14 CFR Part 61 · Subpart A · General
14 CFR 61.56: The flight review
To act as pilot in command you need a flight review within the past 24 calendar months: at least 1 hour of ground training and 1 hour of flight training with an instructor, ending in a logbook endorsement. Passing a checkride or completing a phase of the FAA WINGS program counts instead.
Section last amended December 2, 2024 · Text current as of October 15, 2026 · Also cited as FAR 61.56 · Read it on eCFR
14 CFR 61.56 in plain English
- At least 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training, covering the Part 91 rules and the maneuvers the instructor chooses. (a)
- It must be done since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month you fly as pilot in command. (c)
- A practical test or proficiency check given by an examiner, check airman or the military, for a certificate, rating or operating privilege, counts instead. An instrument proficiency check from an instructor does not. (d)
- Completing a phase of an FAA pilot proficiency program (WINGS) counts as a flight review. (e)
- Flight instructors who met their recent experience requirements skip the hour of ground training. (f)
- A student pilot with a current solo endorsement does not need one. (g)
Common questions
- My flight review was in May 2024. When does it run out?
- At the end of May 2026. Counting from the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the flight means it lasts to the end of the month two years on.
- Can I fail a flight review?
- There is no pass or fail; the instructor either endorses the logbook or does not, and keeps training until they can.
- Is a flight review a BFR?
- Yes. BFR, for biennial flight review, is the older name pilots still use.
Official text of 14 CFR 61.56
§ 61.56 Flight review. Verbatim from the eCFR, current as of October 15, 2026.
(a)Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (f) of this section, a flight review consists of a minimum of 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training. The review must include:
(1)A review of the current general operating and flight rules of part 91 of this chapter; and
(2)A review of those maneuvers and procedures that, at the discretion of the person giving the review, are necessary for the pilot to demonstrate the safe exercise of the privileges of the pilot certificate.
(b)Glider pilots may substitute a minimum of three instructional flights in a glider, each of which includes a flight to traffic pattern altitude, in lieu of the 1 hour of flight training required in paragraph (a) of this section.
(c)Except as provided in paragraphs (d), (e), and (g) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft unless, since the beginning of the 24th calendar month before the month in which that pilot acts as pilot in command, that person has:
(1)Accomplished a flight review given in an aircraft for which that pilot is rated by an authorized instructor and
(2)A logbook endorsed from an authorized instructor who gave the review certifying that the person has satisfactorily completed the review.
(d)A person who has, within the period specified in paragraph (c) of this section, passed any of the following need not accomplish the flight review required by this section:
(1)A pilot proficiency check or practical test conducted by an examiner, an approved pilot check airman, or a U.S. Armed Force, for a pilot certificate, rating, or operating privilege.
(2)A practical test conducted by an examiner for one of the following:
(i)The issuance of a flight instructor certificate,
(ii)An additional rating on a flight instructor certificate,
(iii)To meet the recent experience requirements for a flight instructor certificate in accordance with § 61.197(b)(1); or
(iv)The reinstatement of flight instructor privileges in accordance with § 61.199(b)(2).
(e)A person who has, within the period specified in paragraph (c) of this section, satisfactorily accomplished one or more phases of an FAA-sponsored pilot proficiency program need not accomplish the flight review required by this section.
(f)A person who holds a flight instructor certificate need not accomplish the one hour of ground training specified in paragraph (a) of this section if that person has, within the period specified in paragraph (c) of this section, met one of the following requirements:
(1)Satisfactorily completed the recent experience requirements for a flight instructor certificate under § 61.197; or
(2)Reinstated the person's flight instructor privileges by satisfactorily completing an approved flight instructor refresher course in accordance with § 61.199(a)(1).
(g)A student pilot need not accomplish the flight review required by this section provided the student pilot is undergoing training for a certificate and has a current solo flight endorsement as required under § 61.87 of this part.
(h)The requirements of this section may be accomplished in combination with the requirements of § 61.57 and other applicable recent experience requirements at the discretion of the authorized instructor conducting the flight review.
(i)A flight simulator or flight training device may be used to meet the flight review requirements of this section subject to the following conditions:
(1)The flight simulator or flight training device must be used in accordance with an approved course conducted by a training center certificated under part 142 of this chapter.
(2)Unless the flight review is undertaken in a flight simulator that is approved for landings, the applicant must meet the takeoff and landing requirements of § 61.57(a) or § 61.57(b) of this part.
(3)The flight simulator or flight training device used must represent an aircraft or set of aircraft for which the pilot is rated.
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