Private Pilot Checkride Requirements (2026 Guide)

Who is eligible for the private pilot checkride?

You must be at least 17 years old, able to read, speak, write, and understand English, and hold a U.S. student pilot certificate, sport pilot certificate, or recreational pilot certificate, per 14 CFR 61.103. Sixteen is the minimum for a glider or balloon rating, but airplane single-engine requires 17.

Beyond age and language, 61.103 requires that you receive a logbook endorsement from an authorized instructor confirming you completed the required aeronautical knowledge areas and are prepared for the knowledge test, then pass that knowledge test covering the subjects in 14 CFR 61.105(b). You must also meet the aeronautical experience requirements below before the practical test, and receive training and an endorsement showing you're prepared for it.

Medical eligibility works the same way it does for other certificates: whatever medical basis is valid for the flight, typically a third-class medical certificate under Part 67, governs your ability to act as PIC on the checkride. BasicMed under 14 CFR Part 68 is not an option for your first medical qualification, since it requires having held an FAA medical certificate at some point after July 14, 2006. Most private pilot applicants test under a standard medical certificate rather than BasicMed.

How many flight hours do you need before the private pilot checkride?

You need at least 40 hours of total flight time, including 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor and 10 hours of solo flight time, per 14 CFR 61.109(a). Within those totals, specific training components and solo requirements must be met exactly as written in the regulation.

Two solo cross-country provisions get conflated. The 150 nm flight in 61.109(a)(5)(ii) is the single long qualifying cross-country; it's separate from the broader 5-hour solo cross-country total in 61.109(a)(5)(i), which can include shorter flights logged along the way. Every solo cross-country flight also requires its own instructor endorsement under 14 CFR 61.93 confirming your preflight planning is correct and current/forecast weather supports completing that specific flight, a fresh sign-off per flight, not a one-time blanket approval.

What endorsements do you need before the private pilot checkride?

You need a chain of instructor endorsements covering solo flight, solo cross-country flight, and practical-test readiness, in addition to the general prerequisites in 14 CFR 61.39. Missing any one of these is a hard stop, a DPE will not begin the checkride without them on file.

The 61.93 endorsements are the ones applicants most often get wrong, a category/class or make/model endorsement from months earlier does not substitute for the flight-specific endorsement required before each individual solo cross-country leg.

How long is the private pilot checkride?

The practical test has two parts, an oral examination followed by a flight test, administered by a Designated Pilot Examiner, per the AOPA Flight Test Prep FAQ. Neither the FAA nor AOPA publishes a fixed duration for either portion.

AOPA's guidance notes that if weather interrupts the checkride, the flight portion can be completed on a different day as long as your knowledge test results and endorsements haven't expired in the interim. Structurally, the oral covers Knowledge and Risk Management elements across the ACS Areas of Operation, while the flight test evaluates Skill elements: maneuvers, landings, and emergency procedures, to ACS tolerances. Once your instructor signs the practical-test endorsement, you generally have a limited window to complete the checkride before that endorsement needs to be refreshed, so schedule promptly after your sign-off.

What ACS governs the private pilot checkride?

The DPE evaluates you against FAA-S-ACS-6C, the current edition of the Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards, published April 2024 and effective May 31, 2024. It's a different document from the Instrument Rating ACS. It covers ASEL, ASES, AMEL, and AMES classes and organizes the checkride into Areas of Operation with Knowledge, Risk Management, and Skill elements specific to private pilot privileges rather than instrument flying.

See the FAA Airman Certification Standards page for the current PDF. If you fail a Task within an Area, the DPE issues a Notice of Disapproval citing that Area and Task. Under 14 CFR 61.43(f), you may retest only the affected Area rather than the full checkride, provided you retest within 60 days, present the original Notice of Disapproval, complete any required additional training with an instructor endorsement, and submit a properly completed application.

What are the most common reasons applicants fail the private pilot checkride?

The most frequently cited failure points are stalls, landings, and simulated emergency procedures, not knowledge recall. Boldmethod's review of common private pilot checkride failures identifies not letting a stall fully develop and uncoordinated stall recovery, unstable landing approaches that are too fast or too slow, and abandoning aircraft control in favor of checklists during simulated emergency landings as recurring weak spots.

The same source and its 2026 follow-up on common checkride failures both flag airspace and weather as knowledge gaps that show up repeatedly: applicants who can recite VFR weather minimums from memory but can't apply them to a scenario, and applicants who can read a translated weather briefing but struggle with raw coded METARs, TAFs, and AIRMETs. Cross-country navigation also appears as a pattern: choosing checkpoints that are hard to identify visually (small ponds, isolated power lines) rather than prominent landmarks like towns, rivers, and highways.

