Regulations
The rules examiners ask about most on the private pilot checkride. For each one, know what it says and be ready to find it in the FAR/AIM.
"14 CFR 91.155" means Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 91, section 155. Part 61 covers you as a pilot, Part 91 covers how you fly, Part 43 covers maintenance, and accident reporting is in 49 CFR Part 830.
Acting as pilot in command
"Am I legal to fly today?" usually comes first. Work through it in this order.
What you carry
61.3 Requirement for certificates, ratings, privileges, and authorizations
Your pilot certificate, a government-issued photo ID such as a driver's license, and a medical certificate (or the documents that show you meet BasicMed). Show them to the FAA, NTSB, TSA, or a law enforcement officer who asks.
Medical certificate
61.23 Medical certificates: Requirement and duration
A private pilot needs at least a third-class medical, or must fly under BasicMed. A third-class medical lasts until the end of the 60th calendar month after the exam if you were under 40 on the day of the exam, and until the end of the 24th calendar month if you were 40 or older. A first- or second-class medical works too, and for private pilot privileges it lasts just as long as a third class.
"Calendar month" means it runs through the last day of that month.
Holding a medical isn't enough on its own. 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 its requirements 61.53.
BasicMed
61.113(i) Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command Part 68 Requirements for Operating Certain Small Aircraft Without a Medical Certificate
BasicMed lets you fly without a current FAA medical if you've held one at some point after July 14, 2006, hold a U.S. driver's license, take an online medical course every 24 calendar months, and see a state-licensed physician every 48 months. It limits the airplane's size, how many people are aboard, your altitude, and your speed. These limits were changed in 2024, so look up the current numbers before you rely on them.
Flight review
61.56 Flight review
To act as pilot in command, you need a flight review within the preceding 24 calendar months: at least 1 hour of ground training and 1 hour of flight training with an instructor, who endorses your logbook. Passing a checkride for a new certificate or rating also counts, so your private pilot checkride resets the clock.
Carrying passengers
61.57 Recent flight experience: Pilot in command
To carry passengers, you need 3 takeoffs and 3 landings within the preceding 90 days, as the sole manipulator of the controls, in the same category and class (and type, if one is required). In a tailwheel airplane, the landings must be to a full stop.
To carry passengers at night, the 3 takeoffs and 3 landings must be to a full stop, between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise.
| Rule | Time period |
|---|---|
| Position lights on 91.209 | Sunset to sunrise |
| Logging night time 1.1 | End of evening civil twilight to beginning of morning civil twilight |
| Night passenger currency 61.57(b) | 1 hour after sunset to 1 hour before sunrise |
Endorsements for other airplanes
61.31 Type rating requirements, additional training, and authorization requirements
Each of these takes a one-time logbook endorsement from an instructor before you can act as pilot in command:
- Complex: retractable landing gear, flaps, and a controllable-pitch propeller (or FADEC).
- High performance: an engine of more than 200 horsepower.
- High altitude: a pressurized airplane with a service ceiling or maximum operating altitude above 25,000 feet MSL.
- Tailwheel.
Reporting to the FAA
61.60 Change of address 61.15 Offenses involving alcohol or drugs
- A change of permanent address must be reported within 30 days, or you can't use your certificate until you do 61.60.
- Any alcohol- or drug-related motor vehicle action, such as a DUI conviction or license suspension, must be reported to the FAA's Security and Investigations Division within 60 days 61.15.
Private pilot privileges
61.113 Private pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command
A private pilot may not act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying passengers or property for compensation or hire, or for compensation or hire at all. The FAA reads "compensation" broadly. Logged flight time and goodwill can count.
The exceptions examiners ask about:
- Sharing costs. You may share the operating expenses of a flight with passengers, as long as you pay at least your pro rata share. Only fuel, oil, airport expenditures, and rental fees can be shared.
- Business flights. You may fly for your job if the flight is only incidental to that business and you don't carry passengers or property for compensation.
- Charity flights. Certain charitable, nonprofit, and community event flights are allowed under the conditions in 91.146.
- Search and location. You may fly search and location operations under the conditions in 61.113(e).
Documents and airworthiness
Airworthiness
91.7 Civil aircraft airworthiness
You may not fly an aircraft that isn't airworthy, and the pilot in command decides whether it's in condition for safe flight. If an unairworthy condition shows up in flight, you discontinue the flight. "Airworthy" means the airplane conforms to its type design (including its required inspections, ADs, and approved modifications) and is in condition for safe operation.
The owner or operator is primarily responsible for keeping it airworthy, including compliance with airworthiness directives 91.403.
