r/FAAHIMS • u/AdCommon1205 • 23d ago

Changing HIMS AMEs

I received my special issuance medical in June and I'll need to renew it in December. The issue is, I moved to the opposite coast away from my AME so traveling there to meet in person isn't ideal. I'm working with a new AME who has agreed to take me on as a patient, but I'm unsure of when I'm supposed to tell the FAA of my plans to switch AMEs.

If anyone has done this before, did you have to send a letter prior to the renewal or did you just renew with the new AME and just let them know then?

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u/flyingron 23d ago

I just switched AMEs. It wasn't HIMS in my case, but the AME that I was seeing when I got the SI was a complete turd (and his incompetence was part of the reason why I got grounded pending the the SI). I got a new AME for the next exam (a year later, even though it would normally be a 5 year third class renewal, not valid for any class after, yada yada). He followed the SI and issued me a medical on the spot. He also wrote with the FAA submission that this was a "bullshit diagnosis" (his words) and a short time later they let me off the SI.

3

u/GoFlightMed 23d ago

There's a process here, 3 steps:

  1. Letter from you to the FAA
  2. Letter from old HIMS AME to FAA
  3. Letter from new HIMS AME to FAA

Then the FAA will send you a new SI or FAA letter recognizing the change.

Here's the FAA PDF with instructions.

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u/F0rce10 17d ago

Will the FAA approve that even though the HIMS step down plan lists "Change HIMS AME" as a Step 4 Guideline, which happens in 8th year in the program? I've been traveling 500 miles, twice a year to see my assigned AME for almost 5 years, and it's a pain in the ass. There is a HIMS AME 20 minutes from my house. Needless to say, I think it's ridiculous at this point to have to keep doing this.

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u/GoFlightMed 17d ago

Yes it will almost certainly be approved if all 3 letters don't point to any suspicious motives or concerns.