FAA MedXPress Approval Delay

[Charles D]

Good afternoon all,
My oldest son was accepted to a pilot school, however we are still waiting on the FAA MedXPress approval to come through. We have been waiting since 8-9-22. He has been calling at least twice a week to follow up and is just told they are busy and it is taking longer than usual.
He has pretty much put his life on hold until he hears an answer.
1. Does it typically take this long?
2. Is there anything we can do?
3. Does anyone have any contacts we can reach out to?
4. Should he move on?
Any advice is greatly appreciated and welcomed!

 

[Lindberg]

Assuming he applied for a medical certificate and had an exam with an AME, was he denied or deferred? What are his relevant medical conditions? Has he applied for a Special Issuance? Has he received any correspondence from the FAA? What has he submitted to the FAA?

 

[WingmanMed]

It sounds like he was deferred, but you should have at least had a letter right now. However, if all he did was submit a MedXPress then he also needs to do an exam. Did he ever do an exam with a FAA qualified physician?

 

[eb87f]

My last medical renewal exam (3rd class) was in October and was deferred for a glitch. FAA requested some documents which I collected and finally mailed in at the end of the year. Wait... wait... wait... Just today I noticed on the med-express site that it has been approved and the medical will be in the mail but I have not received it yet. I did not ever call about the status since I figured they were busy. Just one data point.

 

[Charles D]

Yes he did the exam. We never received anything stating he was denied or deferred. The website says in review.

 

[Mongoose Aviator]

We never received anything stating he was denied or deferred.

What sort of paperwork did he walk out of the office with?
What did the Doc say to him?

 

[Charles D]

What sort of paperwork did he walk out of the office with?
What did the Doc say to him?

Doc said all was good and clear.

 

[Mongoose Aviator]

Doc said all was good and clear.

Doc said that to me also. As the Doc signed my Med Certificate and handed it to me. I walked out of the office with my signed medical certificate.

What sort of paperwork did he walk out of the office with?

 

[Lindberg]

Doc said all was good and clear.

Then the doc should have given him his medical certificate and you shouldn't be waiting on anything from the FAA.

 

[Anthem]

Then the doc should have given him his medical certificate and you shouldn't be waiting on anything from the FAA.

Exactly. . . if the Doc said all was good and clear, why didnt he walk out with a medical certificate ? they issue them right then and there unless there is a reason he cant. And if he cant - then that means its deferred to OKC to approve or deny.

 

[Charles D]

Then the doc should have given him his medical certificate and you shouldn't be waiting on anything from the FAA.

He did get his certificate. He submitted it along with all of his medical records.
Sounds like we just need to keep being patient. I am sure they are overwhelmed.

 

[Anthem]

He did get his certificate. He submitted it along with all of his medical records.
Sounds like we just need to keep being patient. I am sure they are overwhelmed.

so he has a 1st, 2nd or 3rd class certificate in his hand ?? Then what are you waiting for ? what medical records are you submitting to the FAA ? things they are asking for or that are necessary ? I (and many others in here are confused).

 

[Lindberg]

He did get his certificate. He submitted it along with all of his medical records.
Sounds like we just need to keep being patient. I am sure they are overwhelmed.

If he got his medical certificate, you don't need to be patient because you're done. That's it.

 

[Anthem]

If he got his medical certificate, you don't need to be patient because you're done. That's it.

obviously both you and me are missing something. . . or OP is missing something. . . Something isnt adding up.

 

[Charles D]

Ok I will wait till I am with my son and maybe he can answer these questions better than I.
When he logs into FAA MedXPress it says In Review still.

 

[Lindberg]

Ok I will wait till I am with my son and maybe he can answer these questions better than I.
When he logs into FAA MedXPress it says In Review still.

If he already had his exam and the AME gave him a medical certificate, there's no reason for him to log into medxpress until it's time for his next medical.

 

[Anthem]

Ok I will wait till I am with my son and maybe he can answer these questions better than I.
When he logs into FAA MedXPress it says In Review still.

its a simple question - did he walk out of their with his 3rd class medical ? You said yes multiple times - but then what are you waiting for ? what are you checking ? If he didnt - then why did the doctor say all was good and clear if he didnt issue ? Its binary - either he was issued or he wasnt. You say he is - if thats the case - then 99% he is done. Finished. If he isnt - then he doesnt have his medical and nothing is "all is good and clear" because thats when the fun starts.

 

[Lindberg]

His medical certificate would look like this.

 

[Mongoose Aviator]

So I never tried logging back into MedXPress to check on the status of my application after I had my exam and the Doc said All Good and he signed the certificate and I signed it and I then walked out of the office with my new Medical Certificate.

So I just tried that now.

 

[AggieMike88]

obviously both you and me are missing something. . . or OP is missing something. . . Something isnt adding up.

I wonder how many folks thought all they had to do was complete the online MedXpress and nothing else needed? /s

 

[Palmpilot]

I wonder how many folks thought all they had to do was complete the online MedXpress and nothing else needed? /s

I don't think there's any any means by which MedXpress could be saying "in review" if the confirmation number had not been entered at the AME's office.

 

[Jon Wilder]

Ok I will wait till I am with my son and maybe he can answer these questions better than I.
When he logs into FAA MedXPress it says In Review still.

What they're saying is that if he has a medical certificate in hand, he is good to go and doesn't need to check MedXpress. Not sure why he even is if he has the certificate in hand. Unless he receives a letter from the FAA stating otherwise, he is good to go with a valid medical certificate in hand.

 

[dbahn]

He did get his certificate. He submitted it along with all of his medical records.

That might need a little explanation. From what I read, his AME said he was "was good and clear" and issued a certificate. Why was it submitted with his medical records???

 

[AggieMike88]

I don't think there's any any means by which MedXpress could be saying "in review" if the confirmation number had not been entered at the AME's office.

My comment was a bit of snark… there has to be some out there that hadn’t been told they HAD to see the AME. They thought in todays online world, applying online was all it takes.

 

[Brad Z]

That might need a little explanation. From what I read, his AME said he was "was good and clear" and issued a certificate. Why was it submitted with his medical records???

The only thing I can think of is the AME issued a medical certificate in spite of the OP's son having a disqualifying medical condition. In that case the son would walk out with a medical certificate, and then later get a letter directing him to return the certificate and to provide additional information in hopes of obtaining a special issuance.

Completely a guess on my part, but given the faint details of this story, that's the only scenario that makes sense at this point.