Thanks for all the advice, I must have paid by credit card for the A&P.
I did mention,
several here will have a FAA licence in the 'back pocket'
The FAA certificates are easy to obtain and many guys will just have them. Some here would have held them for 20 or 30 years or more.
I guess it is similar to the way you accumulate Kiribati, Fijian, Kenyan etc licences, having said that it is nice to keep some of them current.
Until recently the FAA certificates just required a correct mailing address.... Many people travelling about the world would just use their parents' address.
You don't need junk mail, bank statements, and indeed most other mail forwarded on to Arusha, Maun, Betio, Balikpapan or wherever else you happen to be working that month. (Truth is little would get there anyway).
Mostly the FAA certificates are rarely used and not a high priority in the scheme of things....
Many here may have picked them up while doing rating courses or whatever in the States.
This is a Forum for Australasians (Downunder, Godzone and the Pacific) and I just mentioned it here because many are possibly unaware still, we have our own concerns with Trans Tasman Mutual Agreements and the new Part 66 Australian licence issue.
The likelihood of anyone actually utilising an obsolete paper FAA certificate would be pretty slim. The rule books and websites would be well consulted before the holder intended utilising it.
I am pretty sure there will be a few $2 bank checks heading towards the FAA coffers in the coming weeks. Most here would have the FAA Certificates issued on the basis of a NZ or Australian licence I suspect.
The admin costs involved will make it a $30 exercise for many... but still well worth doing.
Thanks again for the input, it certainly helped me a lot.