Pilot License Requirements: Age, Hours, Medical & Tests

Dreaming of soaring the skies? Understanding pilot license requirements is your first step to becoming a certified pilot. From student certificates to airline transport licenses, this guide breaks down every essential requirement, flight hour, and test you need to know. Ready to take off on your aviation journey? Keep reading!

Answer First: What Are the Basic Pilot License Requirements in the US?

Before we get started, let me give you a quick rundown of what you need to do to get a pilot license in the States. To be honest, the requirements are pretty specific and vary depending on the type of cert you're going for.

You must:

• Meet minimum age thresholds (ranging from 14 to 23 depending on the certificate)

• Pass an FAA medical certificate exam (often a third class medical certificate for beginners)

• Complete ground school covering aeronautical knowledge

• Log the required hours of flight time (dual instruction and solo)

• Pass a written knowledge test

• Pass an oral and practical checkride with a Designated Pilot Examiner under 14 CFR Part 61

The Federal Aviation Administration issues six main pilot certificates: student, sport, recreational, private, commercial, and airline transport. Here is how they stack up at a glance:

Most people start out with a student pilot certificate and work their way up. This article focuses on private pilot license requirements and how they tie in to a commercial pilot license, flight instructor certificate and an airline career.

Types of FAA Pilot Licenses and Their Requirements

The FAA officially uses the term pilot certificate, although “pilot license” is commonly used to describe the same credential. The main certificate levels for airplane pilots are compared below.

Minimum Age and English Language Requirements

Age and language are the first gatekeeping requirements for any pilot certificate under FAA rules.

FAA minimum ages by certificate:

• 14 years old - Student pilot certificate for gliders or balloons

• 16 years old - Student pilot certificate for airplanes (a student pilot certificate requires applicants to be at least 16 years old)

• 17 years old - Sport pilot, recreational pilot, and private pilot certificate (candidates must be at least 17 years old for a PPL)

• 18 years old - Commercial pilot certificate

• 23 years old - Unrestricted airline transport pilot certificate

English proficiency: Pilots must demonstrate English proficiency at ICAO Level 4 or above. Every applicant must be able to read, speak, write, and understand English. If a medical condition prevents meeting this standard, the FAA may place operational limitations on the certificate.

You can start training before reaching these minimum ages - discovery flights, early ground school, and dual instruction are all possible - but solo flight and pilot certification require meeting the age thresholds.

Medical Certificate Requirements for Different Pilot Licenses

All pilots must hold a valid medical certificate to fly aircraft (with narrow exceptions). The FAA uses three classes of medical certificates, each with different standards:

• First Class - Most stringent. Required for airline transport pilot operations.

• Second Class - Required for exercising commercial pilot privileges in most jobs.

• Third Class - Required for private pilot, recreational pilot, and student pilot solo flight.

A third-class medical certificate is required for private pilot training and private pilots in general. A medical certificate is not required for glider or balloon pilots under certain conditions.

Renewal periods matter. Medical certificates must be renewed every 24 or 60 months depending on age and class:

• Pilots under 40 renew their third-class medical every 60 months

• Pilots over 40 must renew their third-class medical every 24 months

• First and second class certificates have shorter validity when exercising higher-privilege operations

Sport pilot exception: Sport pilots can use a valid US driver's license instead of an FAA medical certificate, as long as they have never been denied or had a medical revoked. This is one of the biggest draws of the sport pilot certificate.

BasicMed allows certain pilots to fly without holding an FAA medical certificate under specific conditions, provided they complete an online medical education course and get a physical exam from a state-licensed physician.

You need a medical certificate from an aviation medical examiner before your first solo flight. If you have a health concern vision correction, past surgeries, medications schedule an AME appointment early. Special issuance pathways exist for many conditions, but they take time.

Knowledge Test and Checkride Requirements

To get your private pilots license you've got to go through some hoops first you've got to do some ground training, pass the FAA knowledge test and then prove yourself in the air with a checkride.

The ground training part can be done a few different ways you can attend an instructor led course, do an online program, or go it alone through self-study. It's a pretty broad syllabus you've got to get on top of federal aviation regulations, understand weather and navigation systems and also get a feel for aircraft systems, flight planning, aerodynamics and aeronautical decision making before you can even think about sitting the knowledge test.

A structured pilot study guide can help you organize these subjects, track your progress, and prepare for practice exams before requesting an instructor endorsement.

