The Distinction That Fixes Most Of The Confusion
There are six types of pilot licenses in the United States — Student, Sport, Recreational, Private, Commercial and Airline Transport — plus a separate family of ratings and endorsements that attach to them. The FAA does not actually issue "licenses" at all. It issues certificates, and the difference between a certificate and a rating is the single most useful thing on this page.
- A certificate is your level of pilot. It is the noun. You hold one at a time and you upgrade it.
- A rating is added to a certificate and expands what or how you may fly — Instrument, Multi-Engine, or a specific aircraft type. It is not a standalone license and never expires on its own.
- An endorsement is a logbook signature from an instructor. No test, no plastic card, no FAA paperwork — just a signature that unlocks a category of aircraft.
So "instrument license" is not a thing. The Instrument Rating is added to your Private or Commercial certificate. Everything below is organized in the order you would actually earn it.
The Complete Comparison Table
| Certificate Or Rating | Min Age | FAA Minimum Hours | Medical | What It Lets You Do | What It Does Not Allow | Price At You Fly LA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student Pilot Certificate | 16 | None | Third class before solo | Train, and fly solo with instructor endorsements | No passengers, no compensation | $0 via IACRA |
| Sport Pilot | 17 | 20 hours | Driver's license or third class | Day VFR in a light-sport aircraft, one passenger | No night, no IMC, no compensation | $8,400 |
| Recreational Pilot | 17 | 30 hours | Third class | Day VFR, one passenger, near your home airport | No night, no compensation, heavy restrictions | Not offered — see Sport or Private |
| Private Pilot | 17 | 40 (Part 61) / 35 (Part 141) | Third class | Carry passengers day and night, fly nationwide | No flying for compensation or hire; no IMC | $10,400 / $15,400 / $22,000 |
| Instrument Rating | Certificate held | 50 hr cross-country PIC, 40 hr instrument | Same as certificate | File and fly IFR, fly in cloud and low visibility | Not a certificate; adds no paid privileges | $11,700 |
| Commercial Pilot | 18 | 250 hours | Second class | Be paid to fly | Not enough on its own for airline flying | $15,400 |
| Multi-Engine Rating | Certificate held | No published hour minimum | Same as certificate | Act as PIC of multi-engine airplanes | Not a certificate; single-engine privileges unchanged | $5,100 |
| CFI | 18 | Commercial certificate first | Third class in practice | Be paid to teach flying | Adds no new flying privileges of your own | $15,400 for CFI, CFII and MEI |
| CFII | 18 | CFI plus Instrument Rating | Third class in practice | Teach instrument students | Does not cover multi-engine instruction | Included above |
| MEI | 18 | CFI plus Multi-Engine Rating | Third class in practice | Teach in multi-engine airplanes | Does not cover instrument instruction | Included above |
| ATP | 23 (21 restricted) | 1,500 (R-ATP from 1,000) | First class | Act as PIC for a scheduled airline | Does not guarantee a job | Earned on the job |
Requirements are set in 14 CFR Part 61 and do change. Verify current figures on faa.gov before planning around them.
Student Pilot Certificate
Not a license to fly on your own — a license to learn. It permits solo flight only with specific instructor endorsements for the aircraft, the airport and the conditions. It costs nothing, is issued through IACRA, the FAA's online system, and requires an FTN (FAA Tracking Number) that follows you for the rest of your flying life. You do not need one for a discovery flight or for dual instruction — only to solo. See our step-by-step IACRA guide.
Sport Pilot Certificate
Lets you: fly a light-sport aircraft in daytime VFR with one passenger, at the lowest cost and hour requirement of any certificate — a 20-hour FAA minimum. Uniquely, it can be exercised with a valid US driver's license instead of an FAA medical certificate, which makes it the right answer for some people with a medical complication.
Does not let you: fly at night, fly in cloud, fly for compensation, or fly aircraft outside light-sport limits. Airspace and altitude are restricted without additional training. Our Sport Pilot course is $8,400 — about $2,000 below the Private.
