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If you fail an FAA knowledge test, 14 CFR 61.49 lets you reapply only after an authorized instructor has trained you until you are proficient to pass and has endorsed you. A passing score must fall within the 24 calendar months before the month you complete the practical test (14 CFR 61.39).
Checked against: Title 14 CFR Part 61, sections 61.35, 61.39 and 61.49 (eCFR text held in public/FAA-Regulations/14-CFR-Part-61.xml, reviewed 10 October 2026); knowledge test tables in FAA-S-ACS-6C, FAA-S-ACS-7B and FAA-S-ACS-10B.
| Situation | Section | What the regulation requires |
|---|---|---|
| Before sitting a knowledge test | 14 CFR 61.35(a) | An instructor endorsement where this part requires one, and identification showing your photograph, signature and date of birth. A post office box address needs a current residential address as well. |
| Passing grade | 14 CFR 61.35(b) | The Administrator specifies the minimum passing grade. The ACS knowledge test tables state a passing score of 70 for the Private and Commercial tests. |
| After failing a knowledge or practical test | 14 CFR 61.49(a) | Reapply only after (1) training from an authorized instructor who has determined you are proficient to pass, and (2) an endorsement from that instructor. |
| Using a passing score | 14 CFR 61.39(a)(1) | The knowledge test must be passed within the 24-calendar-month period preceding the month you complete the practical test. |
| At the practical test application | 14 CFR 61.39(a)(2) | Present the knowledge test report when you apply for the practical test, if a knowledge test is required. |
| Instructor sign-off for the practical test | 14 CFR 61.39(a)(6) | Training logged within the 2 calendar months before the month of application, preparedness for the test, and satisfactory knowledge of the areas you were deficient in on the knowledge test. |
Section 61.35 is the gatekeeper for the knowledge test itself. Under paragraph (a), an applicant must have received an endorsement, if the part requires one, from an authorized instructor certifying that the applicant completed the appropriate ground training or home-study course and is prepared for the knowledge test. The words "if required by this part" matter: whether an endorsement is needed depends on the certificate or rating you are testing for, so read the section that governs your certificate and ask your instructor.
The same paragraph requires proper identification at the time of application. The identification must contain your photograph, your signature and your date of birth. The date of birth has a job to do: for most certificates it must show that you meet, or will meet, the age requirement for the certificate before the airman knowledge test report expires. If your permanent mailing address is a post office box number, you must also provide a current residential address.
None of this is a study requirement, which is why it catches people out. A candidate who has studied thoroughly can still be turned away at the testing center for missing identification or a missing endorsement. Check the requirements for your certificate, and your testing center's own booking rules, before you pay for a sitting.
Paragraph (b) of section 61.35 does not put a number in the regulation. It says the Administrator specifies the minimum passing grade. The number you work to is published in the Airman Certification Standards for each certificate, in the knowledge test table at the back of the document.
For the tests this site covers, those tables list a passing score of 70 for Private Pilot (PAR for airplane and PRH for helicopter, 60 questions and 2.5 hours) and for Commercial Pilot (CAX for airplane and CRH for helicopter, 100 questions and 3.0 hours). The Remote Pilot test (UAG) is 60 questions in up to two hours with a passing score of 70 or better. These figures are taken from FAA-S-ACS-6C, FAA-S-ACS-15, FAA-S-ACS-7B, FAA-S-ACS-16 and FAA-S-ACS-10B.
Treat 70 as the floor, not the target. A practice score that sits only just above 70 leaves no margin for the questions that surprise you, and your knowledge test report lists the ACS codes you missed regardless of whether you passed. Those codes are what your instructor will ask you to explain at the practical test.
Section 61.49(a) is short and worth reading in full. An applicant for a knowledge or practical test who fails that test may reapply only after the applicant has received two things: the necessary training from an authorized instructor who has determined that the applicant is proficient to pass the test, and an endorsement from the authorized instructor who gave the additional training.
