The Airman Certification Standards, or ACS, are the FAA documents that define what you must know, what risks you must manage and what you must be able to fly for each pilot certificate and rating. Your written test is built from them and your examiner tests you against them. This page explains how every ACS is organized, lists the current airplane editions with their knowledge tests, gives a plain-English summary of the private, instrument, commercial and flight instructor standards, and helps you work out which document applies to your next test.
Quick answer: The ACS replaced the Practical Test Standards for the private pilot and instrument airplane tests in June 2016 and for commercial airplane in June 2017. The current airplane editions all took effect on May 31, 2024: Private Pilot FAA-S-ACS-6C, Instrument Rating FAA-S-ACS-8C, Commercial Pilot FAA-S-ACS-7B, Flight Instructor FAA-S-ACS-25 and Airline Transport Pilot FAA-S-ACS-11A. A few tests, including the instrument flight instructor (CFII) and the sport pilot airplane test, still use Practical Test Standards.
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What The ACS Is
According to the FAA, the ACS project started in 2011 as an effort to fix the airman knowledge tests, many of whose questions had drifted away from what a pilot actually needs. The FAA and industry concluded the tests could not be fixed without looking at the whole certification system, and the result was a single document per certificate that joins the knowledge test to the practical test.
Every ACS has the same structure. Areas of operation match the areas listed for that certificate in 14 CFR Part 61. Each area contains tasks, and each task lists three kinds of elements: knowledge (what you must understand), risk management (what you must identify, assess and mitigate) and skills (what you must do, with the tolerances). Every element has a code. In PA.I.C.K2, PA identifies the private pilot airplane ACS, I is the area of operation, C the task and K2 the second knowledge element. Instrument codes start with IR, commercial with CA and flight instructor with FI.
The codes are how the two tests connect. Your Airman Knowledge Test Report lists the ACS codes for questions you missed; your instructor signs you off after reviewing them, and the examiner must re-test those elements on the practical test. The ACS are also incorporated by reference into the regulations: 14 CFR 61.43 requires practical tests to be conducted to the applicable ACS or PTS, and 14 CFR 61.14 lists the editions. The FAA's companion guide, FAA-G-ACS-2 with Changes 1 and 2, holds much of the procedural material that used to sit in the ACS appendices.
| Certificate Or Rating | Standard | Knowledge Test | Areas Of Operation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private pilot | FAA-S-ACS-6C, effective May 31, 2024 | PAR: 60 questions, 2 hours, 70% to pass | 12 |
| Instrument rating | FAA-S-ACS-8C, effective May 31, 2024 | IRA: 60 questions, 2 hours, 70% to pass | 8 |
| Commercial pilot | FAA-S-ACS-7B, effective May 31, 2024 | CAX: 100 questions, 2.5 hours, 70% to pass | 11 |
| Flight instructor (CFI) | FAA-S-ACS-25, effective May 31, 2024 | FOI: 50 questions, 1.5 hours; FIA: 100 questions, 2.5 hours | 14 |
| Flight instructor instrument (CFII) | FAA-S-8081-9E (PTS), effective May 31, 2024 | Instrument instructor knowledge test | PTS format |
| Sport pilot, airplane | FAA-S-8081-29B (PTS), effective September 14, 2026 | Sport pilot test | PTS format |
| Airline transport pilot | FAA-S-ACS-11A, effective May 31, 2024 | Airline transport pilot knowledge tests | ACS format |
Knowledge test figures are from the FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix revised 22 October 2025. The FOI test applies unless you meet an exception in 14 CFR 61.183(e).
Private Pilot ACS
FAA-S-ACS-6C has 12 areas of operation. A pilot in a single-engine land airplane is tested in 11 of them, from Preflight Preparation to Postflight Procedures; Area X, Multiengine Operations, does not apply. The core flight standard is altitude within 100 feet, heading within 10 degrees and airspeed within 10 knots, with task-specific limits: bank 45 degrees within 5 in steep turns, airspeed +10/−0 knots in slow flight, and a touchdown within 400 feet of your point on a normal landing and 200 feet on a short-field landing. The Night Operations task has no skill elements, so night is tested in the oral. Our guide to the private pilot ACS covers every area and its tolerances. Our private pilot oral exam guide walks through Area I task by task.
Instrument Rating ACS
FAA-S-ACS-8C has eight areas: Preflight Preparation, Preflight Procedures, ATC Clearances and Procedures, Flight by Reference to Instruments, Navigation Systems, Instrument Approach Procedures, Emergency Operations and Postflight Procedures. The approach standards are the heart of it. Before the final approach segment you hold altitude within 100 feet, heading within 10 degrees and airspeed within 10 knots with no more than three-quarter-scale course deflection. On a non-precision approach you stay no more than 100 feet above, and never below, the MDA; on a precision approach you keep both needles within three-quarter scale down to decision altitude. What you need to see to continue below it is set by FAR 91.175. The same ACS sets out which tasks an instrument proficiency check must cover. The written test and the ACS codes are covered on our instrument rating written exam and ACS page.
