Eligibility
- Hold a current Private Pilot certificate (or be applying concurrently).
- Read, speak, write, and understand English.
- No new medical requirement — your existing private-pilot medical (or BasicMed) is sufficient.
Knowledge test
60 multiple-choice questions, 2.5 hours, 70% to pass. Heavy on regulations (Part 91 IFR rules), IFR charts (low-altitude enroute, approach plates, SIDs/STARs), weather products and minimums, and approach procedures. Reference: FAA-CT-8080-3F (testing supplement).
Your CFII must endorse you. Plan to take this near the end of training so the material is fresh for the oral.
Aeronautical experience (Part 61)
- 50 hours of PIC cross-country, of which at least 10 must be in an airplane (a leg over 50 NM with a landing). Most students arrive at instrument training already meeting this from private-pilot work and post-checkride flying.
- 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, of which at least 15 must be received from an authorized CFII. Of those 40, up to 10 can be in an aviation training device (FAA-approved).
- One long IFR cross-country of at least 250 NM total along airways or ATC-directed routing, performed under IFR with three different types of approaches at three different airports, and an instrument approach at each.
- Three hours of instrument time within 2 calendar months of the practical test.
Practical test
Conducted with a DPE in actual or simulated instrument conditions:
- Oral (~2 hr): regulations, IFR currency, weather, departure/enroute/arrival/approach procedures, lost comms, holding, single-pilot resource management. Reference: FAA-S-ACS-8C.
- Flight (~2 hr): departure under IFR, holding, intercepting and tracking courses, partial-panel work, unusual attitude recovery, three different approaches (typically one precision and two non-precision), missed approach, and a circle-to-land or a published missed.
What it actually takes
Timeline: 3–6 months part-time, 4–6 weeks accelerated. The 50-hr PIC XC requirement is usually the schedule constraint, not the instrument time itself.
Cost: $8,000–$15,000 nationally, depending on whether you fly an aircraft you already rent for private work, use a sim for portion of the 40 hr, and how efficient your training pacing is.
The honest part: the rating itself is one milestone. Single-pilot IFR proficiency is a separate ongoing project. Plan to fly approaches every month after the checkride or you'll lose the skill faster than you built it.