What Disqualifies You From Being A Pilot

14 CFR Part 67 names about 15 specifically disqualifying conditions: psychosis, bipolar disorder, a severe personality disorder manifested by overt acts, substance dependence, substance abuse within the preceding two years, epilepsy, a disturbance of consciousness without satisfactory medical explanation, a transient loss of control of nervous system function without satisfactory explanation, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, treated or clinically significant coronary heart disease, cardiac valve replacement, permanent pacemaker implantation, heart replacement, and diabetes requiring insulin or another hypoglycemic drug. Everything else is assessed case by case, and many conditions on that list are still certificated through Special Issuance under 14 CFR 67.401. Only an AME or the FAA can decide your case.

ADHD is not one of the conditions named in 14 CFR Part 67, so it is not disqualifying as written. It normally causes a deferral to the FAA, and the usual path involves a period off stimulant medication before the exam plus, in many cases, neuropsychological testing. A childhood diagnosis with no treatment in years is a very different file from current daily stimulant use. Talk to an Aviation Medical Examiner before you file anything.

Depression is not named in 14 CFR 67.307; bipolar disorder is. Since 2010 the FAA has run a specific pathway that permits certification while taking one of a small number of approved SSRIs, subject to a period of stability on a settled dose and additional evaluation. Pilots fly under it every day. Which medication you take matters, and only an AME or the FAA can apply the policy to your file.

14 CFR 67.313 names diabetes mellitus that requires insulin or any other hypoglycemic drug as disqualifying. In practice insulin-treated diabetes is routinely certificated through a Special Issuance monitoring protocol at all three medical classes. Pre-diabetes sits on the FAA's CACI list, which means an AME can issue in the office. The determination belongs to the FAA, not to us.

High blood pressure is not listed anywhere in 14 CFR Part 67. Hypertension is one of the most common conditions on the FAA's CACI list, meaning an Aviation Medical Examiner can issue the certificate at the appointment when it is controlled and documented. Bring current readings and your medication list. The AME makes the call, not a website.

Anxiety is not a named disqualifying condition under 14 CFR Part 67. What the FAA weighs is severity, treatment history and the medication involved, and the medication is often the harder half of the question. A short course of counselling reads very differently from years of benzodiazepine use. Only an AME reviewing your actual records can tell you where you stand.

Obstructive sleep apnea is not named in 14 CFR Part 67, and treated sleep apnea is commonly certificated. The FAA wants evidence that the treatment is effective and that you are using it, which for CPAP means the compliance download from the machine. Undiagnosed and untreated apnea is the safety concern, not the diagnosis itself. Your AME will tell you exactly what to bring.

Asthma is not one of the roughly 15 conditions named in 14 CFR Part 67. Childhood asthma you outgrew is usually a single line of explanation on the form, and well-controlled current asthma sits on the FAA's CACI list an AME can issue against. Severe asthma with hospital admissions gets a closer look. The examiner and the FAA decide, not a forum.

Yes. 14 CFR 67.303 requires distant visual acuity of 20/40 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses, and near vision to 20/40 at 16 inches. Correctable acuity is the standard at all three classes, so glasses and contact lenses are fine. LASIK and PRK are acceptable once healed and stable. Your certificate carries a limitation requiring the correction to be worn.

There is no maximum age to hold an FAA medical certificate and no maximum age to fly privately. The age 65 rule applies only to airline pilots operating under 14 CFR Part 121. The minimum ages are 16 to solo an airplane and 17 to hold a private pilot certificate. People start flight training here in their sixties and seventies every year.

The FAA publishes no weight standard for a medical certificate, so weight alone disqualifies nobody. Aircraft do have real weight and balance limits, which makes it an aircraft-assignment question rather than an eligibility question. Tell us your weight when you book a $229 discovery flight and we will put you in an airplane with the useful load to match.

A Special Issuance is an Authorization granted under 14 CFR 67.401 that lets the FAA certificate a pilot who does not meet a Part 67 standard, once that pilot shows they can perform airman duties without endangering public safety. It is time-limited and must be renewed, and an AME Assisted Special Issuance lets your own examiner handle later renewals. There is also a Statement of Demonstrated Ability, which does not expire, for static or non-progressive conditions.

Yes, if you have any medical history that worries you. A consultation with an Aviation Medical Examiner is not an application, so nothing is submitted and no denial goes on your record. That matters: under 14 CFR 61.23(c) a denied application removes the sport pilot driver's license option. Find an examiner through the FAA's AME locator.

No. You can book a $229 discovery flight and begin lessons with no certificate at all, because your instructor is pilot in command. You need a medical certificate before your first solo, which for most students falls between 15 and 25 hours in, giving you a few months to sort out paperwork. Sport Pilot training at $8,400 needs no medical certificate at any stage.

Yes, by two routes. Sport pilot privileges under 14 CFR 61.23(c) use a valid US driver's license instead of a medical certificate, provided your most recent medical application was not denied and your last certificate was not suspended or revoked. BasicMed under 14 CFR Part 68 covers many private operations with a medical education course every 24 calendar months and a physician exam every 48.