FAA Airman Certification Standards (ACS) explained: areas, tasks and element codes

The Airman Certification Standards, or ACS, are the FAA documents that list what you must know, consider and be able to do for a certificate. Each is divided into Areas of Operation and Tasks, and every item inside a Task has a code. The knowledge test report lists the codes of the questions you missed, so reading the ACS tells you exactly what to review.

Checked against: FAA-S-ACS-6C (Private Pilot, Airplane), FAA-S-ACS-10B (Remote Pilot, small UAS), and the ACS-10B Appendix 1 and Appendix 3 text on the knowledge test and the Airman Knowledge Test Report.

What the ACS is and why it exists

The ACS integrates aeronautical knowledge and risk management for each certificate. For the remote pilot certificate, the ACS says it integrates the elements of knowledge and risk management in 14 CFR parts 89 and 107 and forms the comprehensive standard for what an applicant knows and considers to complete each Task tested on the knowledge test.

In practical terms, the ACS replaces guessing about what to study. Every question on the FAA knowledge test is written to an element in the ACS, and the code for that element is printed on your report if you miss it. The ACS also governs the practical test, so the same document covers both what you must know and what you must do.

Areas of Operation and Tasks

An Area of Operation is a broad topic. In the Private Pilot Airplane ACS, Area I is Preflight Preparation and its Tasks are Pilot Qualifications, Airworthiness Requirements, Weather Information, Cross-Country Flight Planning, National Airspace System, Performance and Limitations, Operation of Systems and Human Factors. In the Remote Pilot ACS the Areas are Regulations, Airspace Classification and Operating Requirements, Weather, Loading and Performance, and Operations.

A Task is a subject within an Area. Each Task states its references, an objective, the knowledge elements, and where it applies the risk management and skill elements. For example, UA.II.A is Airspace Classification, and its objective is to determine that the applicant is knowledgeable in airspace classification.

Reading an element code

The ACS explains its codes with an example: UA.I.B.K10 means the UA ACS, Area of Operation I (Regulations), Task B (Operating Rules), and knowledge element K10, which is visual line of sight aircraft operations. Table 1 breaks the code into its parts.

The same logic applies to the private pilot ACS. PA.I.A.K1 is the Private Pilot Airplane ACS, Area I, Task A, knowledge element 1, which covers certification requirements, recent flight experience and recordkeeping. PA.I.A.R1 is the first risk management element in that Task, which concerns proficiency versus currency.

Knowing the three element types helps you study. Knowledge elements are what you must understand. Risk management elements are about identifying, assessing and mitigating risk in that Task. Skill elements apply to the practical test, so on the written test you will mostly see codes with a K and sometimes an R.

The knowledge test report and the codes on it

After the knowledge test you receive a printed Airman Knowledge Test Report. The ACS says the report documents your score, and it lists ACS codes for the questions you answered incorrectly. The codes guide you to the areas that were deficient, and you find each code in the ACS document.

For the remote pilot test, Appendix 3 of the ACS says the report with passing results is valid for 24 calendar months when you apply for the certificate. Keep the original. For the details of reading the report, see our guide to the Airman Knowledge Test Report.

The practical method is simple. Take each listed code, look it up in the ACS, read the element and its references, study the material, and then practice questions on that element until you can explain it without notes.

The remote pilot knowledge test as an example

The Remote Pilot ACS appendix describes the knowledge test. It consists of objective multiple-choice questions with a single correct response for each, each question is independent of the others, the applicant has up to two hours, and the test has 60 questions. A score of 70 percent or better is required to pass.

Table 2 shows the five Areas and how the ACS says the questions are distributed across them. Operations carries the largest share, followed by Regulations and Airspace. That tells you where to spend time, though you should still cover every Area, because each has a share of the questions.

Worked example: from a missed code to a study session

Suppose your report lists UA.II.B.K5. You look it up in the Remote Pilot ACS: Area of Operation II, Task B (Airspace Operational Requirements), knowledge element K5, which is the NOTAM system, including how to obtain an established NOTAM through Flight Service. The Task lists its references, which include 14 CFR part 71, advisory circular 107-2, the Aeronautical Information Manual and the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.

Your study session is now precise. Read the NOTAM section of the Aeronautical Information Manual, read 14 CFR 107.47 on flight restrictions designated by notice to airmen, then write two or three sentences in your own words explaining what a NOTAM is and how a remote pilot finds one before a flight. Finish with practice questions tagged to UA.II.B and check that the same code no longer appears.

The same method works for the private pilot ACS. A missed PA.I.A.K3 sends you to medical certificates: class, expiration, privileges and temporary disqualifications, and the references listed at the top of Task A. You never have to guess which chapter to open.

Using the ACS to build a study plan

Start by reading the Task objectives and the list of knowledge elements for each Area. Mark each element as ready, shaky or unknown. Then use the references listed at the top of each Task, such as 14 CFR parts, the Aeronautical Information Manual, advisory circulars and FAA handbooks, to study the unknown elements.

Then test yourself on an element-by-element basis. A good practice test report shows missed questions by ACS code, which gives you the same view the real report gives you. Repeat after a few days on the same codes, and move on when the codes stop appearing.

• Read the Task objective first, then the elements.
• Mark each element ready, shaky or unknown.
• Study from the references the ACS lists for the Task.
• Practice by code, not only by topic.
• Retest the same codes after a few days.

Where the regulations come in

ACS elements tell you what to know, and the references tell you where to find it. For regulations the reference is usually the relevant part of 14 CFR, for example parts 89 and 107 for the remote pilot test. The text of the regulation is the authority, so when an element mentions a rule, read the rule itself rather than a summary.

Our other guides in this series show how this works for the Part 107 airspace and weather Areas, each tied to the ACS codes and the regulation text.

Common mistakes

Candidates often study only by topic and never look at the codes, so they cannot see which elements are weak. Another mistake is treating the ACS as only a practical test document, when the knowledge test is written to it too. A third is relying on an old edition. The ACS is revised as circumstances require, so check the edition number on the cover and the list of changes at the front. The Remote Pilot ACS, for example, records which elements were added in its latest edition, and codes can also be retired and archived, so a code printed on an old report may no longer exist in the current document. When that happens, read the Task objective and study the whole Task.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Official sources

• FAA: Airman Certification Standards (ACS) library
• FAA-S-ACS-10B: Remote Pilot Certificate with a small UAS rating
• FAA-S-ACS-6C: Private Pilot, Airplane
• eCFR: 14 CFR Part 107, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Keep studying

• Part 107 airspace for remote pilots: classes, ATC authorization and restricted areas →
• Part 107 weather and operating limits: sources, minimums and performance effects →