What An FAA Medical Certificate Is And Who Needs One
An FAA medical certificate is the document an aviation medical examiner (AME), a physician designated by the FAA, issues confirming you meet the medical standards in 14 CFR Part 67 to act as pilot in command. There are three classes — first, second and third. Most people learning to fly in Los Angeles need only a third class, and most people who are anxious about getting one, get one.
Quick Answer: An aviation medical examiner is a physician the FAA designates to give pilot medical exams, and only a designated examiner can issue your certificate. Near Van Nuys, find one with the FAA's designee locator, complete FAA MedXPress before the visit, and ask for a third class for private flying, a second class for commercial work or a first class for an airline career. You need no medical at all for a discovery flight.
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If you found this page because you are worried you might be disqualified, read this next paragraph before anything else.
You Do Not Need Any Medical Certificate To Take A Discovery Flight
No FAA medical certificate is required to take a discovery flight with an instructor. Your certified flight instructor is the pilot in command and holds the medical. You are receiving instruction, not exercising pilot privileges. All you bring is a government-issued photo ID.
So you can fly out of Van Nuys this week, hands on the yoke, for $229 for 60 minutes — no tax, no booking fee, $229 is the total — before filling in a single medical form. If a health question has kept you from calling a flight school for years, this is the cheapest way to find out whether the medical process is even worth pursuing. The hour is logged as dual instruction and counts toward your certificate if you continue. See what a discovery flight is and what to expect on the day.
The Three FAA Medical Certificate Classes
The class you need is set by the privileges you intend to exercise, not by the aircraft you fly. A higher class is simply a stricter version of the same exam, so a first-class medical also satisfies second- and third-class requirements.
| Class Or Pathway | Required For | Who Typically Holds It |
|---|---|---|
| Third Class | Student pilot solo flight, recreational pilot, private pilot privileges | Almost everyone learning to fly for personal reasons. This is the one you need for a Private Pilot certificate. |
| Second Class | Commercial pilot privileges — flying for compensation or hire | Anyone working toward the Commercial Pilot certificate, banner tow, sightseeing, aerial survey. Flight instructing needs only a third class, and none when the instructor is not pilot in command. |
| First Class | Exercising Airline Transport Pilot privileges, including Part 121 airline flying | Career-track students. If your goal is an airline, get this one first — see the Airline Pilot Career Program. |
| BasicMed | Private pilot privileges, as an alternative to a third class | Pilots who have held an FAA medical since 14 July 2006 and want to stay current without repeating the AME exam. |
| US Driver's License | Sport pilot privileges only | Pilots flying under Sport Pilot rules whose most recent FAA medical application was not denied and whose most recent medical certificate or special issuance was not suspended, revoked or withdrawn. |
The practical implication: if you want to fly for fun on weekends, the bar is the third class — the least demanding of the three. If your goal is the airlines, apply for the first class at the very start, because it is the strictest standard you will ever face.
How Long Each Class Lasts, By Age
FAA medicals expire in calendar months, meaning they run to the last day of the expiry month, not the anniversary date. Your age on the date of the exam sets the duration. A higher-class certificate does not vanish when its top-tier privileges expire — it steps down to the lower classes for their full periods.
| Certificate Held | Privileges Being Exercised | Under 40 At Exam | 40 Or Over At Exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Class | ATP / first-class operations | 12 calendar months | 6 calendar months |
| First Class | Commercial (second-class) privileges | 12 calendar months | 12 calendar months |
| First Class | Private / recreational / student privileges | 60 calendar months | 24 calendar months |
| Second Class | Commercial privileges | 12 calendar months | 12 calendar months |
| Second Class | Private / recreational / student privileges | 60 calendar months | 24 calendar months |
| Third Class | Private / recreational / student privileges | 60 calendar months | 24 calendar months |
So a 28-year-old taking a first-class exam gets 12 months of ATP privileges, then 12 months of commercial privileges, then private privileges out to 60 calendar months from the exam date. A 45-year-old taking a third class gets 24 calendar months.
BasicMed And How It Differs
BasicMed is an alternative to the third-class medical for private pilot privileges. Instead of seeing an Aviation Medical Examiner, you complete a comprehensive medical examination checklist with any state-licensed physician, and take an online aeromedical course.
The cycle is a physician exam every 48 months and the online course every 24 calendar months, plus a valid US driver's license whose restrictions you must comply with. Operations are limited: not for compensation or hire, below 18,000 feet MSL, at 250 knots indicated or less, and within aircraft size and occupancy limits the FAA publishes. Those aircraft limits were raised in 2025, so check the FAA's current BasicMed page rather than an older forum post.