Two points follow from the text. First, the requirement is about training and sign-off, not about a stated waiting period. The section as written does not itself name a number of days or a cap on attempts, so any waiting rule you meet in practice comes from elsewhere, such as the testing provider's scheduling policy. Check the current rules with your testing center before you book.
Second, the instructor has to be satisfied that you are proficient to pass, not merely that you have put in hours. That is why a good retake plan starts from the report you were given: the missed ACS codes tell you which topics to teach to your instructor until you can explain them without prompts.
Section 61.39(a)(1) sets the window. Except where an exception applies, you must pass the required knowledge test within the 24-calendar-month period preceding the month you complete the practical test. The counting is by calendar month, not by days from the test date, which is why the end of the month matters more than the day.
A worked example makes it concrete. If you pass the knowledge test in March 2026, the last month in which you can complete the practical test with that score is March 2028. In April 2028 the 24 calendar months before the practical test begin in April 2026, so a March 2026 score has aged out and you would need to pass the knowledge test again.
Plan the practical test backwards from that month rather than forwards from the day you passed. If your flight training is likely to run long, schedule the knowledge test later, not earlier, so the score is still valid when you are ready to fly the practical test. The regulation contains separate provisions for certain airline transport pilot applicants; those do not apply to the Private and Commercial tests discussed here.
When you apply for the practical test, section 61.39(a)(2) requires you to present the knowledge test report if a knowledge test is required for the certificate. Keep the original report safe and carry it with your logbook; the practical test cannot start without it.
Section 61.39(a)(6) adds an endorsement from an authorized instructor, where this part requires one. The instructor certifies that you received and logged training time within the 2 calendar months before the month of application, that you are prepared for the practical test, and that you have demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of the subject areas in which you were deficient on the airman knowledge test.
That last clause is the reason the ACS codes on your report matter after you have passed. A passing score does not clear the topics you missed; it only moves the conversation to your instructor, who has to be satisfied that those areas are now understood. Use the report as a revision list: look up each code in the ACS, study the element in the source it cites, and be ready to explain it.
Your report lists ACS codes in the form PA.I.F.K1, which names the certificate, the area of operation, the task and the element. Each code points to a single knowledge element in the Airman Certification Standards, so it can be studied directly in the FAA handbook, regulation or Aeronautical Information Manual paragraph that the element cites. The page on reading your Airman Knowledge Test Report walks through the format step by step.
A practical loop works well for a retake. List every missed code, group them by area of operation, study one group at a time in the cited source, and then drill questions tagged with those codes until you can explain the answer and not just recognize it. Finish by sitting a full-length practice test and checking whether the same codes reappear.
Aero Academic is built around that loop: practice tests that tag every question with its ACS code, a report grouped by area, and drills for each missed task. It is an independent study aid, not an FAA product, and none of this replaces the instruction and endorsement the regulations require.
Section 61.49(a) requires additional training from an authorized instructor who has determined you are proficient to pass, plus an endorsement from that instructor, before you reapply. The section does not state a number of days itself, so check your testing center's current scheduling rules before booking.
The text of 14 CFR 61.49 sets the conditions for each retest (training and an endorsement) and does not state a maximum number of attempts. Fees and scheduling are set by the testing provider, so confirm them before you book.
Under 14 CFR 61.39(a)(1), you must pass the knowledge test within the 24-calendar-month period preceding the month you complete the practical test. A March 2026 pass, for example, works for a practical test completed by March 2028.
Yes, if a knowledge test is required for the certificate. Section 61.39(a)(2) requires you to present the knowledge test report when you apply for the practical test.
Section 61.39(a)(6) has the instructor certify that you demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of the subject areas in which you were deficient on the airman knowledge test. Your report lists those areas by ACS code, so you should be able to explain each one.
https://www.aeroacademic.com/guides/us-faa-knowledge-test-retake-and-score-validity