Prepare by completing MedXPress carefully, booking your AME within the 60-day application window, and assembling records for every condition or medication the history asks about. Know the standards you will be tested against: distant and near vision of 20/40 with correction allowed, hearing by conversational voice or audiometry, and the deny-or-defer condition list in the FAA standards. Bring a government ID, your confirmation number, and detailed Clinical Progress Notes, because a portal summary will not satisfy the FAA. If the AME defers your exam, submit the requested records promptly rather than treating the deferral as a rejection.
What this examination actually is
The third-class airman medical certificate examination is a physical assessment performed by an Aviation Medical Examiner against the FAA medical standards in 14 C.F.R. part 67. It is not a written test and it does not measure flying skill.
An Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) is a physician with specific training in how to perform FAA exams. The FAA's Summary of Medical Standards lists the third class as the certificate for private pilots, with its own vision and other values.
The AME's decision has three possible outcomes. If the exam and your documentation meet the standards in 14 C.F.R. part 67, the AME issues the certificate on the spot. For some conditions, or when required documentation is missing, the AME defers the application to the FAA for review. In rare cases involving a specifically disqualifying condition, the AME denies.
Sources checked: How do I get a Medical Certificate and what to expect during the AME examination | Federal Aviation Administration — Application, examination, deferral, and Special Issuance sections; Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Summary of Medical Standards — Third-class column and deny-or-defer condition list
Applying through MedXPress and booking your AME
Start by creating a MedXPress account and answering the medical history questions online. Your AME needs the confirmation number from that application, and you must complete the AME exam within 60 days of submitting it.
The 60-day rule is practical, not cosmetic: if your AME does not upload the application within 60 days, it disappears from the system. So find an AME through the FAA's Designee Locator and book an appointment as soon as you submit. Pilot advocacy groups and local flight schools can also recommend examiners.
The FAA recommends keeping a copy of your submitted application for your own records. If you have any current or past condition or take medication, review the requirements in the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners before your visit; for some conditions, the right documentation lets the AME issue immediately, while missing paperwork can delay certification.
On the day, bring your MedXPress confirmation number and a government-issued identification card. You will also have acknowledged the Medical Examination Bill of Rights and the Pilot's Bill of Rights during the MedXPress process.
Vision standards for the third class
Third-class applicants need distant vision of 20/40 or better in each eye separately, with or without correction, and near vision of 20/40 or better in each eye at 16 inches, again with correction allowed. You must also be able to perceive the colors necessary for safe performance of airman duties. The standards summary also carries an intermediate vision value tied to age 50 and over, covered below.
The 'with or without correction' wording matters: wearing glasses or contact lenses does not disqualify you as long as your corrected acuity meets the value. Wear your correction to the exam and bring your current prescription.
During the visit, office staff or the AME will test your visual acuity, depth perception, and color vision. The AME also performs an ophthalmoscope exam of your eyes to aeromedical standards.
The Summary of Medical Standards also lists an intermediate vision standard of 20/40 or better in each eye (Snellen equivalent), with or without correction, at age 50 and over, as measured at 32 inches. The published table presents this row in a compressed form across certificate classes, so the FAA's Synopsis of Medical Standards document is the place to confirm exactly how it applies to the third class. If you will be 50 or over on your exam date, check that document or ask your AME before the visit.
Sources checked: Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Summary of Medical Standards — Third-class column and deny-or-defer condition list; How do I get a Medical Certificate and what to expect during the AME examination | Federal Aviation Administration — Application, examination, deferral, and Special Issuance sections
Hearing standards and your testing options
You can meet the hearing standard by demonstrating hearing of an average conversational voice in a quiet room, using both ears at 6 feet with your back to the examiner, or by passing one of the FAA's audiometric tests.
The audiometric route has two variants. The audiometric speech discrimination test requires a score of at least 70% reception in one ear at an intensity no greater than 65 dB. Alternatively, an unaided pure tone audiometric test must show thresholds no worse than the values below. At the exam itself, hearing is tested with either a spoken voice test or audiometry, and an audiogram is part of the routine workup.
The ear standard also requires that you have no ear disease or condition manifested by vertigo or a disturbance of speech or equilibrium.
| Pure tone threshold | 500 Hz | 1,000 Hz | 2,000 Hz | 3,000 Hz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Better ear | 35 dB | 30 dB | 30 dB | 40 dB |
| Worst ear | 35 dB | 50 dB | 50 dB | 60 dB |
Sources checked: Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Summary of Medical Standards — Third-class column and deny-or-defer condition list; How do I get a Medical Certificate and what to expect during the AME examination | Federal Aviation Administration — Application, examination, deferral, and Special Issuance sections
Cardiovascular, mental, and substance-related standards
An ECG is not routinely required for third-class applicants, pulse is not disqualifying in itself, and no specific blood pressure values appear in the standards, though the current guideline maximum is 155/95. Mental standards bar a diagnosis of psychosis, bipolar disorder, or severe personality disorders.
Substance rules are specific. A diagnosis or history of substance dependence is disqualifying unless there is clinical evidence satisfactory to the Federal Air Surgeon of recovery, including sustained total abstinence for not less than the preceding 2 years. A history of substance abuse within the preceding 2 years is disqualifying. Substances include alcohol as well as drugs such as sedatives, marijuana, cocaine, opioids, and amphetamines.