Documents on board: ARROW
91.203 Civil aircraft: Certifications required 91.9 Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements
- A: Airworthiness certificate
- Displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance where passengers and crew can read it.
- R: Registration certificate
- Valid for 7 years 47.40.
- R: Radio station license
- Only needed for international flights (an FCC requirement, not an FAA one).
- O: Operating limitations
- The approved flight manual or POH, plus the required placards and instrument markings.
- W: Weight and balance data
- The airplane's current empty weight and CG.
Airworthiness directives
Part 39 Airworthiness Directives
An AD is a legally enforceable rule that corrects an unsafe condition in an airplane, engine, propeller, or appliance. Compliance is mandatory. Some are one-time fixes and some recur by hours or calendar time. Compliance is recorded in the maintenance records 91.417, and that's where you look to see what's due.
Preventive maintenance
43.3(g) Persons authorized to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alterations Part 43 Appendix A Major Alterations, Major Repairs, and Preventive Maintenance
A certificated pilot (not a student pilot) may do preventive maintenance on an airplane they own or operate, as long as it isn't used under Part 121, 129, or 135. Appendix A lists what counts, such as repairing or replacing tires, servicing landing gear struts, replenishing hydraulic fluid, and replacing position and landing light bulbs. Afterward, make a maintenance record entry with a description of the work, the date, your name, and your certificate number 43.9.
Inspections
91.409 Inspections 91.171 VOR equipment check for IFR operations 91.411 Altimeter system and altitude reporting equipment tests and inspections 91.413 ATC transponder tests and inspections 91.207 Emergency locator transmitters
A common way to remember them is AV1ATE. All are found in the airplane's maintenance records.
| Inspection | How often | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A: Annual 91.409 | Every 12 calendar months | Required for every airplane. |
| V: VOR check 91.171 | Within 30 days | Only for IFR flight. |
| 1: 100-hour 91.409 | Every 100 hours of time in service | Only if the airplane carries anyone for hire or is provided by an instructor for flight instruction for hire. It may be overflown by up to 10 hours to reach a place where it can be done, and that time comes off the next interval. An annual also satisfies it. |
| A: Altimeter and pitot-static 91.411 | Every 24 calendar months | Only for IFR in controlled airspace. |
| T: Transponder 91.413 | Every 24 calendar months | Required to use the transponder at all. |
| E: ELT 91.207 | Every 12 calendar months | Replace the battery after 1 cumulative hour of use or when half its useful life has passed. |
If the annual has expired, the airplane can't be flown, even to the shop, without a special flight permit (a ferry permit) from the FAA 21.197.
Required equipment
91.205 Powered civil aircraft with standard U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and equipment requirements
Day VFR: ATOMATOFLAMES
- A
- Airspeed indicator
- T
- Tachometer for each engine
- O
- Oil pressure gauge for each engine using a pressure system
- M
- Manifold pressure gauge for each altitude engine
- A
- Altimeter
- T
- Temperature gauge for each liquid-cooled engine
- O
- Oil temperature gauge for each air-cooled engine
- F
- Fuel gauge showing the quantity in each tank
- L
- Landing gear position indicator, if the gear retracts
- A
- Anticollision lights, for small airplanes certificated after March 11, 1996
- M
- Magnetic direction indicator (the compass)
- E
- ELT, as required by 91.207
- S
- Safety belts for each occupant, and shoulder harnesses for the front seats of small airplanes made after July 18, 1978
Night VFR: everything above, plus FLAPS
- F
- Fuses: one spare set, or three of each kind, within the pilot's reach, if the airplane uses fuses
- L
- Landing light, if the flight is for hire
- A
- Anticollision lights (approved red or white)
- P
- Position lights
- S
- Source of electrical energy adequate for all installed electrical equipment
91.205 is only part of the answer. The POH's kinds of operations equipment list (KOEL), ADs, and other rules such as 91.215 (transponder) can require more.
Inoperative equipment
91.213(d) Inoperative instruments and equipment
Training airplanes usually don't have a minimum equipment list (MEL), so this is the rule you'll use. You can fly with something inoperative only if all four of these are true:
Not part of the type certificate's VFR-day requirements
It isn't required by the regulations the airplane was certificated under.
Not on the equipment list or KOEL
It isn't marked as required in the POH's equipment list or kinds of operations equipment list for the flight you're making.
Not required by 91.205 or another rule
It isn't on ATOMATOFLAMES or FLAPS for the flight, and no other rule (such as 91.215 for a transponder) requires it.
Not required by an AD
No airworthiness directive requires it to be working.
