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Private pilot · ACS PA.I.A

Pilot Qualifications

This is about you: can you legally act as pilot in command today, with these passengers, in this airplane?

Know the rules well enough to check them on yourself before every flight. Currency is the legal minimum; proficiency is whether you're actually sharp.

Why this one matters

The pilot is the first item on every risk assessment. Being legal on paper and being ready are different things: currency is a floor, and a rusty pilot, a pilot new to an airplane, or a pilot flying with an illness or medication is a risk the paperwork won't catch. This task builds the habit of checking yourself honestly before every flight.

Can’t miss

  • •To act as pilot in command, carry your pilot certificate, a photo ID, and your medical certificate (or, under BasicMed, a valid U.S. driver's license, with your CMEC and course certificate in your logbook).(14 CFR 61.3)
  • •Flight review: within the preceding 24 calendar months.(14 CFR 61.56)
  • •To carry passengers: 3 takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days, same category and class (full stop in a tailwheel).(14 CFR 61.57(a))
  • •To carry passengers at night: 3 takeoffs and full-stop landings between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise, in the preceding 90 days.(14 CFR 61.57(b))
  • •No flying for compensation or hire; you may share costs but must pay at least your pro rata share.(14 CFR 61.113)
  • •For private privileges a medical is valid 60 calendar months if you were under 40 at the exam, 24 if you were 40 or older.(14 CFR 61.23(d))
  • •Don't fly with a medical condition or medication that would keep you from meeting the medical standards; no alcohol within 8 hours or at 0.04 or above.(14 CFR 61.53, 91.17)

What you should know

Documents you must have with you K4

  • Your pilot certificate.(14 CFR 61.3(a))
  • A photo ID: a driver's license, passport, military ID or another government-issued photo ID.(14 CFR 61.3(a)(2))
  • Your medical certificate, or, flying under BasicMed, a valid U.S. driver's license (and you meet the BasicMed conditions below).(14 CFR 61.3(c), 61.113(i))
  • A private pilot does not have to carry the logbook, but must show it on reasonable request by the FAA, the NTSB or law enforcement. (A student pilot carries it on solo cross-countries.)(14 CFR 61.51(i))
  • In practice, the logbook is how you prove everything else in this lesson: your flight review, your recent landings and your endorsements all live there. Keep it complete and signed.(14 CFR 61.51)
  • Your pilot certificate does not expire. Your privileges depend on a current medical (or BasicMed), a flight review and recent experience.(14 CFR 61.19)

Before the checkride: proving you are eligible K1

  • To take the practical test you need: the knowledge test passed within the preceding 24 calendar months, the aeronautical experience for the certificate, at least a third class medical (if the certificate requires one), the minimum age, and a completed application (IACRA).(14 CFR 61.39(a), 61.13)
  • You also need an endorsement from your instructor that you received the required training within the preceding 2 calendar months and are prepared for the test, plus an endorsement that you were trained on the areas your knowledge test report shows as deficient.(14 CFR 61.39(a)(6); AC 61-65)
  • Bring the proof: photo ID, your knowledge test report, your logbook with every required endorsement signed and dated, and the airplane's documents. Missing or unsigned paperwork stops a checkride before it starts.(14 CFR 61.39, 61.51; AC 61-65)
  • The eligibility numbers: at least 17 years old for an airplane rating (16 for glider or balloon), able to read, speak, write and understand English, and the 61.109(a) experience for single-engine land: at least 40 hours total, including 20 hours of flight training and 10 hours solo.(14 CFR 61.103(a), (c); 61.109(a))
  • The 20 hours of training include 3 hours of cross-country, 3 hours at night (with a cross-country over 100 nm and 10 full-stop takeoffs and landings), 3 hours by reference to instruments, and 3 hours of test preparation within the 2 calendar months before the test. The 10 solo hours include 5 hours of solo cross-country, one solo cross-country of at least 150 nm total with full-stop landings at three points, and 3 solo takeoffs and landings at an airport with an operating tower. An approved Part 141 course can require 35 hours.(14 CFR 61.109(a); Part 141, Appendix B)

