I failed my checkride. What happens now?
The examiner stopped the test and handed you a form. What you passed still counts for 60 days, and the way back is written in two regulations. This page goes through them in the order you will need them.
What did the examiner hand me?
A Notice of Disapproval of Application, FAA Form 8060-5. The rule behind it is one sentence: "If an applicant fails any area of operation, that applicant fails the practical test" (14 CFR 61.43(c)). One unsatisfactory area is enough, however the rest went.
Once an area is failed, the examiner or the applicant may discontinue the test (61.43(e)). Keep the original notice. You present it at the retest.
Do I have to repeat the whole test?
No, if you pass the rest within 60 days. 14 CFR 61.43(f) gives you credit for the areas of operation you passed, on four conditions:
- You pass the remainder of the test within the 60-day period after the date the test was discontinued.
- You present the original notice to the examiner.
- You have done any additional training needed and hold the instructor endorsements for it.
- You present a properly completed and signed application.
Is 60 days a deadline to retest?
No. The 60 days is how long the credit lasts. You may retest later than that, and the examiner then tests everything: "After the 60-calendar-day period, credit no longer applies, and all Areas of Operation must be tested" (AC 61-65K, paragraph 12.5.1).
A second limit runs beside it. Under 14 CFR 61.39(g) and (h), the remaining increments of a test must be completed within 2 calendar months after the month you began the test, or the entire test is retaken. Count both from your own dates.
What do I need before the retest?
Training, an endorsement, a recommendation, and a new application. Under 14 CFR 61.49(a), you may reapply only after you have received the "necessary training from an authorized instructor who has determined that the applicant is proficient to pass the test" and an "endorsement from an authorized instructor who gave the applicant the additional training."
The regulation sets no minimum hours of training and no waiting period. The measure is that an instructor has found you proficient.
The recommendation is separate from the endorsement: "An instructor's recommendation on FAA Form 8710-1 or 8710-11 is required for each retest following a Notice of Disapproval" (AC 61-65K, paragraph 14.2). This is the work I do in checkride prep.
Can my knowledge test run out first?
Yes. The knowledge test must have been passed within the 24-calendar-month period preceding the month you complete the practical test (14 CFR 61.39(a)(1)(i)). The period runs to the day you finish the practical test, so it can end before a retest that keeps slipping. Check the date on your knowledge test report before you book.
What is a letter of discontinuance?
A letter from the examiner recording that the test stopped before it was finished. It is a separate document from the Notice of Disapproval, and it is not Form 8060-5. The reasons in the regulation are "inclement weather conditions, aircraft airworthiness, or any other safety-of-flight concern" (14 CFR 61.43(e)(2)), and the examiner or the applicant may call it.
The 60 days applies here too: "If more than 60 calendar days have passed, the applicant must accomplish the entire practical test." What differs is the paperwork: "No additional endorsements are required for an applicant to continue the practical test after being issued a Letter of Discontinuance" (AC 61-65K, paragraph 14.3).
A discontinuance does not buy study time. FAA Order 8000.95D (Volume 3) bars an examiner from suspending a test to allow the applicant further study and then continuing the same test later.
Who sees a failed checkride later?
An operator that hires you as a pilot. 14 CFR 111.135(b) has the operator evaluate FAA records including "any failed attempt of an individual to pass a practical test required to obtain a certificate or type rating under part 61". That wording covers a private pilot test.
The Pilot Records Database displays failed practical tests on file dated August 1, 2010 or later.
How many checkrides end this way?
About one in four. In 2025, examiners disapproved 9,553 of 38,318 original private pilot airplane practical tests, and approved 75 percent (FAA, U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics 2025, Table 19). The table counts tests, so it is not a first-attempt figure.
What is different for an initial flight instructor applicant?
One thing, when the failure was on spins. Under 14 CFR 61.49(b), an applicant who failed for deficiencies in instructional proficiency on stall awareness, spin entry, spins, or spin recovery must meet 61.49(a), bring an aircraft certificated for spins to the retest, and demonstrate those items to the examiner.
Can I do the retraining with you?
Yes. I give the 61.49 training and the endorsement to pilots who trained elsewhere. There are two ways to buy it: flight instruction at $75/hr, or the mock checkride at $495 flat, which is a 2-hour oral to ACS standard, a 1.5-hour flight, and a one-page written readiness report. Aircraft is extra either way.
I sign the endorsement once I have found you proficient to pass the test, which is the condition 61.49 sets. Both are described under retraining on the checkride prep page.
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