Logging SIC Time in a Citation: What Counts Toward the ATP

Most pilots who earn a second-in-command type rating want the same thing next: jet time in their logbook that an airline, a charter operator or a corporate flight department will recognize. The FAA rules on logging that time are short, but they are easy to misread. This post goes through them using the regulation text itself: when you can log SIC time, what to do with your training flights, how to stay qualified, and how SIC time counts toward the airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate.

When the FAA lets you log SIC time

The rule is 14 CFR 61.51(f). It says a person "may log second-in-command time only" for flight time that meets one of its conditions [1]. The two that matter for most Citation pilots are:

61.51(f)(1): you are qualified under the SIC rule, 61.55, and you occupy a crewmember station in an aircraft that requires more than one pilot by its type certificate.
61.51(f)(2): you hold the appropriate category, class and instrument rating for the aircraft, and more than one pilot is required by the aircraft's type certification or by the regulations under which the flight is conducted.

The rule also covers SIC time in Part 135 operations under an approved SIC professional development program, and SIC time for pilots designated by a government entity [1]. In every case the logic is the same: you log SIC time when a second pilot is required, not simply because a second pilot is in the seat.

The Citation 500 always needs a second pilot

The Model 500 Citation and Citation I are certified under FAR Part 25 with a minimum crew of two pilots. For years some operators flew these jets alone under FAA single-pilot exemptions. Those exemptions ended on September 29, 2026 [2], so the two-pilot Citations of the 500 series now always need a qualified second pilot. In those airplanes, every flight has a required SIC seat, and a pilot who is qualified under 61.55 and sits in it can log the time under 61.51(f)(1).

The Cessna Citation 500 and its two-pilot crew
What changed in September 2026

When a second pilot cannot log SIC time

In a 2009 legal interpretation, the FAA looked at a Cessna 525 CitationJet that was equipped for single-pilot operation and flown by a pilot qualified to fly it alone, with a second pilot on board. Because only one pilot was required, the FAA said the second pilot was not a required flight crewmember and "may not log flight time as SIC for any part of the operation." That second pilot may still be able to log PIC time for the part of the flight when he or she is the sole manipulator of the controls, if the conditions of 61.51(e) are met [3].

The same reasoning applies to any airplane certificated for single-pilot operation, such as the Model 501 Citation I/SP, when it is flown single-pilot. Before you log SIC time in a jet that can be flown by one pilot, check whether the flight actually required two.

What about your SIC training flights?

To earn SIC privileges, 61.55(b) requires, among other items, three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop as the sole manipulator of the controls, engine-out procedures, and crew resource management training [4]. Section 61.55(h) lets you serve as second in command in that type for this purpose, on the condition that the flight is conducted under day VFR or day IFR and that no person or property is carried on board other than what is necessary for the flight [4].

Time spent receiving training from an authorized instructor can be logged as training time under 61.51(h). The entry must be endorsed by the instructor and include a description of the training, the length of the lesson, and the instructor's signature, certificate number and certificate expiration date or recent experience end date [1]. We have not found an FAA interpretation that says whether these training flights may also be logged as SIC time, so the conservative choice is to log them as training received. Either way, training received from an authorized instructor counts as "pilot time" under the definitions in 61.1 [5].

Staying qualified to log SIC time

Logging under 61.51(f)(1) depends on being qualified under 61.55. That rule requires the familiarization and the flight training to have been completed within the previous 12 calendar months [4]. The type rating with "SIC Privileges Only" stays on your certificate, but if the 12 months lapse, you must repeat the 61.55(b) items before you serve as SIC again, and before you log SIC time under that paragraph.

FAR 61.55 explained, including the 12-month rule

How SIC time counts toward the ATP

An ATP certificate with an airplane category rating requires at least 1,500 hours of total time as a pilot, and that total must include several minimums [6]. Two of them are where SIC time matters:

Total time: "pilot time" includes time in which you serve as a required pilot flight crewmember [5], so SIC time logged as a required crewmember counts toward the 1,500 hours.
The 250 hours of PIC: 61.159(a)(5) requires 250 hours as pilot in command, "or as second in command performing the duties of pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command," or any combination of the two. Those 250 hours must include at least 100 hours of cross-country time and 25 hours of night time [6].

There is also a Part 135 path: a commercial pilot employed by a Part 135 operator may log SIC time toward the ATP under an FAA-approved SIC professional development program, with the pilot in command certifying the time. That time may not be logged as PIC time and cannot be used to meet the 250-hour requirement [6].

The 61.159(a)(5) credit is part of the ATP experience requirements. It is not the same as logging PIC time, which has its own conditions in 61.51(e) [1]. If you fly legs performing the duties of pilot in command under supervision, keep a clear record of which legs those were, so you can show them when you apply.

What to write in your logbook

For each flight, 61.51(b) requires the date, the total flight time, the departure and arrival points, the type and identification of the aircraft, the type of pilot experience or training (such as second in command, or training received from an authorized instructor) and the conditions of flight, such as day or night and actual or simulated instrument [1]. For SIC flights in a Citation, enter the time as second in command. For training flights, enter it as training received and have the instructor endorse the entry as described above.

Flight	How to log it	Rule
Citation 500 flight, you are 61.55-qualified in the right seat	SIC time	61.51(f)(1)
Your 61.55(b) training flights with an authorized instructor	Training received	61.51(h)
Jet flown single-pilot with you as an extra pilot	Not SIC; possibly PIC for the part you fly as sole manipulator, if 61.51(e) is met	FAA interpretation, 2009
Part 135 SIC professional development program	SIC time toward the ATP, certified by the PIC, not PIC time	61.159(c)

Where to start

Our CE-500 SIC type rating course covers the 61.55 familiarization and the flight training in a real Citation I in Florida, so you leave with the training entries in your logbook and the "SIC Privileges Only" rating on your certificate.

See the CE-500 SIC type rating course

References

This post is general information based on the regulation text and FAA guidance as of November 2026. It is not legal advice. For a specific situation, check the current regulations or ask the FAA.

Logging SIC time in a Citation: what counts, and how it adds up toward the ATP