BasicMed renewal date

FlyBoyAndy

FlyBoyAndy

Pre-takeoff checklist
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FlyBoyAndy
I have emailed the FAA to ask this question, but thought I'd ask here too. I renewed my BasicMed on 3/29/2024 as that date was the first available date with my doctor (I've renewed all past ones in March). I just scheduled my next physical, and the office indicated that it had to be past my last physical (for insurance purposes), so my physical is scheduled for April 1, 2025. That means that my renewal is going to be past March in four years. Will it matter if I am a few days past the renewal date? Or, do I just not fly until it is complete? Thanks
 
FlyBoyAndy said:
I have emailed the FAA to ask this question, but thought I'd ask here too. I renewed my BasicMed on 3/29/2024 as that date was the first available date with my doctor (I've renewed all past ones in March). I just scheduled my next physical, and the office indicated that it had to be past my last physical (for insurance purposes), so my physical is scheduled for April 1, 2025. That means that my renewal is going to be past March in four years. Will it matter if I am a few days past the renewal date? Or, do I just not fly until it is complete? Thanks
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"Receive a comprehensive medical examination from a State-licensed physician during the 48 calendar months before acting as pilot in command"

Did I misunderstand that you are doing yearly medical evaluations for BasicMed?
 
I ran into something similar, insurance company will only book me for a physical at least a year after one so there is no way to go exactly 12 months between physicals, it is always a bit more. My solution is to have my doc do the basic med part every 2-3 years, that way there are no gaps. To fly legally you need to have a physical within four years to the day,
 
No, it is just that in four years, my visit to the doctor will be beyond the 48 months by a few days.
 
AvNavCom said:
Did I misunderstand that you are doing yearly medical evaluations for BasicMed?
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Iflydogs said:
I ran into something similar, insurance company will only book me for a physical at least a year after one so there is no way to go exactly 12 months between physicals, it is always a bit more. My solution is to have my doc do the basic med part every 2-3 years, that way there are no gaps. To fly legally you need to have a physical within four years to the day,
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I may just pay for the exam that year out of pocket to avoid any issues. If the FAA tells me different, I will follow them. Thanks
 
FlyBoyAndy said:
No, it is just that in four years, my visit to the doctor will be beyond the 48 months by a few days.
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Ah. Your reference to a 29 March 2024 renewal and a "next physical" on 01 April 2025 seemed to indicate you were getting yearly examinations.

The most recent update to BasicMed that I'm aware of has the verbiage I cited. It was published about a month ago in the Federal Register. The requirement is now 48 calendar months, rather than 48 months to the day. This brings BasicMed into consistency with the other medical periodicities.

As long as you don't go flying on April 1st prior to your physical exam, you should be fine. Hopefully the change will alleviate the issue with insurances requiring a year-and-a-day between physicals.
 
If you don't fly between March 29 and April 1 then there's no problem. You don't need to have BasicMed be continuously valid. You just need to have it be valid if you're going to fly.
 
FlyBoyAndy said:
No, it is just that in four years, my visit to the doctor will be beyond the 48 months by a few days.
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If you don't want any gaps in your ability to fly, the alternative is to do your BasicMed exam at the three year mark. A lot of people do their BasicMed exams every two years to keep it in sync with the online medical education course. If you're already doing yearly physicals, it doesn't really make a big difference.
 
FlyBoyAndy said:
I may just pay for the exam that year out of pocket to avoid any issues. If the FAA tells me different, I will follow them. Thanks
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Just have your Doc fill out the paperwork in YEAR #3 and that will reset it for 4 more years
 
Don’t forget the medical education course that has to be done every 24 calendar months (14 CFR 61.23(c)(3)(i)(C))
 
Also FWIW, I do it annually with my normal exam. I get an annual physical exam for health, so it's just another form in the pile. Pretty much always have 3+ years left.

But I also do a FR every spring and an IPC every fall. Cause, why not...
 
Well, now you know why not, I guess
 
AvNavCom said:
As long as you don't go flying on April 1st prior to your physical exam, you should be fine.
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:yeahthat: Your 3/29 physical is good through the end of the month, so you're covered until midnight on 3/31.

I get a yearly physical anyway, I just had my doc sign the basicmed form every other year to avoid this kind of issue.
 
FlyBoyAndy said:
No, it is just that in four years, my visit to the doctor will be beyond the 48 months by a few days.
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Then do it at the 3rd year physical. That is what I do to not have to worry about which month my physical ends up being.
 
Hi everyone.
If you already have the Doctor's exam and the On line course, let's assume 05/2021, and you want no gaps, if for some reason you cannot get your Online course (2x24) by 05/25, and that will make your basic med invalid until you get your On line course again, would having the Doctor's physical and the On line course staggered / overlapped, assuming the on line current course was done after your current physical, make more sense? This procedure would protect you from having any gaps.
Assume you had your Physical 05/21 and the On line 05/21, if you start getting your Physical on 12/24, (your Physical and On line still valid until 05/25) and wait to get your On line until 05/25, you have a 5-6 months overlap, would that help solve some of the issues with gaps?
Your Basic med is still valid until 05/25, from the previous cycle, and you can take your time until 05/25 to get the On line.
Does anyone see a problem with that, other than maybe more difficult to keep track?
I would think FAA does not care, or know about it, since you do not have to inform them about the Doctor's physical until your next On line gets completed and submitted?
 
