Requirements for Instrument Rating Examinations

Includes Added Ratings

Age Requirements

Minimum age requirement for the IRA and IRH ratings is 15; it is 16 for all others.

Acceptable Forms of Authorization

The IRA and IRH ratings are the only instrument ratings that require endorsements or authorizations.

  • A certificate of graduation or a statement of accomplishment certifying the satisfactory completion of the ground school portion of a course from an FAA-certified pilot school.
  • A written statement from an FAA-certified ground or flight instructor showing satisfactory completion of the ground instruction required for the rating sought.
  • A certificate of graduation or statement of accomplishment certifying the satisfactory completion of the ground school portion of a course for the certificate or rating sought. The certificate or statement may be issued by an FAA-certified pilot school or an agency such as a high school, college, adult education program, Civil Air Patrol or ROTC flight training school.
  • A written statement from an FAA-certified ground or flight instructor, certifying that they have personally reviewed the applicant's completion of a home study course and found the applicant has satisfactorily completed that course.
  • Logbook endorsement from an FAA-certified ground or flight instructor.

Retesting

  • Applicants retesting AFTER FAILURE are required to submit the applicable score report indicating failure, along with an endorsement from an authorized instructor who gave the applicant the additional training, and certifying the applicant is competent to pass the test. The original failed test report presented as authorization shall be retained by the proctor and attached to the applicable sign in/out log. The latest test taken will reflect the official score.
  • Applicants retesting IN AN ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE A HIGHER PASSING SCORE may retake the same test for a better grade after 30 days. The latest test taken will reflect the official score. Applicants are required to submit the ORIGINAL applicable score report indicating previous passing score to the testing center prior to testing. Testing center personnel must collect and destroy this report prior to issuing the new test report.

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