a Pending badge in your flights list. Once signed, the flight shows a read-only signature, and it appears under Signatures, My. You can cancel a request you sent while it is still pending.

Get an endorsement

An endorsement is requested on its own, not from a flight.

1Open Endorsements and tap Request an endorsement

On the Endorsements screen, tap the + and choose Request an endorsement.

2Look up the CFI and pick a template

Enter the instructor's FAA certificate number and tap Look up to confirm the name. You can pick the endorsement you are asking for from the AC 61-65K templates, or leave it on "Let the CFI choose" so the instructor selects it at signing.

3Send, and the CFI signs

Tap Send. The request appears for the instructor under Endorsements, Requests, Incoming, where they sign an endorsement from the templates. An instructor can also Give an endorsement directly from the same + menu without a request. Issued endorsements show up under Endorsements, My, ready to print.

What a CFI can do with a flight sign-off request

When a signature request lands in a CFI's inbox, the actions are:

Sign flight (signature only). The CFI confirms the flight record.
Add to my logbook as dual given. This mirrors the flight into the instructor's own logbook as dual given. Your original stays in yours.
Propose changes to the pilot. The instructor suggests an edit. It shows up on your flight as a "Proposed change, review" pill. Your logbook does not change until you open it and accept it.
Decline.

Undo, revoke, and the read-only lock

The regulations expect a clean correction path, not a silent deletion.

A CFI can Undo a signature. It is removed from the flight and stays on file marked Revoked.
A CFI can revoke an endorsement they issued. It is not deleted; it stays visible, marked Revoked on [date], so nobody who relied on it is misled. You are notified through sync.
Every signature, undo, and revocation is kept in an append-only audit record.
While a live signature or endorsement names a flight, that flight's logged fields are shown read-only, so a signed record cannot be quietly changed underneath it. The instructor removing the signature (or revoking the endorsement) makes the fields editable again.

Export or print an endorsement

Open an endorsement and print or export it as a PDF. The PDF carries a candid disclaimer: DaPilot does not verify the signer's identity or certificate number, the signing instructor and the pilot are responsible for the accuracy and authority of the endorsement, and it is a record, not a determination of eligibility. Carry and retain it the way you and your instructor decide is appropriate.

The instructor's signature line prints their certificate number and a date. Since the FAA stopped expiring flight instructor certificates, a current instructor certificate shows a recency date, labeled RE; a certificate issued under the older rule still shows an expiration date, labeled Exp. One or the other prints, never both.

Common pitfalls

Looking for a way to type in a paper signature you already have. There isn't one. Every signature in DaPilot comes from a live CFI who signs in the app; the request flow is the only path.
Trying to request an endorsement from a flight. Flights produce signatures; endorsements are requested from the Endorsements screen (or given to you directly by a CFI).
Assuming the lookup checked the certificate against the FAA. It did not. The lookup only matches the number to a DaPilot account; you are confirming the right person, not a valid certificate.
Treating a signature or an endorsement as proof of eligibility. It is a record of what the instructor signed, not a ruling that you meet a requirement. You and your instructor decide what it means.
Hunting for Request a signature on a saved flight's screen. On a flight you already logged, the request is on the flights list: swipe the row to the right, or touch and hold it, and tap Request sign-off. The in-form button is only there while you are logging a new flight.
Editing a flight and finding the fields read-only. A live signature or endorsement on that flight locks them; the instructor removes the signature (or revokes the endorsement) to make them editable again.

Tips from instructors

Confirm the name on the lookup before you send. A transposed digit in a certificate number can match a different account, and the visible name is your check.

Request the signature from the flight as soon as you fly it, while the details are fresh and the instructor remembers the lesson.

Export an endorsement PDF when you finish a stage of training, not just at the end. A clean export at each milestone beats reconstructing a year of endorsements the week before a checkride.

Last updated June 17, 2026 · 8 min read