The private pilot written exam is a 60-question, multiple-choice FAA knowledge test with a 2.0-hour time limit and a 70% passing score, taken at a PSI testing centre and costing approximately $175. You need an instructor endorsement to sit it, an FAA Tracking Number from IACRA, and photo identification showing your signature and residential address. A pass is valid for 24 calendar months, which is why you should take it early in your training rather than saving it for the end.
This page covers everything from what is actually on the test to what the deficiency codes on your result mean for your checkride oral. It sits inside our student pilot resources, which map the whole path from first lesson to certificate.
The Numbers, In One Place
| Item | Private Pilot Airplane (Test Code PAR) |
|---|---|
| Questions | 60, multiple choice, three options each |
| Allotted time | 2.0 hours |
| Minimum passing score | 70%, which is 42 correct answers |
| Minimum age to sit it | 15 |
| Fee | Approximately $175, charged by the testing centre |
| Where | A PSI-operated FAA knowledge testing centre |
| Result validity | 24 calendar months after the month you took it |
| Prerequisites | Instructor endorsement, FTN, acceptable photo identification |
Those figures come from the FAA's Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix and ACS knowledge test table. A note on the fee: the FAA states that knowledge testing centres charge approximately $175 for an initial knowledge test, but the fee is set by the testing provider, not by the FAA, and it does change. Confirm the current price when you schedule.
What The Knowledge Test Actually Is
It is one of three things you have to pass to earn a private pilot certificate: the knowledge test, the practical test oral, and the practical test flight. It is entirely separate from the checkride and is usually taken months before it. It is computer-delivered, closed-book except for the materials described below, and you find out whether you passed before you leave the building.
The questions are drawn from a large FAA bank. They are not trick questions, but they are frequently written in FAA phrasing rather than plain English, and a meaningful number of the ones people get wrong are misread rather than unknown. Some questions refer to figures — charts, diagrams, tables — in a supplement provided at the test centre.
What Is On It: The Subject Areas
The knowledge areas are prescribed by 14 CFR 61.105, which requires ground training from an authorized instructor or a home-study course covering, in the regulation's own terms:
- Federal Aviation Regulations relating to private pilot privileges, limitations and flight operations
- NTSB accident reporting requirements
- Use of the Aeronautical Information Manual and FAA advisory circulars
- Aeronautical charts for VFR navigation using pilotage, dead reckoning and navigation systems
- Radio communication procedures
- Recognition of critical weather situations, windshear avoidance, and the use of weather reports and forecasts
- Safe and efficient operation of aircraft, including collision avoidance and wake turbulence recognition
- Effects of density altitude on takeoff and climb performance
- Weight and balance computations
- Principles of aerodynamics, powerplants and aircraft systems
- Stall awareness, spin entry, spins and spin recovery
- Aeronautical decision making and judgment
- Preflight action, including runway lengths, takeoff and landing distance data, weather reports and fuel requirements
In practice the test weights heavily toward regulations, airspace, weather, and performance and weight-and-balance calculations. Airspace and weather are where most students lose marks; the calculation questions are the ones that reward practice, because they are mechanical once you know the method.
Getting The Endorsement To Take It
You cannot walk in off the street. 14 CFR 61.35 requires that before taking a knowledge test you have received an endorsement from an authorized instructor certifying that you have accomplished the appropriate ground training or home-study course and are prepared for the test. Your instructor is putting their certificate behind that statement, so most will want to see evidence — usually a completed ground school course and a couple of practice tests at a consistent score.
61.35 also sets the identification requirement. You must present identification containing your photograph, your signature, and your date of birth showing that you meet the age requirement before the test report expires. If your mailing address is a post office box, the identification must also show a current residential address. A driving licence with your current address is the simplest option; a passport plus a second document showing your address also works.
Bring the endorsement. Whether your instructor writes it in your logbook, on a separate form, or both, have it with you physically.
How And Where To Schedule
FAA knowledge tests are delivered by PSI at authorised testing centres. The process is:
- Get your FTN first. The FAA's testing guidance is explicit: applicants who do not already have an FAA Tracking Number should create an IACRA profile to establish one before taking a knowledge test. Our IACRA walkthrough covers this.
- Create an account with the testing provider and register using your name exactly as it appears on your identification and in IACRA.
- Choose the test code. For a private pilot airplane certificate it is PAR. Choosing the wrong code and sitting the wrong test is rare but not unheard of, and it is not refundable.
- Pick a centre and a slot. There are several in the Los Angeles area. Book a morning slot if you have the choice; two hours of chart reading is easier before lunch.
- Pay the fee at booking.
What To Bring On The Day
- Photo identification meeting the 61.35 requirements above. This is the one that turns people away at the door.
- Your instructor's endorsement.
- An approved calculator. A simple non-programmable electronic calculator or a mechanical E6B flight computer. Anything with stored data or a manual is likely to be refused; the testing centre erases or inspects memory.
- A plotter. Bring your own; do not assume one is provided.
- Nothing else. Phones, watches, notes and bags go in a locker.
Scratch paper and the figures supplement are provided by the centre.
The FAA Figures Supplement
Many questions refer to a numbered figure — a sectional chart excerpt, a takeoff performance chart, a weight and balance graph, a METAR, an airport diagram. These are printed in the Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement, which the centre hands you. The identical document is a free download from the FAA, and you should practise with it at home until you can find a figure in seconds. Students who first see the supplement on test day waste minutes hunting through it.
Your Results, And What The Codes Mean
You get your score immediately, and an Airman Knowledge Test Report either printed at the centre or made available electronically. The report shows your percentage, whether you passed, and — this is the important part — a list of Airman Certification Standards codes for the subject areas in which you answered a question incorrectly.
