FAR 61.41 — Non-FAA Instructor Training
FAR 61.41 explains when flight training from military or foreign instructors counts toward an FAA pilot certificate or rating. Read the rule in plain English.
FAR 61.41 tells you when flight training given by an instructor who is not certificated by the FAA can still count toward an FAA pilot certificate or rating under Part 61.
You may credit training toward an FAA certificate or rating only if you received it from:
- A flight instructor of an Armed Force in a program training military pilots of either the United States or a foreign contracting State to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (ICAO).
- A flight instructor authorized by the licensing authority of a foreign contracting State to ICAO, where the training is conducted outside the United States.
These instructors are limited in what they can do for you under FAA rules: they may only provide endorsements documenting the training given — not solo endorsements, recommendations for a checkride, or any other FAA-specific endorsements.
This matters operationally because military-trained pilots and pilots trained abroad often want to leverage that experience toward an FAA certificate. FAR 61.41 is the gateway that lets that training legally count, while keeping FAA-specific sign-offs in the hands of FAA-certificated instructors.