Vision Deficiencies & Pilot Certification

Most vision issues don't stop you from getting a medical certificate. Under 14 CFR Part 67, each eye is tested separately, with or without glasses or contacts. First- and second-class certificates require distant vision of 20/20 or better. Third class requires 20/40 or better. All classes require near vision of 20/40 or better at 16 inches. If you are 50 or older and applying for first or second class, you also need 20/40 or better at 32 inches (intermediate vision). If you need lenses to meet any of these standards, your certificate will say "Must Use Corrective Lens(es) to meet vision standards at all required distances." That single limitation replaced the older ones on December 28, 2022. Contact lenses that correct only near or intermediate vision are not acceptable for flying. The FAA's Pilot Vision brochure also says not to use monovision contact lenses while flying.

Color vision testing changed on January 1, 2025. New pilots must now pass one of three computer-based tests, taken in person: the Colour Assessment & Diagnosis (CAD) test, the Rabin Cone Test, or the Waggoner Computerized Color Vision Test. Home, printed, and free-trial versions don't count, and color-correcting lenses such as X-Chrom are not accepted. Screening is now a one-time requirement. You can take any or all of the three tests, as many times as you like, and passing any one is enough. If you already passed a previously approved FAA color test, you don't need to retest. If you fail all three, your AME can still issue a third-class certificate with limitation #104, "Valid for day visual flight rules (VFR) only." To upgrade to first or second class, or to remove a limitation, you ask for a Color Vision Limitation Review, which is an appeal to the Federal Air Surgeon. Pilots with a first- or second-class SODA or Letter of Evidence (LOE) from the old testing keep it without retesting. So do third-class holders who stay at third class. The FAA says you will leave the AME's office with whatever color status you walked in with unless you take a new test. If you have an older limitation (#16 or #17), you can take a computer test or request a review to have it removed.

Many eye conditions can be issued by your AME if you meet the vision standards and have no symptoms that affect flying, such as glare, halos, loss of contrast sensitivity, or poor night vision. After LASIK or SMILE, the minimum recovery period is 2 weeks; after PRK it is 12 weeks. If your surgery was 3 or more months ago, you've fully recovered, you're released from post-operative care, and you're off all medications, the AME can issue. If surgery was within the last 3 months, the AME needs an Eyes – Refractive Surgery Status Summary signed by your eye doctor. Cataracts follow a similar path: if you meet the standards and your quality of vision is unaffected, the AME can issue. Lens implants (including after cataract surgery) follow the same 3-month rule as refractive surgery. Complications, failing to meet the standards, or affected quality of vision mean the AME must defer to the FAA. In that case you'll need a detailed clinical progress note from within 90 days that includes your best corrected acuity. Glaucoma is CACI (an AME can issue) if you meet all the worksheet criteria. The condition must be stable on your current treatment, and you must have been diagnosed at 40 or older. The type must be open-angle, ocular hypertension, glaucoma suspect, or narrow-angle glaucoma treated with iridotomy. Your eye pressure must be 23 mm Hg or less in both eyes, with no nerve damage, no trabeculectomy, and no visual field defects. Acceptable drops include prostaglandins (latanoprost), beta blockers (timolol), carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (dorzolamide), and alpha agonists (brimonidine). Oral glaucoma medications such as acetazolamide require a Special Issuance, and pilocarpine and atropine are unacceptable.

If you have vision in only one eye, or your poorer eye can't be corrected better than 20/200, the FAA can still certify you. The same applies if you don't meet the acuity standards or have an eye muscle balance problem. You'll need either a Statement of Demonstrated Ability (SODA) or a Special Issuance. You'll need a detailed clinical progress note from an eye specialist, and you must pass a medical flight test. The FAA's Pilot Vision brochure describes a "satisfactory adaption period" before monocular pilots are considered, but it gives no fixed length. A SODA is for conditions that are static or nonprogressive. It does not expire, and your AME can keep issuing as long as your condition hasn't gotten worse (14 CFR 67.401(b)). For first and second class, exceeding the eye muscle balance (heterophoria) limits of 1 prism diopter of hyperphoria, or 6 of esophoria or exophoria, is not a reason to deny if you have no double vision. The FAA may still ask for an eye specialist exam. For third class, strabismus or a history of double vision means the AME must defer. On the field-of-vision test, if you can't see the target until it is less than 23 inches from the center point, an eye specialist evaluation is required for all classes.