Staying current K1 · R1

  • Flight review: within the preceding 24 calendar months, at least 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training with an authorized instructor, logged and endorsed. Passing a practical test for a certificate or rating also counts.(14 CFR 61.56)
  • To carry passengers: 3 takeoffs and 3 landings within the preceding 90 days, as sole manipulator of the controls, in the same category and class (and type, if a type rating is required). In a tailwheel airplane, the landings must be to a full stop.(14 CFR 61.57(a))
  • To carry passengers at night (from 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise): 3 takeoffs and 3 landings to a full stop during that period, within the preceding 90 days.(14 CFR 61.57(b))
  • Change of address: tell the FAA within 30 days of moving, or you may not exercise your privileges after that.(14 CFR 61.60)
  • Currency is the legal minimum. Proficiency is being sharp enough for this flight, these conditions and these passengers. Many pilots set personal minimums above the legal ones.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Other things that satisfy the flight review within the 24 calendar months: passing a practical test or proficiency check for a certificate, rating or operating privilege, or completing a phase of the FAA WINGS program. A CFI who has completed a CFI renewal is excused only the ground hour.(14 CFR 61.56(c)-(f))
  • Two separate gates: a current flight review lets you act as pilot in command (alone); carrying passengers also needs the 90-day takeoffs and landings, in the same category, class and type if a type rating is required, and the night full-stop rule for night passengers. Meeting one doesn't meet the other.(14 CFR 61.56; 61.57(a)-(b))

Privileges and limitations K2

  • You may not act as pilot in command for compensation or hire, or carry passengers or property for compensation or hire.(14 CFR 61.113(a))
  • You may share operating expenses with passengers (fuel, oil, airport fees, rental), but you must pay at least your pro rata share, and the flight must be one you have your own reason to make.(14 CFR 61.113(c))
  • You may fly for a business if the flight is only incidental to that business and you carry no passengers or property for compensation or hire.(14 CFR 61.113(b))
  • Other narrow exceptions exist: charitable flights (with at least 500 hours), search and location, aircraft sales demonstrations (with at least 200 hours), and towing gliders.(14 CFR 61.113(d)-(g))
  • Some airplanes need an extra one-time endorsement: complex (retractable gear, flaps and a controllable-pitch propeller), high-performance (more than 200 horsepower), tailwheel.(14 CFR 61.31(e), (f), (i))
  • Expense sharing has three legs: you pay at least your pro rata share of fuel, oil, airport fees or rental; you share a real common purpose (you have your own reason to go); and you don't hold out. Advertising seats or offering the flight to the public makes it illegal common carriage even with costs split evenly.(14 CFR 61.113(c); AC 61-142)
  • The exceptions come with conditions. Charitable flights (91.146): at least 500 hours, day VFR, nonstop, within 25 statute miles of the departure airport, the sponsor notifies the FAA, a standard airworthiness certificate, and only pro rata reimbursement. Search and location: only reimbursement of fuel, oil, airport expenses or rental, and only for an operation sanctioned and directed by a government agency or search organization. Aircraft sales demonstration: a salesperson with at least 200 hours. Glider or unpowered ultralight towing: only meeting 61.69. Production flight tests of a light-sport aircraft: at least 100 hours as pilot in command.(14 CFR 61.113(d)-(h); 91.146; 61.69)
  • Each endorsement (complex, high-performance, tailwheel) needs ground and flight training from an authorized instructor, logged, and the instructor's finding that you're proficient, signed in your logbook. A club or insurance checkout is a separate, non-FAA requirement and doesn't replace it.(14 CFR 61.31(e), (f), (i))

