Page "Pilot certification in the United States" Paragraph 46

A student pilot certificate is issued by an aviation medical examiner ( AME ) at the time of the student ’ s first medical examination.

For operations not requiring a medical certificate a student pilot certificate can be issued by an FAA inspector or an FAA-designated pilot examiner.

The student pilot certificate is only required when exercising solo flight privileges.

The student certificate is valid until the last day of the month either 24 months ( older than 40 ) or 60 months ( younger than 40 ) after it was issued.

Once a student has accrued sufficient training and experience, a CFI can endorse the student's certificate to authorize limited solo flight in a specific type ( make and model ).

Additional endorsements must be logged for specific airports that a student will operate at while solo.