If it passes all four, the item must be removed or deactivated and placarded "Inoperative." Removal, and any deactivation that involves maintenance, has to be done and recorded by a mechanic. Then a pilot or mechanic must determine that the inoperative item isn't a hazard.
VFR weather minimums
91.155 Basic VFR weather minimums
| Airspace | Flight visibility | Distance from clouds |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | Not applicable (IFR only) | Not applicable |
| Class B | 3 SM | Clear of clouds |
| Class C | 3 SM | 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 2,000 ft horizontal |
| Class D | 3 SM | 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 2,000 ft horizontal |
| Class E, below 10,000 ft MSL | 3 SM | 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 2,000 ft horizontal |
| Class E, at or above 10,000 ft MSL | 5 SM | 1,000 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 1 SM horizontal |
| Class G, 1,200 ft AGL or less, day | 1 SM | Clear of clouds |
| Class G, 1,200 ft AGL or less, night | 3 SM | 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 2,000 ft horizontal |
| Class G, above 1,200 ft AGL and below 10,000 ft MSL, day | 1 SM | 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 2,000 ft horizontal |
| Class G, above 1,200 ft AGL and below 10,000 ft MSL, night | 3 SM | 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 2,000 ft horizontal |
| Class G, above 1,200 ft AGL and at or above 10,000 ft MSL | 5 SM | 1,000 ft below, 1,000 ft above, 1 SM horizontal |
- In Class G at 1,200 ft AGL or less at night, an airplane may fly with 1 SM visibility and clear of clouds while in the traffic pattern within half a mile of the runway.
- Within the surface area of controlled airspace (Class B, C, D, or E to the surface), you can't fly VFR beneath a ceiling lower than 1,000 ft, or take off, land, or enter the traffic pattern unless ground visibility is at least 3 SM (flight visibility if ground visibility isn't reported).
Special VFR
91.157 Special VFR weather minimums
When a surface area is below basic VFR minimums, you can ask ATC for a special VFR clearance below 10,000 ft MSL. You must stay clear of clouds with at least 1 SM flight visibility, and you need 1 SM ground visibility to take off or land. Between sunset and sunrise, special VFR requires an instrument rating and an airplane equipped for IFR, so a private pilot without one can only use it during the day. Some Class B airports don't allow it at all.
Airspace entry
91.135 Operations in Class A airspace 91.131 Operations in Class B airspace 91.130 Operations in Class C airspace 91.129 Operations in Class D airspace 91.215 ATC transponder and altitude reporting equipment and use 91.225 Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out equipment and use
| Airspace | To enter | Equipment |
|---|---|---|
| Class A 91.135 | IFR clearance | IFR equipment, transponder with altitude reporting, ADS-B Out |
| Class B 91.131 | An ATC clearance ("cleared into the Class Bravo"), and a private pilot certificate or a student pilot endorsement | Two-way radio, transponder with altitude reporting, ADS-B Out |
| Class C 91.130 | Two-way radio communication established before entering | Two-way radio, transponder with altitude reporting, ADS-B Out |
| Class D 91.129 | Two-way radio communication established before entering | Two-way radio |
| Class E and G | Nothing, unless you're landing at a towered airport | None required by the airspace itself |
Communication is established once the controller answers using your call sign. "Aircraft calling approach, stand by" doesn't count.
A transponder with altitude reporting and ADS-B Out are also required within 30 NM of a Class B primary airport (the Mode C veil) from the surface to 10,000 ft MSL, above the ceiling and within the lateral limits of Class C up to 10,000 ft MSL, and above 10,000 ft MSL except at or below 2,500 ft AGL 91.215, 91.225.
Speed limits
91.117 Aircraft speed
- 250 KIAS below 10,000 ft MSL.
- 200 KIAS at or below 2,500 ft AGL within 4 NM of the primary airport of a Class C or D area.
- 200 KIAS beneath the shelf of Class B airspace or in a VFR corridor through it.
Operating rules
Pilot in command authority
91.3 Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command
The pilot in command is directly responsible for, and is the final authority on, the operation of the aircraft. In an in-flight emergency, you may deviate from any rule as far as needed to handle it, and the FAA can ask for a written report afterward. If ATC gives you priority in an emergency, they can ask for a report within 48 hours 91.123.
You may not operate an aircraft carelessly or recklessly so as to endanger life or property 91.13.
Preflight action: NWKRAFT
91.103 Preflight action
Before each flight, become familiar with all available information about it. Runway lengths and takeoff and landing distances are required for every flight. The rest applies to flights away from the vicinity of an airport.
