How to Prepare for Your Checkride with a DPE
The checkride — formally, the practical test — is the final step for nearly every pilot certificate and rating. It is administered by a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE): an experienced pilot authorized by the FAA to evaluate applicants. Most checkride failures are preventable, and a surprising number happen before the airplane ever moves: paperwork problems, ineligible aircraft, or weak oral preparation.
Schedule early
DPE availability is the most common bottleneck in training. In busy regions, examiners book out four to eight weeks. As soon as your instructor can estimate your completion date, start contacting DPEs — and have a second name ready in case your first choice cannot fit you in. Each DPE sets their own fee, typically several hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars depending on the certificate, so ask up front.
The paperwork that fails applicants
A checkride cannot begin — or can be discontinued — over eligibility problems. Before exam day, verify every item with your instructor:
- IACRA application (FAA Form 8710-1) completed and signed by you and your recommending instructor
- Knowledge test result, within its 24-calendar-month validity
- Logbook with all required aeronautical experience and current instructor endorsements
- Government-issued photo ID, pilot certificate, and medical certificate (or BasicMed where applicable)
- Aircraft documents: airworthiness certificate, registration, operating limitations, and maintenance records showing required inspections and AD compliance
- Examiner’s fee, in the form the DPE requests
The oral portion
Every practical test starts on the ground, usually for one to three hours. The DPE evaluates you against the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for your certificate or rating — the exact document is public, so study from it directly.
Expect scenario-based questioning: weather decisions for the planned cross-country, aircraft systems and performance, airspace, regulations, and aeromedical factors. The DPE is not looking for memorized recitation — they are testing whether you can make safe, defensible decisions as pilot in command. “I don’t know, but I know exactly where to find it” is an acceptable answer occasionally; using it as a crutch is not.
The flight portion
In the air, the DPE scores each required task against the ACS tolerances. A few habits consistently separate passes from failures:
- Verbalize your decisions — examiners can only credit what they can observe
- Fly to ACS tolerances on every maneuver, and correct promptly and announce it when you drift
- Treat the entire flight as the test: collision avoidance, checklist use, and positive exchange of controls count throughout
- If a maneuver goes badly, recover safely and continue — applicants have failed by giving up on a salvageable flight
If something goes wrong
A discontinuance (for weather, mechanical issues, or time) is not a failure — you keep credit for completed tasks. If you do receive a notice of disapproval, you retest only the failed areas after additional training and a new endorsement. Either way, the DPE will debrief you; take notes, because the retest usually goes to the same examiner.
Find a Designated Pilot Examiner near you
Search DPEs by location and checkride authorizations, and read reviews from other applicants.
This guide is general information for pilots, not medical or legal advice. Requirements change — always confirm current FAA standards with your AME, your instructor, or the FAA directly.