The catch that matters for new students: BasicMed is only available if you have held an FAA medical certificate — regular or special issuance — at some point since 14 July 2006. If you have never held one, you cannot start with BasicMed. You need at least one third-class medical from an AME first. For most people reading this page, that means the third class is still the door you have to walk through.
What Actually Happens In The FAA Medical Exam
People imagine something far more invasive than it is. A routine third-class exam involves no blood draw and no drug test.
Vision. Distant acuity of 20/40 or better in each eye separately, with or without correction, for a third class; 20/20 or better for first and second class. Near vision 20/40 at 16 inches. Glasses and contacts are entirely acceptable — the certificate simply carries a limitation requiring corrective lenses. Bring the glasses or contacts you actually fly in.
Color vision. The standard is the ability to perceive the colors necessary for safe performance of airman duties, checked with one of the FAA's currently approved tests. If this is your concern, read whether you can be a pilot if you are colorblind — the answer is usually yes.
Hearing. The default check is whether you can hear an average conversational voice in a quiet room at six feet with your back turned. Audiometry and speech discrimination testing are accepted alternatives.
Blood pressure and pulse. FAA guidance to examiners sets a maximum acceptable reading of 155/95. If you run high in a doctor's office, take readings at home beforehand and bring them.
Urinalysis. A dipstick screening for sugar and protein — an early look for diabetes and kidney issues. It is not a drug screen.
ECG. Required only for first-class applicants: a baseline at age 35, then annually from age 40.
Everything else is a standard physical — heart and lung sounds, ears, nose and throat, a neurological check, abdomen, and height and weight recorded. Height and weight are noted, not limited; the FAA sets no maximum. The real constraint is the aircraft: 180 lb per person on the Piper Warrior (360 lb combined), 200 lb per person on the Cirrus (400 lb combined).
MedXPress And How To Prepare
You do not fill in the application at the doctor's office. You complete FAA Form 8500-8 online through FAA MedXPress, get a confirmation number, and give that number to your AME, who retrieves the file. Submissions expire if you do not attend an exam within the window the FAA allows (currently 60 days), so fill it in close to your appointment.
Before you start the form, assemble: every medication you take with dosage; the names and addresses of doctors you have seen in the last three years and the reason for each visit; dates and details of any surgery or hospitalization; and the details of any arrest, conviction or driver's license action involving alcohol or drugs. Answer truthfully. Falsifying the application is a federal offense and is a far worse outcome than any condition you were trying to hide — the FAA cross-checks the National Driver Register.
Do not self-diagnose your way out of aviation by reading Part 67 at midnight. If something in your history worries you, book a consultation with an AME before you submit MedXPress and ask what documentation they will want. Most will do this, and it can save you months.
Finding An Aviation Medical Examiner Near Los Angeles
An AME is a physician specifically designated by the FAA to conduct these exams. Your own doctor cannot do it — only a designated AME, and only for the classes their designation covers (senior AMEs may issue first class; others are limited to second and third).
Use the FAA's official designee locator rather than a general search. On faa.gov, open the Office of Aerospace Medicine's "Find an AME" tool and search by ZIP code with a radius — 91406 within 25 miles covers the San Fernando Valley, Burbank, Glendale and much of the Westside, and typically returns dozens of examiners. You can filter by the class of exam you need and identify special designations such as HIMS AMEs, who handle mental-health and substance-related special issuances.
Two pieces of practical advice. Call ahead and ask whether the AME is comfortable with your particular history — examiners vary enormously in how much complexity they handle in-office versus defer. And ask the fee when you book; it is set by the physician, not the FAA. We deliberately name no doctors here: designations lapse and practices move, and the FAA locator is always current.
How To Find And Book An Aviation Medical Examiner
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Choose The Class You Need
Third class for student solo, recreational and private flying; second class for commercial privileges; first class for airline transport privileges. If an airline is the goal, ask for the first class now.
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Search The FAA Designee Locator
Open the FAA's designee locator, the FAA's own up-to-date listing of aviation medical examiners, and search around Van Nuys (91406).
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Call Before You Book
Ask whether the examiner does the class you need, what the fee is, and how they handle anything in your history. A first-class exam needs an ECG at 35 and every year from 40, so check the office can do one.
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Complete FAA MedXPress
Fill in your half of Form 8500-8 online, keep the confirmation number, and have the exam within 60 days of submitting. Our MedXPress guide walks through it.
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Bring The Right Things
The confirmation number, government-issued photo ID, the glasses or contacts you fly in, and records for anything in your history. If you run high in a doctor's office, bring home blood pressure readings too.
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Get The Medical Before You Spend On Training
A Private Pilot course starts at $10,400 and the zero-to-airline program is $84,000. An AME exam is a few hundred dollars. Do the cheap thing first: fly a discovery flight to confirm you love it, then get the medical, then commit to a course. If your goal is professional flying, take the first class straight away even though a third class covers your first year — you want to know now whether you meet the strictest standard, not after two ratings.