Commercial Pilot ACS
FAA-S-ACS-7B has 11 areas. It adds precision to the private pilot tasks and new maneuvers on top: steep turns at about 50 degrees of bank, the steep spiral, chandelles, lazy eights and eights on pylons, accelerated stalls, and the power-off 180-degree accuracy approach and landing, which must touch down within 200 feet of the point. It also has a High-Altitude Operations area covering supplemental oxygen and pressurization. How each maneuver is flown is on our commercial pilot maneuvers page.
Flight Instructor ACS
FAA-S-ACS-25 took effect on May 31, 2024 and superseded FAA-S-8081-6D, the airplane flight instructor PTS dated June 2012. It has 14 areas, starting with Fundamentals of Instructing, Technical Subject Areas and a Preflight Lesson on a Maneuver to be Performed in Flight, then the flight areas you already know from the private and commercial tests, taught rather than simply flown. The instrument instructor rating is still tested to a PTS, FAA-S-8081-9E. Our CFI ACS and PTS explained page covers what changed, and the CFII rating page covers the instrument instructor test.
Which Standard Applies To You?
Six quick scenarios. Pick the document the examiner will use; the answer follows each one.
-
You are taking your first checkride, for a private pilot certificate in a single-engine airplane.
- FAA-S-ACS-6C
- FAA-S-ACS-7B
- FAA-S-ACS-8C
- FAA-S-8081-9E
The Private Pilot for Airplane Category ACS, FAA-S-ACS-6C.
-
You hold a private certificate and are adding an instrument rating.
- FAA-S-ACS-6C
- FAA-S-ACS-25
- FAA-S-ACS-8C
- FAA-S-ACS-7B
The Instrument Rating Airplane ACS, FAA-S-ACS-8C.
-
You are a commercial pilot testing for your first flight instructor certificate in an airplane.
- FAA-S-8081-9E
- FAA-S-ACS-25
- FAA-S-ACS-7B
- FAA-S-ACS-11A
The Flight Instructor for Airplane Category ACS, FAA-S-ACS-25.
-
You are a CFI adding the instrument instructor rating (CFII).
- FAA-S-ACS-25
- FAA-S-ACS-8C
- FAA-S-ACS-7B
- FAA-S-8081-9E
The instrument instructor rating is still tested to a PTS, FAA-S-8081-9E.
-
Your instrument currency has lapsed and an instructor is giving you an instrument proficiency check.
- FAA-S-ACS-8C
- FAA-S-ACS-6C
- FAA-S-ACS-25
- FAA-S-8081-9E
The instrument ACS includes the task table for the proficiency check required by 14 CFR 61.57(d).
-
You are testing for a sport pilot certificate in an airplane after September 14, 2026.
- FAA-S-ACS-6C
- FAA-S-8081-29B
- FAA-S-ACS-7B
- FAA-S-ACS-26
Sport pilot airplane tests use the PTS FAA-S-8081-29B, effective September 14, 2026. FAA-S-ACS-26 is for helicopters with simplified flight controls.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What Replaced The Practical Test Standards?
The ACS, in stages. Private pilot and instrument airplane moved to the ACS in June 2016, commercial airplane in June 2017, and the airplane flight instructor test in May 2024. Some tests, including the instrument instructor and sport pilot tests, still use a PTS.
What Are The ACS Codes On My Knowledge Test Report?
Each code points to the task element behind a question you missed, for example PA.I.C.K2. Your instructor reviews those areas and endorses you for the practical test, and the examiner re-tests them during the checkride.
How Do I Know Which Edition Is Current?
Download it from the FAA's Airman Certification Standards page, which lists each document with its effective date, and check that it matches the edition listed in 14 CFR 61.14. The examiner uses the edition in effect on the day of your test.
Does The Examiner Test Every Element?
No. For each task the examiner must test any element you missed on the knowledge test, at least one knowledge element, at least one risk management element and all skill elements unless the task says otherwise, and may sample more.
Is There An ACS For Sport Pilots?
For airplanes, no: the sport pilot airplane test uses FAA-S-8081-29B, a PTS that took effect on September 14, 2026. The FAA has published a sport pilot ACS for helicopters with simplified flight controls, FAA-S-ACS-26. Our sport pilot license page covers the airplane certificate.
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Related Reading
- The FAA checkride: what to expect: how the test day runs.
- Private pilot written exam: where the ACS codes first appear.
- Types of pilot licenses: how the certificates and ratings fit together.
- Student pilot resources: the whole path in order.
Sources: FAA Airman Certification Standards page and Practical Test Standards page; FAA ACS Frequently Asked Questions; FAA-S-ACS-6C, FAA-S-ACS-8C, FAA-S-ACS-7B and FAA-S-ACS-25; 14 CFR 61.14, 61.43 and 61.57.