Learn ATC / Approach control

ATC holding instructions and EFC times

July 29, 2026 · FAA IFR holding · JO 7110.65 4-6-1 and 4-6-4

TL;DR — SIX THINGS TO CHECK

For an unpublished hold, give the direction, fix, inbound course or route, leg length when required, left turns when nonstandard, and an EFC time when delay is expected.
A charted hold can usually become “hold [direction] as published.” An EFC tells the pilot when to expect the next clearance; it does not itself clear the aircraft to leave the hold.

A holding clearance has to describe one protected racetrack so clearly that the pilot can build it before reaching the fix. The difficult part is not memorizing the words. It is knowing which details are already published, which ones ATC must supply, and whether the pilot read back the same geometry and time you intended.

The picture behind the words

One possible unpublished hold. “West” locates the racetrack relative to the fix; “inbound course 090” defines the track back to the fix.

What a complete unpublished hold contains

FAA JO 7110.65 4-6-4 lists the holding elements. In controller working order, think of them as one clearance limit followed by a geometric description:

Element	Controller question	Example
Clearance limit / fix	Where must the aircraft stop progressing?	Cleared to SAYAE
Direction	On which side of the fix is the racetrack?	Hold west
Course or route	What is the inbound track back to the fix?	On the 090 course
Leg	How long is the DME/RNAV leg?	Five-mile legs
Turns	Is the pattern nonstandard?	Left turns; right is standard
EFC	When should the pilot expect the next clearance?	Expect further clearance 2015

The fix can be omitted from the holding phrase when it was already stated as the clearance limit. Leg length is normally stated in miles for a DME or RNAV hold. The direction of turn only has to be stated for left turns, when the pilot requests it, or when the controller considers it necessary. Saying “right turns” can still be useful in training, but silence means the standard right-turn pattern.

APPROACH — COMPLETE UNPUBLISHED HOLD “November eight three eight Tango Kilo, cleared to SAYAE. Hold west of SAYAE on the zero niner zero course, five-mile legs, right turns. Maintain five thousand. Expect further clearance two zero one five.”

Published hold: what “as published” replaces

If the assigned procedure or route contains a charted holding pattern, ATC may omit the full geometry. The controller still gives the holding direction and says “as published.” A pilot may request complete instructions, in which case the controller must provide them.

APPROACH — CHARTED HOLD “November eight three eight Tango Kilo, cleared to DREWE. Hold west as published. Maintain five thousand. Expect further clearance two zero one five.”

“As published” is not a shortcut for an arbitrary hold drawn in the automation. The pattern must actually be part of the assigned procedure or route. If it is not charted for the pilot, issue the complete direction, course, leg and any nonstandard turns.

What an EFC time means

EFC means Expect Further Clearance. The FAA Pilot/Controller Glossary defines it as the time at which a pilot can expect clearance beyond the current clearance limit. It is planning information and a communications-failure reference; it is not a clearance to leave the racetrack during normal communications.

Delay expected: issue an EFC and the best available additional delay information.
No delay expected: do not invent an EFC. “Cleared to [fix], no delay expected” may be used, and onward clearance should follow as soon as possible.
Estimate changes: issue a new EFC before the old one becomes stale. The pilot remains in the hold until receiving an onward clearance.
Delay cannot yet be estimated: use “delay indefinite,” give the reason if known, and still provide the best EFC time available.

APPROACH — EFC AMENDMENT “November eight three eight Tango Kilo, expect further clearance two zero two five.”

Do not confuse EFC with EDCT. An EFC concerns clearance beyond an airborne clearance limit. An Expect Departure Clearance Time is a traffic-management runway release time assigned before departure.

Give the hold before the pilot reaches the fix

When delay is expected, JO 7110.65 calls for the clearance limit, holding instructions and EFC at least five minutes before the estimated arrival at the fix whenever possible. If the need develops inside five minutes, issue them immediately. Advance notice gives the crew time to load the hold and reduce speed.

The AIM tells pilots with advance notice to be at or below the applicable maximum holding speed before crossing the fix. Its general fixed-wing maxima are 200 KIAS through 6,000 feet, 230 KIAS from 6,001 through 14,000 feet, and 265 KIAS above 14,000 feet, unless a charted or specifically advised restriction applies. A hold is protected airspace, not an unlimited oval: excessive speed can carry the aircraft outside it.

Read the pilot's answer as a checksum

A polished readback can still describe the wrong racetrack. Check each item against the strip or automation rather than listening only for the callsign:

Fix: did the pilot name the correct clearance limit?
Direction: west is not east, and it determines which side is protected.
Inbound course: a reciprocal error rotates the entire pattern.
Turns: a missed “left turns” converts a nonstandard hold to standard.
Altitude: make sure the assigned level survived the long transmission.
EFC: catch swapped digits and amend the time when the plan changes.

BAD READBACK — CORRECT IT Pilot: “Hold west of SAYAE on the zero niner zero course, left turns, EFC two zero one five.”
ATC: “November eight three eight Tango Kilo, negative, right turns.”

Common controller mistakes

“Hold at SAYAE” and nothing else. That only works when the missing pattern is genuinely published and assigned—and even then, use the prescribed direction and “as published.”
Direction and inbound course treated as the same thing. One locates the racetrack; the other orients its inbound leg.
No EFC during an expected delay. The pilot needs a planning time and ATC must provide its best estimate.
Letting the EFC expire silently. Update it while the pilot still has a believable plan.
Using an EFC as an automatic release. Under normal communications, issue an explicit clearance beyond the fix before the aircraft leaves the hold.
Waiting until the fix to issue a complex hold. The aircraft also has to slow, program and brief; late instructions create avoidable workload and errors.

A five-minute controller drill

Start the free guided Radar session or an APP/DEP session at KSAN.
Select an arrival before it reaches the approach sequence.
Issue one hold at a published fix with an EFC time.
Watch the target enter the racetrack and verify the hold status on the strip.
Amend the EFC without rebuilding the hold, then clear the aircraft onward with a vector, direct-to instruction or approach sequence.

Primary references: FAA JO 7110.65, Chapter 4 Section 6 (clearance limits, EFC and holding phraseology), Aeronautical Information Manual 5-3-8 (pilot procedures, entries and speeds), and the FAA Pilot/Controller Glossary (EFC definition). Always use current charts, facility directives and training material; this diagram is not for navigation.

Practise holding on a live radar scope

The free guided Radar shift introduces the same APP/DEP scope, fixes and spoken readbacks. In free play, issue holds, amend EFC times and then recover the arrival into the approach sequence. KSAN is free in the browser.

START RADAR TRAINING