One sequencing warning: if you apply and are denied, you lose the ability to fly under Sport Pilot rules with a driver's license, and you cannot use BasicMed. A deferral does not do this — only a denial does. That asymmetry is exactly why you speak to an AME informally before submitting the form.
Issued, Deferred Or Denied — And Why Deferred Is Not Denied
Three things can happen at the end of your exam.
Issued. The AME prints your certificate and you walk out with it. This is what happens for the large majority of applicants, including plenty with treated conditions — the FAA maintains a list of CACI conditions, such as controlled hypertension and hypothyroidism, that AMEs may issue in-office without any wait.
Deferred. The AME does not have authority to issue in your particular case, so the file goes to the FAA's Aerospace Medical Certification Division in Oklahoma City or to a Regional Flight Surgeon. A deferral is not a denial. It means the decision sits above the examiner's authority. The usual outcome is a request for records followed by issuance — often as a Special Issuance under 14 CFR 67.401, a time-limited certificate with follow-up requirements. Thousands of pilots fly on them. Expect weeks to months, and expect to be the one chasing your own specialists; the biggest cause of long deferrals is missing records, not FAA reluctance.
Denied. Genuinely uncommon, and even then not necessarily the end — there are reconsideration and appeal pathways. If you receive a denial, get help from an aviation medical specialist or an AME experienced in appeals rather than trying to argue it yourself.
While a deferral is pending you can keep training. You cannot solo without a student pilot certificate and a medical, but you can fly dual with an instructor all day long, and you can knock out the entire written exam and most of the ground work. See how the IACRA student pilot certificate works for the paperwork that runs alongside the medical, and what actually disqualifies you from being a pilot for a condition-by-condition breakdown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an FAA medical certificate for a discovery flight?
No. A discovery flight requires no medical certificate and no pilot certificate of any kind. Your instructor is the pilot in command. Bring a government-issued photo ID and that is all. The flight is $229 for 60 minutes with no tax and no booking fee.
Which class of FAA medical certificate do I need?
Third class for student solo, recreational and private pilot privileges. Second class for commercial privileges. First class for exercising Airline Transport Pilot privileges, including airline flying under Part 121. A higher class also satisfies the lower ones.
How long does a third-class medical last?
60 calendar months if you were under 40 on the date of the exam, and 24 calendar months if you were 40 or over. Calendar months means it expires on the last day of the month, not the anniversary date.
What is BasicMed and can I start with it?
BasicMed lets you fly with private pilot privileges after a physician exam every 48 months and an online course every 24 calendar months, instead of an AME medical. You can only use it if you have held an FAA medical certificate at some point since 14 July 2006, so a brand-new student cannot start with BasicMed.
What happens in the FAA medical exam?
Vision, color vision, hearing, blood pressure and pulse, a dipstick urinalysis for sugar and protein, and a standard physical. First-class applicants also need an ECG at age 35 and annually from 40. There is no blood draw and no drug test.
My medical was deferred. Does that mean I have been denied?
No. A deferral means the AME did not have authority to issue in your case and the file has gone to the FAA for review. The usual result is a request for records followed by issuance, often as a Special Issuance under 14 CFR 67.401. You can keep training with an instructor while it is pending; you just cannot fly solo.
How do I find an Aviation Medical Examiner near Los Angeles?
Use the FAA's official "Find an AME" designee locator on faa.gov and search by ZIP code with a radius — 91406 within 25 miles covers the San Fernando Valley and most of the Westside. Filter by the class of exam you need, and call ahead to ask about fees and about your specific history.
What is an aviation medical examiner?
A physician the FAA has designated to examine pilots and issue FAA medical certificates under 14 CFR Part 67. Only a designated examiner can issue one, so your own doctor cannot unless they hold the designation. The FAA's designee locator at designee.faa.gov lists current examiners.
What should I bring to my aviation medical examiner appointment?
Your MedXPress confirmation number, government-issued photo ID, the glasses or contact lenses you fly in, and copies of records and test results for anything in your medical history. Bringing them can save a deferral while the FAA asks for paperwork.
Start Before The Paperwork
You can be flying over the San Fernando Valley this week with no medical certificate and no prior experience. Do that first, then sort out the forms. Open 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days, at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Main Terminal Unit 108, Van Nuys Airport.
Book A Discovery Flight · $229 Book A Free Consultation Call Or Text (818) 330-1318
Sources: 14 CFR 61.23, 61.113, 67.111, 67.303 and 67.305 (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, eCFR, read 23 September 2026); FAA, Find An Aviation Medical Examiner and designee locator; FAA, Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners, Item 55, Blood Pressure; FAA, MedXPress Frequently Asked Questions (faa.gov).