But before you can take the test, you'll need an endorsement from an instructor saying you're ready for the exam.

The FAA private pilot's knowledge test itself is a computer based multiple choice thing, and you need to get 70% to pass the result is good for 24 months.

After you've done your flight training and got an instructor to vouch for you, then you've got to go through the official checkride. And it's not just a case of passing the test, you've got to pass it in the air as well and that's going to be done by a FAA inspector or a Designated Pilot Examiner.

What you have to do in the checkride is:

• The oral bit, where they quiz you on regulations, weather, aircraft performance, flight planning and safety

• And the flight bit, where they watch you taking off and landing, navigating, doing a stall, dealing with emergencies, and making some aeronautical decisions

The FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS) is what they use to decide whether you pass or not. If you achieve successful completion of both the oral and flight portions, you get a temporary license while your proper one is on its way.

Student Pilot Certificate: Your First Official Step

Nearly everyone who wants a pilot's license for airplanes begins with the FAA student pilot certificate. It is the only powered aircraft certificate that exists purely as a gateway to higher credentials.

Requirements:

• Minimum age 16 for airplanes (14 for gliders/balloons)

• English proficiency

• Proof of identity and citizenship/residency

• Typically apply for a class medical certificate at the same time

Submit your application through the IACRA system (Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application) with the help of a certified flight instructor, Designated Pilot Examiner, or your local Flight Standards District Office.

A student pilot certificate is required before solo flights. Student pilots cannot carry passengers until they receive endorsements for solo flight and even then, endorsements are limited to specific make/model aircraft and geographic areas. Each solo cross country flight also requires a separate instructor sign-off.

The plastic student pilot certificate typically arrives by mail within a few weeks, but you can begin flight instruction with a certified flight instructor immediately. Dual instruction does not require the physical card in hand.

Private Pilot License Requirements and Flight Hours

The private pilot certificate is the most common starting point for people who want to become a pilot in the U.S., with private pilot certification serving as the foundation for advanced ratings and professional pilot training.

Under 14 CFR §61.103, applicants for a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating must:

• Be at least 17 years old

• Be able to read, speak, write, and understand English

• Hold a U.S. student, sport, or recreational pilot certificate

• Complete the required ground and flight training

• Receive instructor endorsements for the knowledge and practical tests

• Pass the FAA knowledge test and practical test

• Meet the applicable aeronautical experience requirements

Applicants generally also need at least a third-class FAA medical certificate before flying solo in an airplane.

Required Flight Hours

Under 14 CFR §61.109(a), Part 61 applicants must log at least 40 hours of flight time, including:

• 20 hours of flight training with an authorized instructor

• 10 hours of solo flight

• 3 hours of cross-country flight training

• 3 hours of night training, including one cross-country flight of more than 100 nautical miles and 10 full-stop takeoffs and landings

• 3 hours of instrument flight training

• 3 hours of checkride preparation within the preceding two calendar months

• 5 hours of solo cross-country flight

• One solo cross-country flight of at least 150 nautical miles, with full-stop landings at three locations and one segment exceeding 50 nautical miles

• Three full-stop takeoffs and landings at an airport with an operating control tower

If you go to an FAA-certified Part 141 flight school, the minimum can drop to 35 hours as long as you follow a structured program. And even though the minimum is 40 hours, the national average for a Private Pilot License is typically 60 to 75 hours.

Note : some of the original text was rephrased but still has the same content; some sections were rewritten to have a more human tone

What You Can Do With a Private Pilot Certificate

A private pilot certificate unlocks a wide range of personal flying opportunities. You can fly aircraft across the country, take friends and family on trips, and operate in and out of any civil airport for which you are rated and endorsed. A Recreational Pilot Certificate, by contrast, limits flying to a 50 nautical mile radius from the departure airport.

Private pilot privileges include:

• Acting as pilot-in-command of aircraft in your rated category and class

• Day and night VFR flight

• Cross country flight anywhere in the US (and internationally with proper planning)

• Sharing pro-rata operating expenses with passengers - private pilots can share certain operating expenses with passengers but cannot receive payment for flying (fuel, oil, aircraft rental, and landing fees can be split)

• Carrying passengers (provided currency requirements are met)

Limitations:

• No acting as pilot-in-command for compensation or hire

• No holding out to the public as a commercial operator

• Must maintain currency: at least 3 takeoffs and landings in the past 90 days to carry passengers (night takeoffs and landings if flying at night)

• Flight review every 24 calendar months

There are narrow exceptions allowing private pilots to fly for charity events, community benefit flights, or certain nonprofit operations with limited reimbursements. They may also take part in search and location operations when operating under the sanction of a public or private agency and receiving only allowable reimbursement. But these are tightly regulated.

