IFR Mandatory Reports — The Complete List Every Pilot Must Know

What are the IFR mandatory reports?

IFR mandatory reports are the ATC communications that every instrument pilot is legally required to make during flight. They are grounded in two sources: 14 CFR 91.183, which establishes the regulatory duty to report unforecast weather and safety-of-flight information, and AIM 5-3-3, which operationalizes that duty into a specific list of reportable events.

The key concept is that IFR mandatory reports are not all created equal. Some must be made regardless of whether ATC has radar contact with you. Others are relieved when you are in a radar environment because ATC's radar picture substitutes for the verbal report. Confusing these two categories is one of the most common oral exam errors on the Instrument Rating checkride.

Which IFR reports are required regardless of radar contact?

The following reports are required at all times — even when ATC has radar contact and has identified your aircraft — per AIM 5-3-3:

• Leaving a previously assigned altitude or flight level. You must report any time you depart from an altitude assigned in your ATC clearance. This tells ATC you are no longer at the cleared altitude and allows them to maintain separation.
• An altitude change when operating on a clearance specifying VFR-on-top. If you are cleared to maintain VFR-on-top and you change altitude, you must report it.
• VOR receiver malfunction. Any failure that impairs navigation capability must be reported, both under AIM 5-3-3 and separately under 14 CFR 91.187(a) as an equipment malfunction.
• Executing a missed approach. Report the missed approach and your intentions immediately after the procedure is initiated. ATC needs to re-sequence you into the arrival flow.
• Inability to climb or descend at a rate of at least 500 fpm. If terrain, weather, or aircraft performance prevents you from achieving this rate on an assigned altitude change, you must report immediately so ATC can issue a revised clearance.
• A change in average true airspeed (TAS) of ±5% or 10 kt, whichever is greater, from the TAS filed in your flight plan. This change affects ATC's traffic sequencing and separation planning.
• Time and altitude upon reaching a holding fix. This allows ATC to plan for traffic in the hold and coordinate sequencing.
• Loss of navigation, approach, or communication equipment that impairs IFR capability. This triggers both AIM 5-3-3 and the four-item report required by 14 CFR 91.187(b).
• Any unforecast weather conditions encountered — per 14 CFR 91.183(b).
• Any other information relating to the safety of flight — per 14 CFR 91.183(c).

The oral exam question "Do you have to report leaving an altitude if you're in radar contact?" has only one correct answer: yes. Radar contact does not relieve you of this duty.

Which IFR reports are required only when NOT in radar contact?

The following reports are only required when ATC has NOT established radar contact, or when you are operating in a non-radar environment per AIM 5-3-3:

• Passing each designated compulsory reporting point. Compulsory reporting points are depicted as solid (filled) triangles on IFR en route charts. Per 14 CFR 91.183(a), when ATC has radar contact and advises you of this fact, you are relieved of the duty to report at these charted fixes unless ATC specifically requests a report.
• Leaving the final approach fix (FAF) or outer marker (OM) inbound on a final approach. When not in radar contact, you must report this departure point to ATC so they can anticipate your arrival.
• A corrected estimate any time it becomes apparent that a previously submitted ETA is in error by more than 2 minutes (3 minutes for North Atlantic flights). This report is not required when in radar contact because ATC can track your progress directly.

What does 14 CFR 91.183 actually require?

14 CFR 91.183 is the regulatory foundation for IFR communications. Unless otherwise authorized by ATC, the PIC of each aircraft operated under IFR in controlled airspace must maintain a continuous watch on the appropriate frequency and must report the following as soon as possible:

The AIM 5-3-3 list expands on 91.183(b) and (c) by specifying exactly which events constitute information that must be reported. The regulation provides the duty; AIM 5-3-3 enumerates the events.

What does a 14 CFR 91.187 equipment malfunction report require?

14 CFR 91.187(a) states that the PIC of each aircraft operated in controlled airspace under IFR must report as soon as practical to ATC any malfunction of navigational, approach, or communication equipment occurring in flight. This applies regardless of radar contact and is separate from the AIM 5-3-3 duty.

Per 14 CFR 91.187(b), the report must include four specific items:

• Aircraft identification.
• Equipment affected.
• Degree to which the capability of the pilot to operate under IFR in the ATC system is impaired.
• Nature and extent of assistance desired from ATC.

A GPS or VOR failure triggers both AIM 5-3-3 and 91.187. DPEs test both section numbers — knowing one without the other is an incomplete answer.

How do the two categories interact in practice?

Understanding which bucket a report falls into matters because ATC informs you "radar contact" at some point in every IFR flight. After that advisory, most pilots correctly stop reporting compulsory fixes. But pilots sometimes incorrectly stop all IFR reports — including altitude departures and equipment failures — which is a regulatory violation.

A useful mental model: reports in Bucket 1 exist because ATC cannot see the event on radar. Radar shows your position, not your altitude deviation, your avionics health, your weather encounter, or your missed approach decision. Those events require your voice report regardless of what ATC's radar shows.

Reports in Bucket 2 exist because ATC needs position updates when they cannot track you on radar. Once radar contact is established, the radar image substitutes for the verbal position report.

What does a DPE ask about mandatory IFR reports?

DPEs approach this topic from two angles: direct enumeration ("List the IFR reports required even in radar contact") and scenario application ("You just executed a missed approach — what report do you make and to whom?").

