How long does it take to get a private pilot license?

No FAA rule sets how many weeks or months it takes, but Part 61 requires at least 40 flight hours for an airplane.¹ An FAA-approved Part 141 school’s airplane course needs at least 35 hours of flight training, plus 35 hours of ground training.²³ How soon you finish depends on how often you fly and when you’re ready, within deadlines such as the knowledge test’s 24-calendar-month window.³⁴⁵

The minimum hours

Under 14 CFR 61.109(a), the 40 hours for a single-engine airplane must include at least:¹

• Instruction: 20 hours of flight training from an authorized instructor.¹
• Cross-country, night and instruments: 3 hours of training in each.¹ The night training includes a cross-country flight totaling over 100 nautical miles and 10 full-stop takeoffs and landings.¹
• Test preparation: 3 hours with an instructor, within the 2 calendar months before the month of the practical test.¹
• Solo: 10 hours, including 5 hours of cross-country time.¹ One solo cross-country must cover 150 nautical miles in total, with full-stop landings at three points and one straight-line leg over 50 nautical miles.¹ You also need three full-stop takeoffs and landings at an airport with an operating control tower.¹

Helicopters, gliders, balloons and other aircraft have their own minimums in the same section.¹ A Part 142 training center’s approved course lowers the airplane total to 35 hours.¹

At a Part 141 school, Appendix B sets the course minimums instead.²³ For a single-engine airplane, its 35 flight hours include 20 with a flight instructor and 5 solo.²

Appendix B’s 3 hours of test preparation must fall within the 60 days before the test.² A graduate who passes the practical test within 60 days after graduating is considered to meet Part 61’s aeronautical experience requirements.⁶

Deadlines and waits the rules set

• Age. For an airplane, you must be 16 for a student pilot certificate and 17 for a private pilot certificate.⁷⁸
• Student pilot certificate. You need one before you fly solo, not to start lessons.⁹ The FAA’s student pilot page says the card arrives by mail in about three weeks; AC 61-65K says about five.⁹¹⁰ IACRA says a temporary certificate is available about 7 days after the TSA vets you.¹¹
• Medical certificate. Flying solo and taking the practical test in an airplane each need at least a third-class medical certificate, except as 14 CFR 61.23 allows.¹²
• Solo endorsements. Each solo flight needs an instructor’s endorsement given within the previous 90 days.¹³ Solo cross-countries need further endorsements, normally one per flight after an instructor reviews your planning.¹⁴
• Knowledge test. You must pass it within the 24 calendar months before the month you complete the practical test.⁵ The guide to the Private Pilot written test covers its endorsement, fee and format.
• Practical test endorsement. Your instructor must certify that you trained for the test within the 2 calendar months before the month you apply, and that you’re prepared.⁵
• The practical test. If you take it in parts, you must finish within 2 calendar months after the month you began, or retake it all.⁵ If it’s stopped partway, the areas you passed count only if you pass the rest within 60 days.¹⁵
• After you pass. You don’t wait for the card: the examiner issues a temporary certificate, valid for up to 120 days.⁴¹⁶ The FAA says the permanent certificate takes about six to eight weeks to process and send.¹⁷

What the rules leave open

The rules set no time for these:

• How often you fly. The FAA advises getting ground and flight training as regularly and frequently as possible.³ It says that gives the most retention and proficiency for the least time and money.³
• Being ready. You can take the practical test as soon as your instructor judges you ready, the FAA says.⁴ The hours are a floor: you must perform every task to the standards, and failing any area fails the test.¹¹⁵
• Weather. Before permitting a solo cross-country, your instructor must review the weather and find the flight can be completed under VFR.¹⁴ A practical test can be stopped for weather, airworthiness or another safety concern.¹⁵
• Booking the test. You provide an airworthy aircraft, and the FAA says to make an appointment to avoid wasted time.⁴

StudyWren is an independent study tool and isn’t affiliated with the FAA or PSI.

Sources

1. 14 CFR 61.109(a), (b) to (j) and (k)(3), “Aeronautical experience,” eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.109 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. 14 CFR Part 141, Appendix B, “Private Pilot Certification Course,” sections 1 and 3 to 5, eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-H/part-141/appendix-Appendix%20B%20to%20Part%20141 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. FAA, “Pilot Schools Information” (page last updated June 9, 2026). https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/training/pilot_schools Accessed 2026-10-28. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. FAA, “Recreational Pilot and Private Pilot Practical Tests” (page last updated May 15, 2024). https://www.faa.gov/pilots/become/practical Accessed 2026-10-28. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. 14 CFR 61.39(a)(1), (a)(6), (g) and (h), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.39 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

6. 14 CFR 61.71(a), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.71 ↩

7. 14 CFR 61.83(a), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.83 ↩

8. 14 CFR 61.103(a), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.103 ↩

9. FAA, “Become a Pilot” (student pilot certificate questions; page last updated June 4, 2026). https://www.faa.gov/pilots/become/student_cert Accessed 2026-10-28. ↩ ↩²

10. FAA, Advisory Circular 61-65K, “Certification: Pilots and Flight and Ground Instructors” (11/14/25, status Active, PDF; paragraphs 18 and 19.2). https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_61-65K.pdf Accessed 2026-10-28. ↩

11. FAA, IACRA, “New User Guide - Student Pilot” (Help and Information, Part 3: Certifying Process). https://iacra.faa.gov/IACRA/HelpAndInfo.aspx?id=6 Accessed 2026-10-28. ↩

12. 14 CFR 61.23(a)(3), (b) and (c)(1)(v), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.23 ↩

13. 14 CFR 61.87(n) and (p)(4), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.87 ↩

14. 14 CFR 61.93(c) and (d), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.93 ↩ ↩²

15. 14 CFR 61.43(a), (c), (e) and (f), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.43 ↩ ↩² ↩³

16. 14 CFR 61.17(a), eCFR (current as of 2026-10-27). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/section-61.17 ↩

17. FAA, “How long does it take the FAA to send out a permanent license (certificate)?” (FAQ). https://www.faa.gov/faq/how-long-does-it-take-faa-send-out-permanent-license-certificate-1 Accessed 2026-10-28. ↩