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bluesideup said:
Hi everyone.
If you already have the Doctor's exam and the On line course, let's assume 05/2021, and you want no gaps, if for some reason you cannot get your Online course (2x24) by 05/25, and that will make your basic med invalid until you get your On line course again, would having the Doctor's physical and the On line course staggered / overlapped, assuming the on line current course was done after your current physical, make more sense? This procedure would protect you from having any gaps.
Assume you had your Physical 05/21 and the On line 05/21, if you start getting your Physical on 12/24, (your Physical and On line still valid until 05/25) and wait to get your On line until 05/25, you have a 5-6 months overlap, would that help solve some of the issues with gaps?
Your Basic med is still valid until 05/25, from the previous cycle, and you can take your time until 05/25 to get the On line.
Does anyone see a problem with that, other than maybe more difficult to keep track?
I would think FAA does not care, or know about it, since you do not have to inform them about the Doctor's physical until your next On line gets completed and submitted?
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Quoting from AOPA:

There are two timeframes to remember to fly as PIC under BasicMed:

  • Within the past 48 calendar months, you must have completed a CMEC and medical examination with a state-licensed physician. You must submit the information from this visit electronically upon completion of the BasicMed online course.
  • Within the past 24 calendar months, you must have completed an FAA-approved BasicMed online course and earned a certificate of completion.
Note that it doesn’t say that the dates of the physician exam and online course must be synced, if that’s what you’re asking. They just need to be within the last 48 and 24 months, respectively, for you to fly as PIC.
 
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NoHeat said:
Quoting from AOPA:

There are two timeframes to remember to fly as PIC under BasicMed:

  • Within the past 48 calendar months, you must have completed a CMEC and medical examination with a state-licensed physician. You must submit the information from this visit electronically upon completion of the BasicMed online course.
  • Within the past 24 calendar months, you must have completed an FAA-approved BasicMed online course and earned a certificate of completion.
Note that it doesn’t say that the dates of the physician exam and online course must be synced, if that’s what you’re asking. They just need to be within the last 48 and 24 months, respectively, for you to fly as PIC.
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Hi NoHeat and everyone.
Thank you for the feedback.
Yes, I understand the procedure but I am trying to see if there is procedure to be able to keep continuity in case you are not able to complete the On line course for a month or longer, after you get your Physical (CMEC and Medical exam).

This would only work after you already have / had a Basic med at least once before. If for some reason you do not have access to Inet and your Online course is the same day as your Physical.

The only time FAA gets notified, and you become Basic med legal is after you complete your On line course and data gets sent to FAA.
You can have your Physical but if you did not complete the On line course you may not use it until you do.

To avoid that I think it's a good idea to have your On line course expire after you get your Physical.
Someone was in a situation where he was not able to get to Inet for a few days, next 2 months, after he got the Physical, and in this case he was not current on Basic med since he had the Online done the same month, 2 years prior, until he got the On line course since it already expired the same month as the Physical.

To avoid that situation the solution is to stagger the Physical and On line course by a couple of months.
Given the Information we have that should not cause any issues?
 
@bluesideup, I’m just having trouble following through your analysis. Seems incredibly overcomplicated for something very simple. A number have already mentioned doing the medical piece every one, two or three years rather than four. And, of course, one could just make appointments sufficiently ahead of time. I don’t understand the worry about the first one. Go get the medical part whenever you can. Come home with your signed paperwork and do the course. Why stagger?

Do I see a problem with staggering? Sure. My exam is always in April. If one year it’s April, another June, another September, it increases the likelihood I will forget.

Aside from that, do whatever you works for you. The one and only requirement is, when you fly on a day and look back, have you complied with the 24/48 requirements?
 
FlyBoyAndy said:
No, it is just that in four years, my visit to the doctor will be beyond the 48 months by a few days.
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I'd do it on year #3, or whatever the last doctors visit before 48 months is. It is OK to redo early. You don't really lose anything except a little time.
 
bluesideup said:
…
You can have your Physical but if you did not complete the On line course you may not use it until you do.
…
To avoid that situation the solution is to stagger the Physical and On line course by a couple of months.
Click to expand...
Your thought process seems to be making the easy hard.

The CMEC completion date has to be input when you complete the education course for the info to be sent to the FAA. The two expiry dates are independent of one another though.

You can take a new education course at any point while your CMEC is valid and extend the education course validity date.

You could also set reminders to schedule/complete both events so you avoid the incredibly low risk (unless you’re a procrastinator) of both expiring and not being legal to fly.
 
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