The Call for FAA Regulation Change

Aeromedical Certification
Written By Clear Skies Ahead

The Call for FAA Regulation Change: Why Individuals with ADHD and ADHD Medication Prescriptions Should Be Permitted to Become Pilots

Citation: Kelley, C. (2024). The call for FAA regulation change: Why individuals with ADHD and ADHD medication prescriptions should be permitted to become pilots. Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine, 34(1), 95–132.


The author argues that the FAA’s current medical certification policies for individuals with ADHD are outdated and inconsistent with modern scientific understanding. It explains that the FAA’s rules exclude otherwise qualified applicants, despite strong evidence that adults with well-managed ADHD can function safely in cognitively demanding professions. The author states that these policies discourage treatment and do not account for individual stability and performance. The paper calls for a more nuanced regulatory approach that allows pilots to use ADHD medication under appropriate oversight and applies individualized evaluation rather than blanket exclusion.

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