AOPA's review of common checkride errors adds a broader pattern across certificate levels: weak understanding of weather information and the National Airspace System, and unfamiliarity with the aircraft's maintenance logbook and required inspection items.

What is the pass rate for the private pilot checkride?

The FAA's U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics publishes certificates and ratings issued but does not break the private pilot certificate out as a separate practical-test pass/fail line the way some third-party aggregator sites report, so no single official FAA percentage exists to cite here with confidence. We're building a dedicated breakdown, see checkride pass rates by certificate for the full picture as we publish sourced FAA data.

If your training path continues past the private certificate to the instrument rating, MockDPE's AI examiner is built specifically for that checkride, see the instrument rating checkride requirements page for what changes.

Practice Questions

1. You've logged 38 hours total flight time, 22 with an instructor and 10 solo, but only 2 hours of night training. Are you eligible for the checkride under 14 CFR 61.109(a)? What's missing?

2. Explain the difference between the 5-hour solo cross-country total and the single 150 nm qualifying solo cross-country flight required under 61.109(a)(5). Can the 150 nm flight count toward the 5-hour total?

3. Your instructor endorsed you for solo cross-country flights in your training aircraft two months ago. Can you now fly a new solo cross-country route without any additional endorsement, per 14 CFR 61.93? Explain what's required for each individual flight.

4. What three things must a night-training cross-country flight include under 61.109(a)(2) beyond simply flying after dark?

5. If you fail the Navigation Task on your checkride, what four conditions does 14 CFR 61.43(f) require you to meet to retest only that Area instead of the full checkride?

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the minimum age for the private pilot checkride?

You must be at least 17 years old to hold a private pilot certificate for airplane, per 14 CFR 61.103(a) (16 for glider or balloon, per 14 CFR 61.103(b)). You can begin flight training and even solo earlier, but the certificate itself cannot be issued until you turn 17.

Q: Can I use BasicMed for the private pilot checkride?

No. BasicMed under 14 CFR Part 68 requires you to have already held a medical certificate at some point after July 2006, which means it cannot be your first medical qualification. Most private pilot applicants need a third-class medical certificate (or higher) issued under Part 67 to take the checkride.

Q: Do the 40 hours in 61.109 have to be in the same airplane?

No, 14 CFR 61.109(a) does not require the same make and model throughout: the hour totals and specific training components (night, cross-country, instrument) must be logged in a single-engine airplane, but you can change airplanes as long as each meets that description and you hold a current 61.87 endorsement for it before soloing.

Q: How is the 150 nm solo cross-country different from the 3-hour dual cross-country?

They're two separate requirements in 14 CFR 61.109(a). The 3-hour cross-country flight training with an instructor teaches the skill; the 150 nm solo flight, with full-stop landings at three points and one leg over 50 nm, is flown alone to demonstrate you can plan and execute it independently.

Q: What ACS applies to the private pilot checkride?

The current edition is FAA-S-ACS-6C, the Private Pilot for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards, published April 2024 and effective May 31, 2024. It covers ASEL, ASES, AMEL, and AMES classes.

Q: Does MockDPE cover the private pilot checkride?

No. MockDPE's AI oral-exam simulator is built specifically for the Instrument Rating checkride and its ACS. If your training continues to the instrument rating after your private certificate, see the instrument rating checkride requirements page.

Sources

• 14 CFR 61.109, Aeronautical Experience (Private Pilot, Airplane)
• 14 CFR 61.103, Eligibility Requirements: General (Private Pilot)
• 14 CFR 61.93, Solo Cross-Country Flight Requirements
• 14 CFR 61.87, Solo Requirements for Student Pilots
• 14 CFR 61.39, Prerequisites for Practical Tests
• 14 CFR 61.43, Practical Tests: General Procedures
• 14 CFR Part 68, BasicMed
• FAA-S-ACS-6C: Private Pilot for Airplane Category ACS
• AOPA, Flight Test Prep FAQ
• AOPA, Checkride: Common checkride errors
• Boldmethod, 6 Most Common Private Pilot Checkride Failures
• Boldmethod, The 5 Most Common Checkride Failures For Private Pilots
• FAA, U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics

This article was researched from FAA primary sources (14 CFR Part 61, FAA-S-ACS-6C) and secondary sources (AOPA, Boldmethod) for interpretive and preparation content, and reviewed against current regulatory text by MockDPE Editorial Team. Last reviewed: July 2026. If you spot an inaccuracy, email [email protected].