Copy an IFR Clearance With CRAFT (+ Readback)

A full IFR clearance comes fast and dense. CRAFT is the template that lets you write it down and read it back cleanly, every time. · 7 min read

The first time you hear a full IFR clearance, it feels like a firehose of numbers and names delivered at machine-gun speed. Every instrument student has the same first reaction: total blank. But here is the secret that makes it manageable — a clearance is not random, and it is not fast because the controller is trying to trip you up. It always comes in exactly the same order, every time, at every facility. That fixed order has a name: CRAFT. Once you pre-draw those five letters down the side of your kneeboard and simply fill in the blank next to each one as the controller speaks, the firehose becomes five short, predictable fields.

CRAFT — the five fields, in order

Here is what each letter means and the shorthand most pilots scribble so they can write at the speed ATC talks:

• C — Clearance limit: the point you are cleared TO, almost always your destination airport. Shorthand: the airport identifier ("SAC").
• R — Route: how you get there. Usually "as filed" (the route you put in your flight plan), sometimes a specific departure procedure or amended routing. Shorthand: "AF" for as filed.
• A — Altitude: your initial altitude and often an "expect" higher one later. "Climb and maintain 4,000, expect 8,000 one-zero minutes after departure." Shorthand: "4 → 8/10."
• F — Frequency: the departure control frequency you will contact after takeoff. Shorthand: just the number ("121.3").
• T — Transponder: your discrete squawk code. Shorthand: the four digits ("4271").

That is the whole thing — five fields, always in that order. There is nothing else hiding in a clearance. Knowing that the very next thing after the route will always be an altitude, and the thing after that will always be a frequency, lets your brain get ahead of the controller instead of chasing them.

What you hear

Here is a complete clearance delivered the way you will actually hear it. Read it and try to catch each CRAFT field as it goes by:

How you read it back

Read it back in the same CRAFT order. You do not have to parrot every filler word the controller used — you need the substance: the clearance limit, the route, the altitudes (both the initial and the "expect"), the frequency, and the squawk. End with your callsign:

When your readback is correct and complete, the controller confirms with "readback correct." That two-word phrase is your green light — it means you both agree on the clearance. If you got something wrong, they will correct just that piece, and you read back the correction.

How to keep up when you fall behind

You will fall behind sometimes, especially early. That is completely normal and there is a clean fix: ask for the specific piece you missed. "Say again the altitude, Five-Two-Kilo." Controllers issue clearances all day and fully expect this; a targeted "say again" is far better — and far more professional — than a confident but wrong readback. Two more habits that help: (1) always copy a clearance with the airplane stopped and the brakes set, never while taxiing; and (2) if you know the field, pre-fill the fields you can guess (the route will almost always be "as filed," the frequency and destination you already know) so you are only actually copying the altitude and squawk in real time.

Phraseology sourced from the FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (Change 3, effective 9 July 2026) and the Pilot/Controller Glossary. Check the AIM · Last reviewed 13 August 2026.