FAR 141.9 — Examining Authority
FAR 141.9 explains how the FAA grants examining authority to a Part 141 pilot school when its training course meets Subpart D requirements.
FAR 141.9 is short but important: it tells you how a Part 141 pilot school earns examining authority from the FAA. Examining authority is what allows a school to give its own end-of-course tests in place of the standard FAA practical or knowledge tests for graduates of an approved course.
Under this section:
- The FAA issues examining authority to a pilot school for a specific training course.
- The school and the training course must meet the requirements of Subpart D of Part 141.
In other words, examining authority is granted course-by-course, not blanket-style to the whole school. A flight school may be a certificated Part 141 school but still not have examining authority on every course it offers.
Why it matters operationally: if you train at a Part 141 school that holds examining authority for your course, you may be able to complete your end-of-course test internally, which can streamline your path to a certificate or rating. If the school does not hold examining authority for that course, you will take the standard FAA test instead.