Definition
An IFR clearance issued by ATC to a departing aircraft that authorizes flight only to a specified intermediate fix or point short of the filed destination, with the remainder of the route to be issued by ATC at a later time, usually while the aircraft is airborne.
Plain English
A clearance that lets you take off and fly part of your planned route now, with the rest of the route given to you later, once you are flying.
Context Anchor
Used during IFR departures when clearance delivery or departure control cannot yet issue the full route clearance to the destination.
Derivation
"Short range" simply means "covering a limited distance." The clearance is short range because it only authorizes the first portion of the flight rather than the entire route to destination.
Why Pilots Care
Lets pilots depart under IFR without delay when a complete route clearance cannot be issued immediately, supporting efficient local or short-hop operations.
Intuition Check
Do not read short range as meaning the aircraft has limited fuel or limited capability. Here it means the ATC authorization is limited to a nearby point, not all the way to the destination.
Example Sentence 1
Clearance Delivery issued a short range clearance to the first fix, advising that the remainder of the route would be issued by Center once airborne.
Example Sentence 2
For the short hop to the practice airport, the pilot accepted a short range clearance instead of a complete IFR routing.