Pilot reference
CFI requirements, after the 2024 rule change
Since 1 December 2024 a newly issued flight instructor certificate has no expiration date. What lapses instead is your recent experience, every 24 calendar months, and from 1 March 2027 its end date goes in every logbook entry you sign.
What changed on 1 December 2024
- A flight instructor certificate issued on or after 1 December 2024 has no expiration date (14 CFR 61.19(d)(1)). One issued before that date still expires 24 calendar months after it was issued, renewed or reinstated (61.19(d)(2)), and is renewed by meeting the recent experience requirements before the month it expires (61.197(e)).
- To exercise the privileges, you must have met one of the recent experience requirements within the preceding 24 calendar months (14 CFR 61.197(a)). There are six ways to do it, listed below.
- If you let it lapse, you reinstate the privileges under 14 CFR 61.199: within 3 calendar months of the end of the period, a refresher course is enough; after that, a practical test.
- From 1 March 2027, 14 CFR 61.51(h)(2)(ii) requires the instructor’s “recent experience end date”, rather than a certificate expiration date, on every training entry the instructor signs. (The amendment was published in the same rule, 89 FR 80020, with a delayed effective date.)
AC 61-65K’s sample signature block shows the new form: /s/ [date] J. J. Jones 987654321CFI RE 12-31-2026, or CFI Exp. 01-31-2025 for a certificate that still carries an expiration date.
Becoming a CFI (airplane): 61.183
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| At least 18 years old; read, speak, write and understand English | 61.183(a), (b) |
| Hold a commercial or ATP certificate with the appropriate category and class rating, and an instrument rating (or instrument privileges) for an airplane CFI | 61.183(c) |
| Endorsement for the fundamentals of instructing (FOI) knowledge test, and pass it, unless you already hold a flight or ground instructor certificate or are a qualifying teacher | 61.183(d), (e) |
| Pass the flight instructor knowledge test for the rating (FIA for airplane) | 61.183(f) |
| Endorsement for the practical test on the areas of operation in 61.187(b) | 61.183(g) |
| Spin training endorsement: stall awareness, spin entry, spins and spin recovery, in an airplane certificated for spins | 61.183(i) |
| At least 15 hours as pilot in command in the category and class of the rating sought | 61.183(j) |
| Pass the practical test, against the Flight Instructor ACS (FAA-S-ACS-25) | 61.183(h) |
| Test | Code | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fundamentals of Instructing | FOI | 50 | 1.5 h |
| Flight Instructor Airplane | FIA | 100 | 2.5 h |
Passing score 70%. Since 1 September 2024 the FOI test needs an instructor endorsement or a pilot school graduation certificate; the matrix lists no endorsement requirement for FIA. Knowledge test results are valid for 24 calendar months (61.39(a)(1)).
The AC 61-65K endorsements on the way: A.45 FOI knowledge test, A.46 flight instructor knowledge test, A.47 practical test, A.49 spin training. The full list is on our endorsements page.
Keeping it: the six ways to recent experience (61.197(b))
- Pass a practical test for one of the ratings on your instructor certificate, or for an additional instructor rating.
- In the preceding 24 calendar months, endorse at least 5 applicants for a practical test, with at least 80% passing on the first attempt.
- Serve as a company check pilot, chief flight instructor, check airman or flight instructor in a Part 121 or 135 operation, or in a position regularly evaluating pilots.
- Complete an approved flight instructor refresher course (FIRC) within the preceding 3 calendar months.
- Pass a U.S. Armed Forces instructor pilot or pilot examiner proficiency check.
- Serve as a WINGS instructor: hold a phase of WINGS from the last 12 months and have conducted at least 15 WINGS flight activities evaluating at least 5 different pilots.
Work out a recent experience end date
Follows 61.197(a) and the worked examples in AC 61-65K paragraph 30.3. A FIRC also has to be presented to the FAA within 3 calendar months of completing it, and the new period then runs from the month the application is submitted if you are outside the three-month window. Confirm with your FSDO or designee.
What a CFI may not do
A few limits in 14 CFR 61.195 trip up new instructors: no more than 8 hours of flight training in any 24 consecutive hours (61.195(a)); instrument training for an instrument rating needs an instrument rating on the instructor certificate (61.195(c)); training in a multiengine airplane for a certificate or rating needs 5 hours of PIC time in that make and model (61.195(f)); and training initial CFI applicants has its own experience requirements (61.195(h)).
Do CFI certificates still expire?
Not if issued on or after 1 December 2024 (14 CFR 61.19(d)). Instead, a flight instructor may exercise the privileges only if they met a recent experience requirement within the preceding 24 calendar months (61.197). Certificates issued before that date keep their expiration date until renewed.
Is a FIRC still required?
A FIRC is one of six ways to meet the 61.197 recent experience requirement. You can also use a practical test, your students’ pass rate (5 applicants, 80% first-time), a qualifying check pilot or evaluator role, a military check, or WINGS instructor activity.
What happens if my CFI recent experience lapses?
You cannot give instruction until you reinstate your privileges under 61.199. Within 3 calendar months after the period ended, a refresher course is enough; after that, you must pass a flight instructor practical test.
What do I write in the logbook instead of my CFI expiration date?
Your recent experience end date, for example “CFI RE 12-31-2026”, per AC 61-65K. From 1 March 2027, 61.51(h)(2)(ii) requires the recent experience end date on every training entry.
How many hours do I need to become a CFI?
There is no total-time requirement in 61.183 itself, but you must hold a commercial (or ATP) certificate, which for airplanes means at least 250 hours (61.129), and log at least 15 hours as pilot in command in the category and class of the instructor rating (61.183(j)).
Sources
- 14 CFR 61.19, 14 CFR 61.183, 14 CFR 61.195, 14 CFR 61.197, 14 CFR 61.199 and 14 CFR 61.51 (eCFR Title 14, current as of 9 November 2026).
- 89 FR 80020, Removal of Expiration Date on a Flight Instructor Certificate (1 October 2024); effective 1 December 2024, except the 61.51(h)(2)(ii) change, effective 1 March 2027.
- AC 61-65K, Certification: Pilots and Flight and Ground Instructors, paragraph 30 (flight instructor recent experience) and the Appendix A signature block.
- FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, revised 25 September 2026. Flight Instructor ACS, FAA-S-ACS-25 (November 2023, effective 31 May 2024): FAA Airman Certification Standards page.
- Checked on 11 November 2026. If a rule has changed since, the regulation governs; tell us and we will correct the page.
Running the training side
FlightWay books the student, the instructor and the airplane in one step, keeps passkey-signed lesson records and endorsements, and tracks every student against these requirements.
Last updated 11 November 2026.