The FAA written exam for pilots: how the knowledge tests work

It’s the airman knowledge test that 14 CFR Part 61 requires for a pilot certificate or rating. It checks the aeronautical knowledge areas the rules list for that certificate, and you must pass it before the practical test, where you hand in the test report. Each certificate or rating has its own test and three-letter code: Private Pilot Airplane is PAR, Instrument Rating Airplane is IRA and Commercial Pilot Airplane is CAX. The FAA’s September 2026 testing advisory counts 91 knowledge tests in all, including mechanic, dispatcher and drone tests.

For the sport, recreational, private, instrument and commercial pilot tests, yes. The FAA’s testing matrix accepts a graduation certificate from an FAA-certificated pilot school, or a written statement or logbook endorsement from an authorized ground or flight instructor saying you’re prepared. For the private pilot test, the instructor also confirms you finished ground training or a home-study course. The flight and ground instructor tests need no authorization for a first try, with two exceptions in the FAA’s matrix: the Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI) test, from September 1, 2024, and the sport pilot flight instructor tests. Both accept an instructor’s endorsement or a pilot school graduation certificate. The ATP Multiengine Airplane (ATM) test needs an ATP Certification Training Program graduation certificate instead.

Pass, and you have 24 calendar months to finish the practical test. 14 CFR 61.39 counts the 24 months back from the month you complete the practical test. The ATP Multiengine Airplane test lasts 60 calendar months if you passed it after July 31, 2014 having completed the ATP Certification Training Program, and some airline and military pilots can use an expired ATP result; the ATP written exam page has those rules. US military and civilian personnel serving abroad in support of US Armed Forces operations can also use an expired test report, under 14 CFR 61.40.

15 for the Private Pilot Airplane test, by the FAA’s testing matrix, which is younger than the 17 you need for the certificate. The rules only ask that you reach the certificate’s age before your test report expires, and the FAA’s advisory circular AC 61-65K reads that as within 24 calendar months. The glider and balloon private pilot tests start at 14, the instrument tests at 15 and the commercial tests at 16. The ATP Multiengine Airplane test is different: you must be at least 18 on test day.

You can test again once an authorized instructor has given you more training and endorsed you as ready to pass. That’s the rule in 14 CFR 61.49, and the FAA’s matrix lists no waiting period for pilot tests. Bring the failed test report: the instructor can sign the Authorized Instructor’s Statement on it, or give you a separate signed statement or logbook entry. If you passed and want a higher score, FAA Order 8080.6H lets you retake the same test after 30 days, and the latest test becomes your official score.

Not from home. PSI’s candidate bulletins say the tests are given at PSI’s FAA-approved testing centers, where a proctor checks your ID and watches the room. You can do the rest online: book, find a center and try PSI’s sample tests. The test centers page shows how to find one near you.

The FAA and PSI are putting the test figures inside the questions. The FAA’s September 2026 advisory lists the private, commercial, sport, instrument and drone pilot tests among those with embedded images, with the flight instructor and ATP tests added on October 26, 2026. Images in live questions can’t be previewed, so the FAA points candidates to PSI’s sample questions to see the format. The printed testing supplements stay available at test centers until the FAA removes them. Its September 2026 advisory set no date and promises ample notice first.

The Commercial Pilot Airplane (CAX) test has 100 questions in 2.5 hours, and you can take it from age 16. PSI’s bulletin for it gives preflight preparation 24% of the items, and preflight procedures and takeoffs, landings and go-arounds 15% each. It needs the same kind of authorization as the private pilot test: a ground school graduation certificate or an instructor’s endorsement.

No. The written exam is the knowledge test on a computer. The checkride is the practical test with an examiner, with questions on the ground and then a flight. Your Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR) lists codes for the subjects you got wrong, and your instructor and examiner go over those subjects before and during the checkride.