- N
- NOTAMs
- W
- Weather reports and forecasts
- K
- Known ATC traffic delays
- R
- Runway lengths at the airports you'll use
- A
- Alternatives if the flight can't be completed as planned
- F
- Fuel requirements
- T
- Takeoff and landing distance data
Alcohol and drugs
91.17 Alcohol or drugs
You may not act as a crewmember within 8 hours of drinking alcohol, while under its influence, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 percent or more, or while using any drug that affects your faculties contrary to safety. Except in an emergency, you may not carry a passenger who appears to be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs (unless they're a medical patient under proper care).
Fuel
91.151 Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions
Under VFR, you can't begin a flight without enough fuel to reach your first point of intended landing and then fly 30 more minutes at normal cruise by day, or 45 minutes at night.
Minimum safe altitudes
91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General
Except when taking off or landing:
- Anywhere: high enough that if the engine quits, you can make an emergency landing without undue hazard to people or property on the surface.
- Over a congested area or an open-air assembly of people: 1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 2,000 ft horizontally.
- Over other areas: 500 ft above the surface. Over open water or sparsely populated areas, no closer than 500 ft to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.
VFR cruising altitudes
91.159 VFR cruising altitude or flight level
More than 3,000 ft AGL and below 18,000 ft MSL, cruise at an altitude based on magnetic course (not heading): 0 through 179 degrees, odd thousands plus 500 (3,500, 5,500); 180 through 359 degrees, even thousands plus 500 (4,500, 6,500).
Right-of-way
91.113 Right-of-way rules: Except water operations
Having the right-of-way never excuses you from seeing and avoiding.
- An aircraft in distress has the right-of-way over everyone.
- Converging, same category: the aircraft on the right has the right-of-way.
- Converging, different categories: balloon, then glider, then airship, then airplane or rotorcraft. An aircraft towing or refueling another has the right-of-way over other engine-driven aircraft.
- Head-on: both turn right.
- Overtaking: the aircraft being overtaken has the right-of-way, and the overtaking aircraft passes well clear on the right.
- Landing: an aircraft on final or landing has the right-of-way over aircraft in flight or on the ground. Between two aircraft approaching to land, the lower one has it, but it can't use that to cut in front of or overtake the other.
Lights
91.209 Aircraft lights
Position lights must be on from sunset to sunrise. If the airplane has anticollision lights, they must be on whenever it's operating, unless the pilot in command turns them off for safety, such as in clouds.
Seat belts
91.107 Use of safety belts, shoulder harnesses, and child restraint systems
Before takeoff, brief each passenger on how to fasten and unfasten their seat belt and shoulder harness, and tell them to fasten it. Everyone must be belted in for taxi, takeoff, and landing. A child under 2 may be held by an adult.
Oxygen
91.211 Supplemental oxygen
- Above 12,500 ft MSL up to and including 14,000 ft MSL: the required crew must use oxygen for any time there beyond 30 minutes.
- Above 14,000 ft MSL: the required crew must use oxygen the whole time.
- Above 15,000 ft MSL: every occupant must be provided with oxygen.
Parachutes
91.307 Parachutes and parachuting
With anyone other than crew aboard, you can't exceed 60 degrees of bank or 30 degrees nose-up or nose-down unless everyone wears an approved parachute. Flight tests and instruction from a CFI on maneuvers required for a certificate or rating, such as spins, are exempt.
Accidents and incidents
49 CFR 830 Notification and Reporting of Aircraft Accidents or Incidents and Overdue Aircraft, and Preservation of Aircraft Wreckage, Mail, Cargo, and Records
- Aircraft accident 830.2
- An event between the time anyone boards with the intent to fly and the time everyone has left the aircraft, in which someone suffers death or serious injury, or the aircraft receives substantial damage.
- Serious injury
- Includes hospitalization for more than 48 hours starting within 7 days of the injury, any broken bone except simple fractures of fingers, toes, or nose, internal organ injury, and second- or third-degree burns or any burns over more than 5 percent of the body.
- Substantial damage
- Damage that hurts the structural strength, performance, or flight characteristics and would normally need major repair or replacement. Damage limited to an engine, bent cowling, dented skin, small punctures, or damage to landing gear, tires, flaps, brakes, or wingtips doesn't count.
Notify the NTSB immediately
49 CFR 830.5 Immediate notification
After any accident, and after any of these incidents (the ones most likely to apply to a private pilot):
- Flight control system malfunction or failure
- A required crewmember unable to do their duties because of injury or illness
- In-flight fire
- Aircraft collision in flight
- Damage to property other than the aircraft over $25,000
- Release of all or part of a propeller blade, other than from ground contact
- An overdue aircraft believed to have been in an accident
Wreckage and reports
49 CFR 830.10 Preservation of aircraft wreckage, mail, cargo, and records 49 CFR 830.15 Reports and statements to be filed
Preserve the wreckage until the NTSB takes custody or releases it. You may move it only to remove people, protect it from further damage, or protect the public.
