Join as ATC

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to consider joining the Virtual Air Traffic Simulation Network's USA Division (VATUSA). This network represents the single, most complex airspace in the world featuring 2015's world's most busiest airport, and 4 of the top 10 (according to Airports Council International). Each day, on average, over 2,000,000 passengers traverse across the US airspace on Air Transport (followed by China at just over 1 million, and the UK at 350,000).

How do I become a controller in VATUSA?
  1. Join VATSIM at www.vatsim.net
  2. Join the North America region - United States Division. If you are a VATSIM member, but not yet a member of VATUSA, there are two options:
    • If you are a member of the North America region, but different division like VATCAN or VATCAR, please email vatusa1@vatusa.net to continue.
    • If you are a member of a different region, head over to Region Change Request and fill out the form. This process is not immediate and can take 4-7 days to complete.
  3. After you join the VATUSA division, you must complete the "Basic/S1 Exam." Click on the "Assign Basic ATC Exam" under "My VATUSA" to be assigned the exam. If it's already assigned, that link will not appear. Go to "Exam Center" under "My VATUSA". Before you complete the exam, you must complete the "Block 1 - Basic ATC/S1" Computer Based Training (CBT) course. This can be found at https://www.vatusa.net/cbt. ALL items under Block 1 must be checked complete before you will be permitted to start the exam.
  4. After completing the initial exam, you will be able to join your first facility. VATUSA is made up of 21 ARTCCs and 1 CCF [realworld FAA includes 2 CENRAPs, Guam which is under jurisdiction of Honolulu Combined Control Facility and San Juan CENRAP which is part of VATCAR on VATSIM]. To join your first facility, go to "My VATUSA" in the Navigation Bar, then select "Join Facility".
  5. Before you will obtain your S1 rating, you must complete training and an over-the-shoulder examination at your initial facility. After joining, the process will be explained to you further.

Join as Pilot

To join a pilot, all you need is a VATSIM account. For more information, see VATSIM's Getting Started page.