Your examiner deferred your medical. Your file is now with the FAA in Oklahoma City, you are not flying, and nobody has told you how long it takes or what it costs.

This is a plain-English map of what happens next, built from the FAA’s own rules, with every source listed at the back.

INSIDE

• Why a deferral is not a denial, and what that changes
• The FAA’s own numbers: in July 2026 the Federal Air Surgeon reported 53% of deferred cases were waiting on the airman, and that week complete files averaged 33 days to a decision against 85 when the FAA had to ask for more
• Your FAA letter, decoded phrase by phrase
• Your pathway: ADHD, antidepressants, anxiety or depression, or HIMS
• The ADHD Fast Track: a records review and an interview, no test battery
• Building a complete file, with a worked specimen packet
• Four ready-to-send letters, including how to request records from a clinic
• If it is denied: reconsideration, the NTSB route, and both clocks
• What you can still fly: BasicMed, sport pilot and gliders differ

Not medical advice, not legal advice, and not a way around the rules. It will never help anyone conceal a condition or prepare for an evaluation, and it assumes full, honest disclosure throughout.

Written by someone who is not a doctor, not a lawyer and not an examiner. That is why every rule carries its source and the date it was checked.

81-page PDF: diagrams, a first-48-hours plan, a printable checklist, a timeline worksheet and 111 cited sources.