Unless the FAA directs otherwise, the AME must deny or defer if you have a history of any of the following:
- Diabetes mellitus requiring hypoglycemic medication
- Angina pectoris
- Coronary heart disease that has been treated, or if untreated, that has been symptomatic or clinically significant
- Myocardial infarction
- Cardiac valve replacement
- Permanent cardiac pacemaker
- Heart replacement
- Psychosis
- Bipolar disorder
- Personality disorder severe enough to have repeatedly manifested itself by overt acts
- Substance dependence
- Substance abuse
- Epilepsy
- Disturbance of consciousness without satisfactory explanation of cause
- Transient loss of control of nervous system function(s) without satisfactory explanation of cause
Sources checked: Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Summary of Medical Standards — Third-class column and deny-or-defer condition list
What happens during the AME visit
The AME personally reviews your medical history with you, reviews the tasks performed by office staff, and performs the physical examination. Staff collect vitals, run the eye and hearing tests, take a urine sample, and perform an EKG if required.
The certification paperwork is FAA Form 8500-8. The examiner reads your history page (Items 1 through 20) before the physical, records exam findings in Items 21 through 58, and electronically transmits the completed form to the FAA. Conditions found during the exam are noted with facts such as dates, frequency, and severity.
The physical covers the body systems an aviation decision depends on: eyes with an ophthalmoscope, ears, nose and throat, heart and lungs with a stethoscope, abdomen, musculoskeletal system with observation and strength testing, skin and identifying marks, cranial nerves and reflexes for the neurologic check, and a general psychiatric impression through observation and questioning. Genitourinary, breast, and anus examinations happen only if history indicates or at the discretion of the AME and applicant, and you may elect to have your personal physician provide a report in lieu of those exams. The exam does not include a pelvic exam.
Sources checked: How do I get a Medical Certificate and what to expect during the AME examination | Federal Aviation Administration — Application, examination, deferral, and Special Issuance sections; Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Application Process for Medical Certification — Exam Techniques and Criteria for Qualification; FAA Form 8500-8 item list
Assembling records before the visit
If you have any condition or medication, gather documentation before the exam. For some conditions the FAA requires a current, detailed Clinical Progress Note from a clinic visit no more than 90 days before your AME exam.
The document type matters. A patient-portal printout or an After Visit Summary may contain only some of the necessary information and is not sufficient for FAA purposes. In most cases the FAA wants a copy of the actual Clinical Progress Note rather than a physician's letter. The Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners, though written for physicians, contains information to help you and your care providers collect what the FAA needs.
If records are requested later, take them to your AME so they can be added electronically to your record; the FAA identifies this as the fastest route. Failing to provide all requested medical information delays issuance or results in denial.
If the AME defers or denies
A deferral sends your application to the FAA for review and further investigation; it is not a rejection. A denial means you did not meet the unrestricted standards in 14 C.F.R. part 67, and you can appeal.
After a deferral, you will receive a letter from the FAA, usually listing the medical records you need to provide. Documents may be reviewed by an FAA physician with expertise in aerospace medicine or specialties such as cardiology, ENT, or ophthalmology. You will receive written notification of the review result.
A denial is not necessarily the end of the road. Many applicants remain eligible through the Special Issuance provisions in 14 C.F.R. 67.401. A Special Issuance certificate requires more rigorous medical documentation, and its duration is usually more restrictive, but an airman with one can usually operate an aircraft in the same manner as an airman with an unrestricted certificate.
How long your certificate stays valid
A third-class certificate is valid for the remainder of the month of issue plus 24 calendar months if you were age 40 or over on or before the examination date, or plus 60 calendar months if you had not reached age 40.
The FAA validity table also lets a first- or second-class certificate serve operations requiring a third-class certificate for set periods, so check the official page if you hold one. Note two administrative rules: an airman medical certificate is valid only with the AME's original signature, copies are not valid, and the FAA itself must issue any replacement for a lost or destroyed certificate.
Practice the age rule with this example before your own renewal planning.
Practice check
A pilot's third-class medical certificate is issued on June 10, 2026, and she was 43 years old on the date of her examination. Assuming she received an unrestricted certificate, through what date may she use it for operations requiring a third-class medical certificate?
Show the answer
June 30, 2028.
The FAA validity rule counts the remainder of the month of issue plus 24 calendar months when the airman is age 40 or over on or before the examination date. The remainder of June 2026 runs through June 30, 2026, and adding 24 calendar months gives June 30, 2028. If she had been 39 on the examination date, the 60-month rule would instead have extended validity to June 30, 2031.
Sources checked: Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Validity of Medical Certificates — Third Class Medical Certificate validity paragraph
Final checklist and official documents
Your preparation reduces to three moves: submit an accurate MedXPress application early, book the AME within 60 days, and bring documentation that matches every yes answer in your history.
Run through this list the week before your appointment:
- MedXPress application submitted and confirmation number saved
- AME appointment booked within the 60-day application window
- A Clinical Progress Note, not an After Visit Summary, for any condition the FAA requires documentation for, dated no more than 90 days before the exam
- Current corrective lens prescription, and correction ready to wear
- Government-issued identification
- Location of the nearest AME confirmed through the Designee Locator
- Realistic expectations about any yes answer: it triggers review, and the deferral and Special Issuance processes exist for exactly that reason
Sources checked: How do I get a Medical Certificate and what to expect during the AME examination | Federal Aviation Administration — Application, examination, deferral, and Special Issuance sections; Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Summary of Medical Standards — Third-class column and deny-or-defer condition list
Sources checked
Facts checked:
- How do I get a Medical Certificate and what to expect during the AME examination | Federal Aviation Administration
- Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Summary of Medical Standards
- Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Application Process for Medical Certification
- Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners - Validity of Medical Certificates