Recreational Pilot Certificate
A middle tier created between Sport and Private, with a 30-hour minimum. In practice it is almost extinct: it restricts you to daytime VFR, one passenger, lower-powered aircraft and a radius around your home airport, and lifting those restrictions requires endorsements that bring you close to Private requirements anyway. We do not offer it, and we would generally steer you to Sport Pilot for cost or Private Pilot for freedom.
Private Pilot Certificate
The certificate most people mean by "pilot's license," and the trunk of the tree — every professional path runs through it.
Lets you: act as pilot in command of an aircraft you are rated for, day or night, carry passengers anywhere in the United States, and share flight expenses with them on a pro-rata basis.
Does not let you: be paid to fly, and does not permit flight in instrument conditions without an Instrument Rating. The FAA minimum is 40 hours under Part 61 and 35 under Part 141 — legal floors, not forecasts, which is why our Private Pilot packages are sized at 40 hours for $10,400, 60 for $15,400 and 80 for $22,000. Training in a Cirrus SR22T from day one is $23,400. See the full cost breakdown and Part 61 vs Part 141.
Instrument Rating — A Rating, Not A Certificate
This is the most misunderstood item in aviation. There is no such thing as an "instrument license." The Instrument Rating attaches to a certificate you already hold and changes the conditions you may fly in, not your level of pilot.
Lets you: file and fly IFR, enter cloud, and operate in low visibility — which in practical terms is what turns an aircraft from a fair-weather toy into transportation.
Does not let you: earn money. A Private Pilot with an Instrument Rating still cannot fly for compensation. It requires 50 hours of cross-country PIC time and 40 hours of instrument time, and much of that instrument time can be flown in our Redbird full-motion simulator at $120 per hour rather than $179 in the airplane. Our Instrument Rating course is $11,700.
Commercial Pilot Certificate
Lets you: be paid to fly. That is the whole point — it is the line between hobby and profession. The FAA minimum is 250 hours, and you need a second-class medical to exercise the privileges.
Does not let you: start an airline or a charter operation on your own. Carrying passengers or cargo for hire generally requires an operating certificate held by a company, which is why most newly-minted commercial pilots are hired into instructing, aerial work or charter rather than flying paying passengers independently. It also is not sufficient for airline flying, which requires an ATP. Our Commercial Pilot course is $15,400.
Multi-Engine Rating
Lets you: act as pilot in command of multi-engine airplanes. It is a rating added to your existing certificate, and it is proficiency-based with no published hour minimum — you train until you meet the standard and then take a checkride.
Does not let you: anything new in single-engine aircraft. Most students complete it in about a week in our Piper Seminole. The Multi-Engine Rating is $5,100 over seven days.
Flight Instructor: CFI, CFII And MEI
Three separate instructor credentials, and the difference matters when you are hiring an instructor or planning a career.
- CFI — teach primary students toward Sport, Recreational, Private and Commercial certificates.
- CFII — additionally teach instrument students and give instrument instruction.
- MEI — additionally teach in multi-engine airplanes.
Instructing does not add flying privileges of your own; it lets you be paid to teach. It is also the standard way pilots build from 250 hours toward the 1,500 required for an ATP, because you are paid to log time instead of buying it. Our combined CFI, CFII and MEI course is $15,400, and we hire our own graduates — see flight instructor jobs.
Airline Transport Pilot (ATP)
The highest certificate the FAA issues, and the only one required to act as pilot in command for a scheduled airline. It requires 1,500 hours, with restricted-ATP reductions to as low as 1,000 hours for certain paths, a first-class medical, and a minimum age of 23 — 21 for a restricted ATP.
You do not buy an ATP at a flight school the way you buy a Private. You accumulate the hours, and the certificate typically comes at the point of airline hiring. Our Airline Pilot Career Program takes you from zero to 260 hours for $84,000; from there you build time, normally by instructing. See how to become an airline pilot.
