Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

3 Answers

Instrument Ratings based on foreigner license

Asked by: 2431 views , ,
FAA Regulations, Instrument Rating, Private Pilot, Student Pilot

I recently got my private license based on my foreigner license. Now I would like to add on the instrument rating. I learned that I need to take a knowledge exam but that all I could find about it. I don’t know who to talk to in order to schedule this exam,  how and where and to take it.....

I wonder if someone here could help me with that?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Dauntless Aviation's GroundSchool series of apps are the smart pilot's choice for fast and effective FAA knowledge test prep.
Actual, up-to-date FAA questions Polished user experience
Best explanations in the business Free lifetime updates!
Private Pilot IFR Commercial Pilot CFI ATP Sport Pilot Sport Pilot Instructor Parachute Rigger Aviation Mechanic (A&P)
You can get the app now and be studying right away. Available for PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android.

3 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on Apr 08, 2020

    There are two ways you can go about this.

    If you have instrument privileges on your foreign license, you can take a knowledge test, verify your foreign license and have instrument privileges added to your Private Pilot certificate, which is base on your foreign license.

    Second, if you are pursuing a course of training in the U.S. and want to get a U.S. Commercial Pilot certificate, you will need a U.S. Instrument rating. You can get this by taking a knowledge test (this test is different than the first option), meeting the requirements of 61.65 and taking a practical test. Your Private certificate will then show an Instrument rating with the notation “U.S. Test Passed”. This would allow you to go on to pursue the Commercial.

    Note that per 61.41, any time you might have logged in your home country will count toward the requirements of 61.65.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. Jure de Mello on Apr 08, 2020

    Thank you Kris.

    Something else that I was wondering is if I could pursue the commercial without having a Instrument Rating of any kind (Foreigner test or U.S test passed)?

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Kris Kortokrax on Apr 08, 2020

    Yes, but will bear the following limitation:

    “NOT VALID FOR CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS FOR HIRE IN AIRPLANES ON CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHTS OF MORE THAN 50 NM, OR AT NIGHT”

    Also, you may only get the Commercial if you have the U.S. Test Passed. You may not get it on the basis of a foreign instrument rating.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.