After an accident, file a written report (NTSB Form 6120.1) within 10 days, or within 7 days if an overdue aircraft is still missing. After an incident, file one only if the NTSB asks.
Test yourself
Try to answer each one out loud, the way you would for the examiner, before opening it.
What do you need to have with you to act as pilot in command?
Pilot certificate, government-issued photo ID, and a medical certificate or BasicMed documents 61.3.
You're 35 and got your third-class medical on March 10, 2024. When does it expire for private pilot privileges?
At the end of March 2029: 60 calendar months, because you were under 40 on the day of the exam 61.23.
You've made 3 touch-and-goes this month, all during the day. Can you take a friend up tonight?
No. Night passenger currency takes 3 takeoffs and 3 full-stop landings between 1 hour after sunset and 1 hour before sunrise, within the preceding 90 days 61.57(b).
A friend offers to pay for all the fuel on a flight to the coast. Can you accept?
No. You must pay at least your pro rata share. With one passenger, you can split the fuel, oil, airport fees, and rental cost evenly, but not let them pay it all 61.113(c).
Which documents have to be on board the airplane?
ARROW: airworthiness certificate, registration, radio station license (international flights only), operating limitations (POH, placards, markings), and weight and balance data 91.203, 91.9.
Show me how you know this airplane is airworthy.
Check the maintenance records for a current annual (and 100-hour if it's used for instruction for hire), transponder and ELT inspections, and AD compliance. Check that the required documents and equipment are on board and working, then do a thorough preflight 91.7, 91.409, 91.413, 91.207, 91.417.
The annual expired last week. Can you fly the airplane to the shop to get it done?
Not without a special flight permit from the FAA 21.197. The 10-hour allowance only applies to the 100-hour inspection.
The landing light is out. Can you fly tonight?
A landing light is only required at night if the flight is for hire 91.205(c). Then work through 91.213(d): check that it isn't required by the type certificate, the equipment list or KOEL, or an AD. If it passes, placard it "Inoperative" (and deactivate it if needed) and decide whether it's a hazard.
What are the VFR minimums in Class E below 10,000 feet MSL?
3 SM visibility, 500 ft below, 1,000 ft above, and 2,000 ft horizontal from clouds 91.155.
What do you need before entering Class C? Class B?
Class C: two-way radio communication established, which means the controller has answered with your call sign. Class B: an explicit clearance into the Class B 91.130, 91.131.
You're cruising VFR at a magnetic course of 240 degrees, more than 3,000 ft AGL. What altitudes can you use?
Even thousands plus 500: 4,500, 6,500, 8,500, and so on 91.159.
What's the minimum altitude over a town?
1,000 ft above the highest obstacle within 2,000 ft horizontally 91.119(b).
How much fuel do you need for a night VFR flight?
Enough to reach the first point of intended landing plus 45 minutes at normal cruise 91.151.
You had a beer at 10 p.m. Can you fly at 7 a.m.?
Yes, as far as the 8-hour rule goes, as long as you're not under the influence and your blood alcohol is below 0.04 percent 91.17. Many pilots use 12 or 24 hours as a personal minimum.
A bird strike cracks the windscreen and nobody is hurt. Do you have to call the NTSB?
Only if it's an accident (serious injury or substantial damage) or one of the incidents listed in 830.5. A cracked windscreen alone usually isn't substantial damage, but report it if you're unsure 830.2, 830.5.
Sources
- 14 CFR Part 1, Definitions and Abbreviations
- 14 CFR Part 21.197, Special flight permits
- 14 CFR Part 39, Airworthiness Directives
- 14 CFR Part 43, including 43.3, 43.9, and Appendix A
- 14 CFR Part 47.40, Registration certificate duration
- 14 CFR Part 61, including 61.3, 61.15, 61.23, 61.31, 61.53, 61.56, 61.57, 61.60, 61.113
- 14 CFR Part 91, including 91.3, 91.7, 91.9, 91.13, 91.17, 91.103, 91.107, 91.113, 91.117, 91.119, 91.123, 91.129 through 91.135, 91.151, 91.155, 91.157, 91.159, 91.171, 91.203, 91.205, 91.207, 91.209, 91.211, 91.213, 91.215, 91.225, 91.307, 91.403, 91.409, 91.411, 91.413, 91.417
- 49 CFR Part 830, Notification and Reporting of Aircraft Accidents or Incidents
- FAA Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-6C)