Endorsements People Mistake For Licenses
These are logbook signatures, not certificates. No written test, no checkride, no card in your wallet — an instructor trains you, signs your logbook, and you are legally qualified.
| Endorsement | What It Covers | How You Get It |
|---|---|---|
| Complex | Retractable landing gear, flaps and a controllable-pitch propeller | Training and a logbook endorsement |
| High-performance | Aircraft with an engine of more than 200 horsepower | Training and a logbook endorsement |
| Tailwheel | Conventional-gear aircraft, where the third wheel is at the tail | Training and a logbook endorsement |
| High-altitude | Pressurized aircraft capable of operating above 25,000 feet | Ground and flight training, plus an endorsement |
Two of these are directly available in our fleet: the Piper Arrow is a complex airplane with retractable gear and a constant-speed propeller, and the Cirrus SR22 is high-performance. See our fleet and the Cirrus SR22.
Which One Should You Get?
If you want to fly for fun on nice days and cost is the deciding factor, Sport Pilot at $8,400. If you want to carry your family somewhere real, Private Pilot, then the Instrument Rating. If you want to be paid, the sequence is Private, Instrument, Commercial, and then CFI to build hours. If the destination is an airline, the whole ladder — and read how much pilots make before you commit the capital. If you are not sure which, how to become a pilot walks the fork in detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the different types of pilot licenses?
The FAA issues six pilot certificates: Student, Sport, Recreational, Private, Commercial and Airline Transport Pilot. Separately it issues ratings that attach to a certificate, such as the Instrument Rating and the Multi-Engine Rating, and instructor certificates including CFI, CFII and MEI. Endorsements such as complex, high-performance, tailwheel and high-altitude are logbook signatures rather than certificates.
What is the difference between a pilot certificate and a rating?
A certificate is your level of pilot and you hold one at a time, upgrading it as you progress. A rating attaches to that certificate and expands what or how you may fly, such as the Instrument Rating or the Multi-Engine Rating. A rating is never a standalone license, so there is no such thing as an instrument license.
Is an instrument rating a license?
No. The Instrument Rating is added to a certificate you already hold, most often the Private Pilot certificate, and it changes the conditions you may fly in rather than your level of pilot. It lets you file and fly IFR and operate in cloud and low visibility, but it adds no ability to be paid to fly.
What is the easiest pilot license to get?
The Sport Pilot certificate has the lowest FAA minimum at 20 hours and can be exercised with a valid US driver's license instead of an FAA medical certificate. At You Fly LA it costs $8,400. The trade-off is real: daytime VFR only, one passenger, light-sport aircraft only, and no flying for compensation.
Do I need a medical certificate for every pilot license?
You need a third-class medical to solo and to exercise Private Pilot privileges, a second-class medical to exercise Commercial privileges, and a first-class medical for ATP privileges at an airline. Sport Pilot is the exception and can be exercised with a valid US driver's license. No medical is required for a discovery flight or for dual instruction.
Which pilot license do I need to get paid to fly?
The Commercial Pilot certificate, which has a 250-hour FAA minimum and requires a second-class medical. It does not by itself let you carry passengers or cargo for hire independently, because that generally requires a company operating certificate, and it is not sufficient for airline flying, which requires an ATP at 1,500 hours.
What is the difference between complex and high-performance?
Complex refers to an aircraft with retractable landing gear, flaps and a controllable-pitch propeller. High-performance refers to an aircraft with an engine of more than 200 horsepower. They are separate endorsements and an aircraft can be one, both or neither. Both are logbook signatures from an instructor rather than certificates, with no written test or checkride.
Start With One Flight, Then Pick Your Path
You do not need to choose a certificate before you fly. A 60-minute discovery flight over Los Angeles is $229 — no tax, no booking fee, $229 is the total — it requires nothing but a photo ID, and the hour is loggable toward whichever certificate you eventually choose. If you would rather map the options first, the in-person consultation at Van Nuys is free.
Book A Discovery Flight — $229 Book A Free Consultation Call (818) 330-1318
You Fly LA · 7900 Balboa Blvd, Van Nuys, CA 91406 · Open 9 AM – 9 PM, seven days a week.