Eligibility
- Age 18 or older.
- Read, speak, write, and understand English.
- Hold a Commercial Pilot certificate or ATP certificate with category and class for the rating sought.
- Hold an Instrument Rating in the category sought (for airplane CFI).
- Sign-off from a CFI for spin training (airplane CFI applicants) — one flight with a CFI in an aircraft approved for spins, covering recognition, entry, and recovery.
Knowledge tests (two of them)
1. Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI). 50 questions, 70% to pass. Covers the learning process, human behavior, effective communication, teaching methods, planning instructional activity, assessment, and instructor professionalism. Reference: FAA-H-8083-9B.
2. CFI knowledge test (FIA). 100 questions, 70% to pass. Covers regulations applicable to flight instruction, technical subject areas to teach, and checkride preparation. Most candidates take both written tests within a few weeks of each other.
Aeronautical experience
No new hour requirement beyond holding the Commercial certificate — but there is a practical floor:
- You must receive a logbook endorsement from your training CFI certifying you're prepared for the practical test, with training in the fundamentals of instructing AND in all areas of operation appropriate to the rating sought.
- The training is typically 30–60 hours of dual with a working CFI who has trained other CFIs, plus extensive ground time.
The practical test (the legendary one)
The CFI checkride is the only one in the GA system where you fly every maneuver from the right seat and teach it out loud — to the examiner — as if they're the student. Reference: FAA-S-ACS-25.
Oral (4–6 hours). The examiner picks topics from the entire ACS — you teach a full lesson on each, with appropriate teaching aids (lesson plan, whiteboard, models). Expect FOI questions woven throughout.
Flight (~2 hours). Right-seat preflight, takeoff, every maneuver in the Private & Commercial ACS to PTS+CFI tolerances, taught aloud. Stalls, slow flight, ground reference, emergencies, short/soft-field operations — every one demonstrated and taught.
Most candidates spend more time preparing for this checkride than any other in their flying career. National first-attempt pass rate has historically hovered around 50%.
After the CFI: CFII and MEI
CFII (Instrument Instructor) requires an additional knowledge test and practical, and lets you teach toward the Instrument Rating. The good news: most of the difficulty is in the initial CFI ride — the CFII add-on is comparatively focused.
MEI (Multi-Engine Instructor) requires a practical only (no additional written) and lets you teach in multi-engine aircraft.