FAR 141.73 — Pilot School Privileges

FAR 141.73 spells out what a certificated Part 141 pilot school (or provisional pilot school) is allowed to do. It's important because Part 141 schools operate under a more structured, FAA-approved syllabus than Part 61 training, and these privileges are what make that structure attractive to students and operators.

The rule grants two main privileges:

• Advertise and conduct approved courses. A school may advertise and run any approved pilot training course that matches its certificate and ratings. It cannot conduct courses outside what the FAA has approved for it.
• Examining authority. If the school holds examining authority for a specific approved course, it may recommend a graduate for the appropriate pilot, flight instructor, or ground instructor certificate and rating without that graduate having to take the FAA knowledge test or practical test — provided the course was approved and the student met the minimum ground and flight training time requirements of Part 141.

For students, this means a Part 141 school with examining authority can be a faster path to a certificate, since you may bypass the standard FAA tests upon successful course completion.