Each code maps to a specific knowledge or risk-management element in the Private Pilot ACS. Those codes are not decoration. Two things happen with them:
- Your instructor must address them. The FAA's guidance is that your instructor reviews the areas in which you were deficient and endorses the test report or provides a written endorsement confirming that review.
- Your examiner will use them at the oral. A Designated Pilot Examiner is required to cover the deficient areas during the practical test. If you scored 95% but missed two airspace questions, expect airspace questions across the table. Take the codes to your instructor the same week you take the test, work through each one, and write down what you learned.
A high score is worth having for exactly this reason: a 95 makes a shorter, calmer oral than a 72.
How Long The Result Lasts, And What Happens If You Fail
A satisfactorily completed knowledge test expires 24 calendar months after the month in which it was taken. You must pass the practical test within that window, or take the knowledge test again. This is the single strongest argument for taking the written early: a pass at hour 15 gives you two full years, and virtually every private pilot finishes well inside that. There is a narrow exception for pilots who go on to certain further training, but plan on 24 months.
If you score below 70 you have failed, and you may retake the test. Before retaking, you need an endorsement from an authorized instructor certifying that you have received additional training and are competent to pass. Retaking costs the full fee again. Most failures come from one of three causes: not having done enough practice questions under time pressure, never having practised with the figures supplement, or having crammed a week before rather than studied over several weeks. All three are fixable.
An Honest Study Plan
Most students need four to eight weeks of consistent study alongside their flying. Here is the plan we give ours.
| Phase | What You Do | Typical Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Learn the material | Work through a ground school course start to finish. Do not skip to practice questions. | 3–5 weeks, 4–6 hours a week |
| 2. Drill the calculations | Weight and balance, density altitude, takeoff and landing performance, crosswind components, fuel and time. Do them until they are boring. | 1 week |
| 3. Practice tests | Full 60-question tests under a 2-hour clock, with the figures supplement open. Review every wrong answer and write down why. | 1–2 weeks |
| 4. Endorsement and booking | When you are consistently scoring above 85% on fresh practice tests, ask your instructor for the endorsement and book within two weeks. | Days |
Three rules that matter more than which course you buy. Study little and often — forty minutes daily beats a five-hour Sunday. Never memorise an answer letter; if you cannot explain why the other two options are wrong, you do not know it, and the examiner will find that out at the oral. And connect it to the airplane: work the weight and balance for the actual aircraft you fly, look up the airspace you fly through, and read the METAR for Van Nuys before every lesson.
Where Ground School Fits
Self-study courses are cheap and work well for disciplined people. What they cannot do is answer the question you did not know you had. Ground instruction with an instructor is $110 per hour at our school, and the students who use it well do not book twenty hours of it — they book two or three hours at the right moments: one session at the start to structure the study plan, one on airspace and weather when those chapters get confusing, and one to review the practice-test answers they keep getting wrong before asking for the endorsement. Three hours at $110 is $330, and it routinely saves a $175 retest and several weeks. Ground instruction is included in our private pilot course packages, which start at $10,400.
Our full-motion simulator at $120 per hour is also a genuinely good place to make airspace and radio work concrete before you are tested on them.
Related Reading
- Student pilot resources — where the written sits in the whole training path.
- IACRA and your student pilot certificate — get your FTN before you book the test.
- Private pilot license in Los Angeles — the full course, packages and pricing.
- Sport pilot license — a different, shorter knowledge test and a shorter course.
- Part 61 vs Part 141 — how the training structure differs.
- Meet your flight instructors — the people who sign the endorsement.
Private Pilot Written Exam FAQ
How Many Questions Are On The Private Pilot Written Exam?
60 multiple-choice questions with a 2.0-hour time limit. You need 70% to pass, which is 42 correct answers. Those figures come from the FAA's Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix for test code PAR.
How Much Does The FAA Knowledge Test Cost?
The FAA states that knowledge testing centres charge approximately $175 for an initial knowledge test. The fee is set by the testing provider rather than the FAA and does change, so confirm the current price when you schedule.
How Long Is The Written Exam Valid?
A satisfactorily completed knowledge test expires 24 calendar months after the month it was taken. You must pass the practical test inside that window or take the written again.
Do I Need An Endorsement To Take The Written?
Yes. 14 CFR 61.35 requires an endorsement from an authorized instructor certifying that you completed the ground training or home-study course and are prepared for the test. Bring it with you.
What Identification Do I Need At The Test Centre?
Photo identification showing your signature and date of birth. If your mailing address is a post office box, it must also show a current residential address. A current driving licence is usually the simplest option.
What Happens If I Fail The Private Pilot Written?
You may retake it after receiving additional training and an endorsement from an authorized instructor certifying you are competent to pass. You pay the full fee again. Most failures trace to too few timed practice tests.
What Do The Codes On My Test Report Mean?
They are Airman Certification Standards codes for the subject areas where you answered incorrectly. Your instructor must review those areas with you, and your examiner will question you on them during the checkride oral.
When Should I Take The Knowledge Test?
Early — ideally around your first solo and before your first solo cross-country. The result lasts 24 calendar months, and students who leave it until the end stall out when they are otherwise ready for a checkride.
Book The Ground Session That Gets You The Endorsement
If you are studying now and want a second pair of eyes on the areas you keep missing, ground instruction is $110 per hour and you can book single sessions. If you have not started flying yet, start there instead: a discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes over Los Angeles, flown from the left seat and logged as dual instruction toward your certificate. To plan the written, the medical and the calendar together, book a free consultation or call (818) 330-1318 any day between 9 AM and 9 PM. We are at 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406.