Many pilots use the private pilot license as the stepping stone to an instrument rating and commercial pilot license CPL for a professional pilot career.

Commercial Pilot License (CPL) Requirements

A commercial pilot certificate allows a pilot to be paid for certain flight operations, subject to applicable FAA regulations.

Under 14 CFR §61.123, applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years old

• Be able to read, speak, write, and understand English

• Hold at least a private pilot certificate

• Complete the required ground and flight training

• Receive the required instructor endorsements

• Pass the FAA knowledge and practical tests

• Meet the applicable flight-experience requirements

A second-class medical certificate is generally required when exercising commercial pilot privileges.

Required Commercial Pilot Flight Hours

For an airplane single-engine rating under Part 61, §61.129(a), applicants must log at least 250 flight hours, including:

• 100 hours in powered aircraft, including 50 hours in airplanes

• 100 hours as pilot in command, including 50 hours in airplanes and 50 hours of cross-country flight

• 20 hours of flight training, including instrument training, training in a complex, turbine-powered, or technically advanced airplane, with features such as retractable landing gear, daytime and nighttime cross-country flights, and checkride preparation

• 10 hours of solo flight or performing pilot-in-command duties with an instructor, including a 300-nautical-mile cross-country flight and five hours of night VFR flying

For a complete breakdown of cross-country, instrument, TAA, night, and solo experience, review the commercial single-engine requirements before planning your training.

FAA-approved Part 141 courses follow different approved experience requirements.

Many commercial pilots also earn a flight instructor certificate to build flight hours toward ATP requirements.

Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Requirements

The airline transport pilot certificate, often referred to as the airline transport pilot license, is the highest-level FAA pilot certification and is generally required for airline pilot positions.

Under 14 CFR §61.153, applicants for a standard airplane ATP certificate must:

• Be at least 23 years old

• Meet FAA English-language and character requirements

• Hold a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating

• Complete an ATP Certification Training Program before taking the multiengine ATP knowledge test

• Pass the ATP knowledge and practical tests

• Meet the required aeronautical experience

ATP pilot-in-command privileges generally require a first-class medical certificate. Most ATP second-in-command privileges require at least a second-class medical certificate.

Required ATP Flight Hours

Under 14 CFR §61.159, a standard airplane ATP certificate requires at least 1,500 total flight hours, including:

• 500 hours of cross-country time

• 100 hours of night flight time

• 75 hours of instrument time

• 250 hours as pilot in command or qualifying supervised second-in-command time, including 100 hours cross-country and 25 hours at night

• 50 hours in the airplane class for the rating sought

Certain applicants may qualify for a Restricted ATP at age 21 with reduced total time: 750 hours for qualifying military pilots, 1,000 hours for graduates of qualifying bachelor’s aviation programs, or 1,250 hours through qualifying associate-degree or aviation-credit pathways. Restricted ATP holders cannot exercise airline pilot-in-command privileges until they meet the requirements for an unrestricted ATP. See 14 CFR §61.160.

How Long Does It Take and How Much Does a Pilot License Cost?

How long you need to train for and how much it'll all cost depends on a handful of factors how often you fly, where you're training, what plane you're using, the path you're taking into aviation careers and the number of hours you need to put in to get to the point where you're ready for the checkride, with light sport aircraft and options for recreational pilots offering a lower-commitment starting point for some people before private training.

• Private pilot license: If you're flying two or three times a week it'll usually take you 3-6 months to qualify for a private license and that's gonna set you back around $15,000-$20,000. You can see a more detailed breakdown of the costs involved in getting a private pilots license here.

• Instrument and commercial training: If you're starting from scratch and aiming to do a program that gets you your instrument rating and commercial pilot license while opening up broader aviation careers, it's normally going to take you 12-24 months to complete and you can expect to shell out anywhere from $70,000 to $110,000 depending on what ratings are included. Keep in mind these numbers don't include living expenses.

• And if you want to qualify for an ATP license it's a little longer still, because you'll need to build up your hours of experience after you've done your commercial training, with the instrument rating preparing you to operate under instrument flight rules and a multi-engine rating often being one of the common steps before airline-track flying.