Pilot reference
The flight review (61.56): requirements and a checklist
Every pilot needs one every 24 calendar months, and it is still widely called the BFR, the biennial flight review. The regulation is short; most of what goes wrong is the date and the paperwork.
When is my next flight review due?
What the regulation requires
- At least 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training (14 CFR 61.56(a)).
- The ground part must review the current general operating and flight rules of Part 91.
- The flight part covers the maneuvers and procedures that, at the discretion of the instructor giving the review, are needed to show you can safely exercise the privileges of your certificate. There is no pass mark and no fixed list.
- It is given by an authorized instructor, in an aircraft for which you are rated, and ends with a logbook endorsement that you completed it satisfactorily (61.56(c)).
When it is due
You may act as pilot in command only if the review was completed “since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month in which that pilot acts as pilot in command” (61.56(c)). In practice, a review completed on any day of March 2026 keeps you current through 31 March 2028. Flying it early costs you the months in between: the same review flown in February 2026 runs only through 29 February 2028.
What counts instead of a flight review
- A pilot proficiency check or practical test for a pilot certificate, rating or operating privilege, conducted by an examiner, an approved check airman or a U.S. Armed Force (61.56(d)(1)).
- A practical test for a flight instructor certificate, an additional instructor rating, flight instructor recent experience under 61.197(b)(1), or reinstatement under 61.199 (61.56(d)(2)).
- One or more phases of an FAA-sponsored pilot proficiency program, which today means a phase of WINGS (61.56(e)).
Two partial exceptions: a flight instructor who has met the 61.197 recent experience requirements (or reinstated through a refresher course under 61.199(a)(1)) in the period may skip the hour of ground training (61.56(f)); and a student pilot with a current solo endorsement does not need a flight review (61.56(g)). A flight simulator or FTD counts only within an approved Part 142 course (61.56(i)).
The endorsement
AC 61-65K numbers the flight review endorsement A.69 (it was renumbered in the November 2025 edition). The sample wording:
I certify that [First name, MI, Last name], [grade of pilot certificate], [certificate number], has satisfactorily completed a flight review of 14 CFR § 61.56(a) on [date].
/s/ [date] J. J. Jones 987654321CFI RE 12-31-2026
AC 61-65K notes that no logbook entry reflecting unsatisfactory performance on a flight review is required; an incomplete review is simply logged as training. The signature block now shows the instructor’s recent experience (RE) end date, or the certificate expiration date for an instructor certificate issued before 1 December 2024. See CFI requirements for why.
A flight review checklist
The regulation leaves the content to the instructor, so this is a starting point, not a requirement. It follows the structure of the FAA’s guidance in AC 61-98E. Cover what this pilot, in this airplane, actually needs.
Ground (at least 1 hour)
- Pilot documents and currency: certificate, medical or BasicMed, 61.57 takeoffs and landings (day and night), this flight review.
- Preflight action (91.103): weather, NOTAMs and TFRs, runway lengths, fuel requirements (91.151), alternatives.
- Airspace: classes, floors and the VFR minimums of 91.155, special VFR, ADS-B Out (91.225).
- Airworthiness: required equipment (91.205), inoperative equipment (91.213), inspections and ELT (91.409, 91.207), and the aircraft’s records.
- Operating rules: right of way (91.113), minimum safe altitudes (91.119), alcohol and drugs (91.17), seat belts and passenger briefings (91.107), oxygen (91.211).
- Anything that has changed since the last review, and the pilot’s own weak spots and personal minimums.
Flight (at least 1 hour)
- Normal, crosswind, short-field and soft-field takeoffs and landings; a go-around.
- Slow flight, power-off and power-on stalls, steep turns.
- Simulated engine failure and emergency procedures for the aircraft.
- Navigation and a diversion; flight by reference to instruments and recovery from unusual attitudes.
- Anything this pilot does not fly often: night, a towered field, the airplane’s avionics.
How often do I need a flight review?
You must have completed one since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month in which you act as pilot in command (14 CFR 61.56(c)). A review in March 2026 is good through 31 March 2028.
How long does a flight review take?
The minimum is 1 hour of ground training and 1 hour of flight training. Many take longer, because the instructor decides what the pilot needs to demonstrate.
Can you fail a flight review?
There is no pass or fail. Either the instructor endorses that you completed it satisfactorily, or the time is logged as training and you continue until they can. AC 61-65K says no entry reflecting unsatisfactory performance is required.
Does a checkride count as a flight review?
Yes. Passing a practical test or proficiency check for a pilot certificate, rating or operating privilege within the period satisfies 61.56 (61.56(d)). So does completing a phase of WINGS (61.56(e)).
What is the flight review endorsement number in AC 61-65K?
A.69. The WINGS phase endorsement is A.70 and the IPC is A.71. These numbers changed with AC 61-65K, issued 14 November 2025.
Sources
- 14 CFR 61.56, Flight review (eCFR Title 14, current as of 9 November 2026; last amended by 89 FR 80020, Removal of Expiration Date on a Flight Instructor Certificate (1 October 2024)).
- AC 61-65K, Certification: Pilots and Flight and Ground Instructors, dated 14 November 2025: Appendix A, endorsements A.69 and A.70, and the signature block.
- AC 61-98E, Currency Requirements and Guidance for the Flight Review and Instrument Proficiency Check, dated 30 October 2024.
- Checked on 11 November 2026. If a rule has changed since, the regulation governs; tell us and we will correct the page.
Keeping a club or a school current
FlightWay tracks every member’s flight review, medical and endorsements, warns before they lapse, and can stop a booking that would break the club’s rules. Flight reviews and IPCs are booked and signed in the same place.
Last updated 11 November 2026.