Medical certificates K3

  • There are first, second and third class medicals. A private pilot needs at least a third class (or BasicMed).(14 CFR 61.23(a)(3))
  • For private pilot privileges, any class is valid for 60 calendar months if you were under 40 on the exam date, or 24 calendar months if you were 40 or older.(14 CFR 61.23(d))
  • You may not act as pilot in command while you know, or have reason to know, of a medical condition that would make you unable to meet the medical standards, or while taking medication or treatment for one. Your certificate in your wallet doesn't override how you feel today.(14 CFR 61.53)
  • Alcohol: not within 8 hours of drinking, not while under the influence, and not with a blood alcohol of 0.04 or more. Many pilots use a longer personal limit.(14 CFR 91.17)
  • Higher classes step down: a first or second class medical keeps those privileges only for their shorter durations; after that it is still good for private privileges for the rest of the 60 (or 24) months, as a third class. You don't keep first-class privileges for the full 60 months.(14 CFR 61.23(d); PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors)

BasicMed K5

  • Eligibility: you must have held a Part 67 medical certificate at any time after July 14, 2006; your most recently issued medical must not have been suspended or revoked; your most recent special-issuance authorization must not have been withdrawn; and your most recent medical application must not have been completed and denied.(14 CFR 61.23(c)(3))
  • If you’ve been diagnosed with one of the mental-health, cardiovascular or neurological conditions listed in Part 68, you must first complete a one-time special-issuance process with the FAA for that condition before flying under BasicMed.(14 CFR 68.9; 61.23(c)(3))
  • You need a valid U.S. driver's license (and you comply with any medical restrictions on it), an exam by a state-licensed physician using the Comprehensive Medical Examination Checklist (CMEC) within the preceding 48 calendar months, and the BasicMed medical education course within the preceding 24 calendar months. Both are calendar-month clocks: a course completed March 10 is good through the end of March two years later.(14 CFR 61.23(c)(3), Part 68, AC 68-1)
  • Keep the proof in your logbook (paper or electronic): the completed CMEC and the course-completion certificate. Your driver’s license alone doesn’t show you qualify.(14 CFR 61.113(i)(3); 68.7)
  • The aircraft test: the aircraft must be authorized under federal law to carry no more than 7 occupants and have a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 12,500 pounds (not a transport-category rotorcraft certificated under Part 29). It’s about how the aircraft is certificated: flying it light or taking seats out doesn’t qualify a bigger one.(14 CFR 61.113(i)(1))
  • The flight test: no more than 6 passengers on board; at or below 18,000 feet MSL; at or below 250 knots indicated; not for compensation or hire; and not outside the United States unless the country you fly in authorizes it (Mexico and the Bahamas do).(14 CFR 61.113(i)(1)-(2))
  • These are the current limits, raised by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 and written into the regulation effective November 18, 2024 (before that: 6 occupants, 5 passengers, 6,000 pounds). The printed CMEC form (FAA Form 8700-2) may still show the old 6-occupant, 6,000-pound figures; the regulation controls. Checked against 61.113(i) on 2026-11-12.(14 CFR 61.113(i); Regulatory Updates to BasicMed, 89 FR 90577)
  • BasicMed covers private-pilot privileges only. A commercial pilot can fly under BasicMed when exercising only private privileges; it’s the privileges you use, not the certificate you hold. A flight instructor acting as PIC under BasicMed may be paid for the instruction they give, within all the BasicMed limits, but the flight itself is still not operated for compensation or hire. BasicMed can also cover a safety pilot or other required crewmember, and an examiner, within the same limits.(14 CFR 61.23(a)-(c); 61.113(i))
  • If you've been diagnosed with any medical condition that may affect your ability to fly, you must be under the care and treatment of a state-licensed physician for it while flying under BasicMed. The online course also has you consent to a National Driver Register check.(14 CFR 61.23(c)(3)(i)(E); 68.3)
  • Outside the United States: Mexico and the Bahamas accept BasicMed; Canada does not. Flying to Canada needs a Part 67 medical certificate.(14 CFR 61.113(i); FAA BasicMed FAQ; AC 68-1)

Unfamiliar airplanes and avionics R2 · S1

  • Being legal in a category and class doesn't make you ready for every airplane in it. Before flying an unfamiliar airplane or a new avionics setup, read the POH and get a checkout with an instructor.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
  • Rental clubs and insurers often require a checkout and a minimum time in type. That is a good floor, not a ceiling.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C))
  • The same applies to unfamiliar flight displays and avionics, not just airplanes: get training on the installed system, read its manual and know its failure modes, and don't learn a new display for the first time in flight with passengers.(FAA-S-ACS-6C, PA.I.A.R2; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments)

Scenarios

Decide what you would do first, then see the worked answer.

