FAA Physicals

Any person exercising the privileges of any of the following certificates:

airline transport pilot certificate
commercial pilot certificate
private pilot certificate
recreational pilot certificate
flight instructor certificate (when acting as pilot in command if serving as a required pilot flight crewmember)
flight engineer certificate
flight navigator certificate, or
student pilot certificate

An FAA Medical Exam can only be conducted by an FAA-designated Aviation Medical Examiner, or AME.

Who is required to have an FAA Medical Certificate?

There three classes of FAA medical exams that are required by the FAA for certain categories of pilots.

First Class: Airline Transport Pilot
Second Class: Commercial Pilot, Flight Engineer, Flight Navigator and Air Traffic Control Tower Operator-does not include FAA employee air traffic control specialists
Third Class: Private pilot, Recreational pilot, Student pilot

FAA medical exams usually last 30-45 minutes and are mostly documentation.

As would be expected, there are additional requirements or standards for Class 1 and Class 2 certificate holders.

1. First Class

Distant Vision: 20/20 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses
Intermediate Vision: 50 years and older, 20/40 near vision with or without correction
Near Vision: 20/40 in each eye, with or without correction
Color Vision: The necessary colors for the safe performance of duties
EKG: Starting at age 35 and annually after age 40 an electrocardiogram (EKG) is required
Hearing: must demonstrate the ability to hear an average conversational voice in a quiet room at a distance of 6 feet and understand speech at an acceptable level (determined by an audiometry test)

2. Second Class

Distant Vision: 20/20 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses
Intermediate Vision: 50 years and older, 20/40 near vision with or without correction
Near Vision: 20/40 in each eye, with or without correction
Color Vision: The necessary colors for the safe performance of duties
Hearing: must demonstrate the ability to hear an average conversational voice in a quiet room at a distance of 6 feet and understand speech at an acceptable level (determined by an audiometry test)

3. Third Class

Distant Vision: 20/40 or better with or without correction
Near Vision: 20/40 in each eye, with or without correction
Color Vision: The necessary colors for the safe performance of duties
Hearing: must demonstrate the ability to hear an average conversational voice in a quiet room at a distance of 6 feet and understand speech at an acceptable level (determined by an audiometry test)