Common DPE questions include:

• "Name the IFR reports required regardless of radar contact." — You must enumerate the Bucket 1 items above without hesitation.
• "Do you have to report leaving 8,000 feet if ATC has you in radar contact?" — Yes, always.
• "Your GPS receiver fails enroute in controlled airspace — what do you report and which FAR governs it?" — AIM 5-3-3 (nav equipment loss) and 14 CFR 91.187 both apply; the 91.187(b) four-item report content is required.
• "You execute a missed approach at your destination — what mandatory report do you make?" — Report the missed approach and intentions to ATC immediately.
• "You are at 9,500 feet assigned, and you cannot maintain 500 fpm climb due to aircraft performance — what do you do?" — Report immediately to ATC; they must issue a revised clearance.
• "What reports are NOT required when ATC has radar contact?" — Compulsory reporting points (unless ATC requests), leaving the FAF inbound, and revised ETA reports.

How does the mandatory report for TAS change work?

The TAS change report — ±5% or 10 kt from filed TAS, whichever is greater — is one of the least-memorized items on the list because it rarely occurs in typical training flights. However, DPEs test it precisely because of that. The trigger is a sustained change from the TAS filed on your IFR flight plan, not a momentary speed variation. If you file at 120 kt TAS in a Cessna 172 and then climb to a higher altitude where TAS increases to 132 kt, that 10 kt change must be reported even if you are in radar contact.

The reason: ATC uses your filed TAS to project your position and sequence you with other traffic. A sustained TAS change shifts your arrival time at downstream fixes and can affect separation with traffic behind you.

Holding fix reports — what exactly must you say?

When you arrive at a holding fix, you must report your arrival time and altitude. This report is required at all times regardless of radar contact per AIM 5-3-3. The report serves two purposes: it tells ATC you are established in the hold (allowing them to build your EFC and sequence downstream arrivals) and it confirms your altitude in the hold.

Format: "[Call sign], [fix name], [time], [altitude], holding." For example: "Cessna 12345, BOSCO, 1447Z, 8,000, holding." If ATC has issued an EFC, confirm it in the report or ask for clarification if one was not received.

Per AIM 5-3-7, ATC must issue an EFC time whenever a holding clearance is assigned. If they do not, request it — that EFC is the key input for lost-comm timing under 14 CFR 91.185.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the IFR mandatory reports?

IFR mandatory reports are the ATC position and status reports required under 14 CFR 91.183 and AIM 5-3-3. They fall into two buckets: reports always required regardless of radar contact (leaving an altitude, VOR failure, missed approach, etc.) and reports required only when not in radar contact (compulsory reporting points, leaving FAF inbound, revised ETA). See AIM 5-3-3 for the full authoritative list.

Q: Which IFR reports are required even in radar contact?

Per AIM 5-3-3, reports required at all times include: leaving a previously assigned altitude, VOR receiver malfunction, executing a missed approach, inability to climb/descend at 500 fpm, TAS change of ±5% or 10 kt from filed, arrival at a holding fix, loss of nav/comm equipment per 14 CFR 91.187, unforecast weather per 91.183(b), and safety-of-flight information per 91.183(c).

Q: What reports are required only when not in radar contact?

Per AIM 5-3-3, reports required only when not in radar contact include: passage of each designated compulsory reporting point, leaving the final approach fix or outer marker inbound, and a corrected estimate any time a previously submitted ETA is in error by more than 2 minutes (3 minutes for North Atlantic flights). Once ATC establishes and advises radar contact, these reports are relieved unless ATC specifically requests them.

Q: Do you have to report leaving an altitude in radar contact?

Yes. Leaving a previously assigned altitude is a mandatory report required at all times regardless of radar contact per AIM 5-3-3. Radar shows ATC your position but does not tell them you deviated from your assigned altitude. Your voice report is the only way ATC learns of the altitude departure, which is why the duty is never relieved by radar contact.

Q: What is the mandatory report for unforecast weather?

Under 14 CFR 91.183(b), you must report any unforecast weather conditions encountered as soon as possible. This covers unexpected icing, turbulence, wind shear, or precipitation not in the forecast. The report is required regardless of radar contact and is made on your current assigned ATC frequency. ATC will convert it to a PIREP.

Q: When do you report a malfunction to ATC?

Under 14 CFR 91.187(a), you must report as soon as practical any malfunction of navigational, approach, or communication equipment in flight in controlled airspace under IFR. Per 91.187(b), the report must include: aircraft identification, equipment affected, degree to which IFR capability is impaired, and nature and extent of assistance desired from ATC.

Q: What is the AIM 5-3-3 ETA error threshold for a revised ETA report?

Per AIM 5-3-3, when not in radar contact you must give ATC a corrected estimate any time it becomes apparent that a previously submitted ETA is in error in excess of 2 minutes. For flights in the North Atlantic (NAT), a revised estimate is required when the error is 3 minutes or more. The revised ETA report is not required when in radar contact.

Q: Is a missed approach a mandatory report even in radar contact?

Yes. Per AIM 5-3-3, execution of a missed approach is a mandatory report required at all times regardless of radar contact. Report the missed approach and your intentions to ATC immediately upon initiating the procedure. This is separate from the go/no-go decision under 14 CFR 91.175(e).

Sources

• AIM Chapter 5, Section 3 — En Route Procedures (AIM 5-3-3)
• 14 CFR 91.183 — IFR Communications (Cornell LII)
• 14 CFR 91.187 — Malfunction Reports (Cornell LII)
• 14 CFR 91.183 — eCFR

This article was researched from FAA primary sources: the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) Chapter 5, Section 3 (Additional Reports) and 14 CFR Part 91 (§§ 91.183, 91.187) verified against Cornell LII and eCFR. Last updated: June 2026. If you spot an inaccuracy, email corrections@mockdpe.org.