A friend wants to go to the beach for the day and offers to pay for all the fuel if you fly them.

Can you accept? See the worked answer

No. You can share expenses, but you must pay at least your pro rata share: with one passenger, at least half. It must be a trip you have your own reason to make, and you can't hold it out to others: posting the seat to strangers online would make it illegal common carriage even with costs split evenly. Letting them pay for everything is flying for compensation.

14 CFR 61.113(c)

Your last landing was 95 days ago. Tonight, after sunset, you want to take your sister flying.

What do you need to do first? See the worked answer

You are not current to carry passengers: the 3 takeoffs and landings must be within the preceding 90 days. Since it is at night, they must be 3 full-stop landings between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise. Go fly them solo first. Then ask yourself whether you are proficient, not just current.

14 CFR 61.57(a), (b)

You are 42. You got a third class medical when you were 38, three years ago.

Is it still valid for private pilot privileges? See the worked answer

Yes. You were under 40 on the exam date, so it is valid for 60 calendar months, through the end of the 60th month after the exam.

14 CFR 61.23(d)

You took a cold medicine this morning that says it may cause drowsiness. You feel fine.

Do you fly this afternoon? See the worked answer

No. You may not act as pilot in command while taking a medication that could make you unable to meet the medical standards, and many over-the-counter drugs affect you in ways you can't feel. Wait until it is fully out of your system, and ask an AME if you're unsure.

14 CFR 61.53; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aeromedical Factors

You arrive to take a friend flying and realize your flight review was flown, but your instructor never signed the logbook endorsement.

Can you take your friend today? See the worked answer

No. Without the endorsement you have no proof the flight review was completed, so you are not able to act as pilot in command. Call your instructor to get it signed before you fly. It is a phone call, not a judgment call.

14 CFR 61.56(c), 61.51

You trained in a 172. The club offers you a Cessna 182 with a 230-horsepower engine.

What do you need before you take it? See the worked answer

A one-time high-performance endorsement, because it has more than 200 horsepower: ground and flight training from an authorized instructor, logged, and their endorsement that you are proficient. The club checkout is separate and doesn't replace it. It is not a complex airplane: the gear is fixed.

14 CFR 61.31(f)

Common mistakes

  • Treating "current" as "ready".

    Currency only says you did three landings recently. It says nothing about crosswinds, night, or an airplane you haven't flown in months.

    Instead: Set personal minimums above the legal ones, and fly with an instructor when you are rusty on a condition.

  • Counting touch-and-goes toward night passenger currency.

    Night currency needs full-stop landings during the night period; touch-and-goes don't count.

    Instead: Log three full-stop landings between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise.

  • Letting passengers cover the whole cost.

    Paying less than your pro rata share is flying for compensation, which a private certificate doesn't allow.

    Instead: Split costs evenly with your passengers, and only for a trip you'd make anyway.

  • Assuming a valid medical certificate means you are fit today.

    The certificate shows you met the standards on exam day. Illness and medication today can take you below them.

    Instead: Self-assess before every flight, and ground yourself when in doubt.

Now train it

Say it out loud, hear it asked, and take the quick check in this lesson’s practice pack. It tracks your shaky spots.

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Sources

  • 14 CFR Part 61: 61.3, 61.19, 61.23, 61.31, 61.39, 61.51, 61.53, 61.56, 61.57, 61.60, 61.113
  • AC 61-65: Certification: pilots and flight and ground instructors (endorsements)
  • 14 CFR Part 68 (BasicMed); AC 68-1
  • 14 CFR 91.17
  • Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A)
  • Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C): Aeromedical Factors

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Regulations change; check the current text at eCFR and the ACS. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.