What Required Documents Must Be On Board the Aircraft, and What Must the Pilot Carry?

Why Examiners Ask This Question First

Before you ever touch a checklist or talk about weather, your designated pilot examiner may ask you to show them the aircraft documents and explain what you are legally required to have on board. This question is rated easy in difficulty, but it catches students off guard more often than you might expect. The rules come straight from 14 CFR Parts 61 and 91, and they draw a clear line between what the aircraft must carry and what you must carry as the pilot. Confusing those two categories is the fastest way to start your checkride on the wrong foot.

The good news is that there is a reliable acronym to anchor everything on the aircraft side of the equation. Once you internalize it and understand the pilot side separately, this becomes one of the most satisfying questions you can get from an examiner.

AROW: The Four Documents That Must Be in the Aircraft

The aircraft documents are organized under the acronym AROW, which stands for Airworthiness certificate, Registration certificate, Operating limitations, and Weight and balance data. Every single one of these must be aboard for every flight, regardless of whether you are flying a short pattern or a cross-country trip.

• Airworthiness Certificate: This is the FAA-issued document confirming the aircraft was manufactured and inspected to an approved standard. It never expires as long as the aircraft is maintained properly, and it must be displayed where it is visible to passengers — typically near the cabin door.
• Registration Certificate: This proves the aircraft is registered with the FAA. Unlike the airworthiness certificate, registration does expire and must be renewed. Always verify it is current during preflight.
• Operating Limitations: For aircraft manufactured after 1979, this means the FAA-approved Pilot Operating Handbook or Airplane Flight Manual (POH/AFM). This is one of the most commonly forgotten AROW documents. Students sometimes think of the POH as a reference book rather than a required legal document, but it must be physically aboard the aircraft. Older aircraft may have limitations listed on placards or in a different approved format, but the requirement to have operating limitations on board applies universally.
• Weight and Balance Data: Current, aircraft-specific weight and balance information must be on board. This is another document that surprises students — many know they need to perform a weight and balance calculation before flight, but they do not always realize the supporting data itself is a required document under AROW.

A practical tip: walk to the aircraft during your preflight and physically locate each of these four documents. Examiners appreciate a candidate who can point to them, not just recite them.

What the Pilot Must Carry

The pilot document requirements are governed primarily by 14 CFR Part 61 and are completely separate from AROW. As a certificated pilot, you must have three things on your person during every flight: your pilot certificate, your medical certificate (or valid BasicMed documentation), and a government-issued photo ID.

Here is where a very common mistake surfaces: students often assume the medical certificate goes with the aircraft. It does not. The medical certificate is a pilot document. It stays with you, not with the plane. All three of your pilot documents must be available for inspection upon request by an authorized FAA representative or law enforcement official. Leaving your wallet — and your medical — at home is not a minor oversight. It is a regulatory violation.

BasicMed, introduced as an alternative pathway under 14 CFR 68, allows eligible pilots to fly without a traditional third-class medical under certain conditions. If you are operating under BasicMed, you must carry the completed medical education course completion document and a valid U.S. driver's license instead of an airman medical certificate.

Beyond AROW: Additional Equipment Requirements to Know

While AROW covers the core required documents, your examiner may probe a little further into related equipment regulations. Two sections worth knowing are 14 CFR 91.207, which covers Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) requirements, and 14 CFR 91.215, which addresses transponder requirements based on the airspace you intend to fly. These are not AROW documents, but they are part of the broader preflight compliance picture and reflect the kind of layered knowledge examiners look for in a prepared candidate.

Understanding AROW is the foundation, but demonstrating that you know where those requirements connect to other parts of Part 91 signals genuine airman knowledge rather than surface-level memorization. When you can explain not just what the rules say but why they exist and how they fit together, you project the confidence of a pilot who is ready for a certificate.

If you want to practice questions like this in a realistic oral exam format, try SimulatedCheckride.com.