vocabulary - Word to make a distinction between license as a concept and a license held

What would you call a pilot's license as a concept, and what would you call a license that the pilot is actually holding in his hand?

For instance, a pilot may acquire a Private Pilot License (PPL). There is a series of requirements to obtaining this license. I consider this to be the concept of a PPL. When a pilot passes the test, he is issued the actual license, the one he can hold in his hand.

While the difference might be negligible, for the purpose of identifying concepts that make up the domain model in a software application, it would be highly preferable to have two separate words describing them.

I myself would call the concept a license, and the actual license an issuance, but since I am not a native speaker of English, I am not sure that this is correct.

Answer

I would consider the physical artifact a license and the fact of his being licensed as a licensure.