Promote your company to the global vertical aviation industry through the VAI Member Spotlight, a free benefit for VAI member companies. Want to be featured? If you’re not already enjoying the many benefits our members receive, join VAI today! VAI Member Spotlight: Designated FAA Agent, Oregon, USA The new business helps international aviation certificate holders operating in the United States comply with FAA Advisory Circular 3-1. By Jen Boyer International aviation certificate holders operating in the United States face a critical FAA deadline on Jul. 7, 2025, and most of them are unaware of it. In October 2024, the FAA released Advisory Circular (AC) 3-1, which provides guidance on how to comply with CFR 14 Sections 3.301 through 3.303. These sections require those with foreign addresses who hold or apply for FAA certificates, ratings, or authorizations issued under Parts 47, 61, 63, 65, 67, and 107 to designate a US agent for service. AC 3-1 provides clarity by highlighting acceptable means to comply with that requirement. Oregon resident Ryan Louw, a native of South Africa with helicopter ratings in his home country and the States, started receiving calls from friends shortly after the FAA released AC 3-1. As a commercial pilot who operates geophysical survey helicopters for a South African company while living in the United States, he understands the complexities that international operators face, as well as the regulatory requirements. He found himself in a position to provide advice and even offer a helping hand. “I had friends asking me if they could use my address and if I’d serve as their US agent,” he says. “I started researching it and realized there weren’t many options to help those affected. That’s when I decided to start my own business.” Idea Becomes New Business Louw founded Designated FAA Agent during spring 2025 with the goal of providing a service for more than approximately 115,000 affected FAA certificate holders living or operating overseas. The company, based in Beaverton, Oregon, offers a straightforward US agent service. For $65 annually, the service includes physically receiving, scanning, and forwarding FAA mail for international certificate holders. Operators can choose to have their documents posted, scanned, or even shredded based on their preferences. “If it’s just a letter, they can read it themselves,” Louw explains. “If it’s a license, card, or something more important, they’ll want the physical mail forwarded. We will do whatever they direct us to do with the mail.” Raising Awareness Louw and his small team are working to raise awareness about the upcoming FAA deadline by generating online content and reaching out to aviation communities. Since the consequences of noncompliance remain unclear, Louw emphasizes the urgency of the need to spread the word about the deadline. “We don’t know what the repercussions will be, so better to be safe than sorry,” he says. Louw provides incentives for new operators to join the service. Operators already enrolled in the service receive a refer-a-friend code that provides $10 off for both the referral sender and recipient. Jen Boyer is a journalist and marketing communicator specializing in aviation. She holds commercial, instrument, flight instructor, and instrument instructor ratings in helicopters and a private rating in airplanes.
