Original publication date: November 27, 2022
Last Updated: March 26, 2024
Author: Max Skyler
Topic: Flight Physiology, Vision
Number of Comments: 0
One of the most common misconceptions about aviation is whether or not you can wear glasses, contact lenses, or even get LASIK done, and still be an airplane pilot. At first glance (pun intended), the answer may not seem so “clear-cut” (pun intended again). Yet the answer is actually hiding in plain sight (pun intended yet again).
One thing that the FAA does make absolutely clear (pun intended) in the Federation Aviation Regulations (FARs) is that all pilots are allowed to wear glasses, contact lenses, or even get LASIK done, as long as they are able to meet the stipulated vision requirements during flight. However, the types of aircraft they can fly and the types of flight operations they can conduct may be restricted, based on how well they perform on FAA-mandated vision screening tests.
Whether you are looking to get your pilot license as a hobby or as you aspire to pursue a career in aviation, the common denominator, at the end of the day, is that you need to be able to see clearly in order to fly, without any risk of complications that could jeopardize the safe operation of the flight. Let’s examine what the FAA has to say about the role of corrective vision for pilots.
What are the FAA’s medical standards for vision?
The FAA has published a concise synopsis of the medical standards that serve as the basis for the minimum vision requirements for vision, and what you can and cannot do as a pilot in different circumstances.
This synopsis breaks down the requirements into a matrix, pairing up three different levels of vision against four different categories of pilot certifications:
The four different levels of vision are:
- distant vision
- near vision
- intermediate vision
- color vision
The four different categories of pilot certification are:
- Pilot ratings that require a 1st class medical certificate, namely an Airline Transport Pilot license
- Pilot ratings that require at least a 2nd class medical certificate, namely a commercial pilot license;
- Pilot ratings that only require a 3rd class medical certificate, such as a general aviation private pilot license;
- Pilot ratings that require BasicMed medical certification, specifically for limited general aviation operations using a private pilot license
Each of the aforementioned three categories of pilot certification represent a graduating level of complexity in terms of the types of airplanes you can fly and the types of aviation operations you can perform.
Each of the aforementioned four levels of vision represent different facets of the visual experience that together comprise your overall visual acuity and optical fitness for flight.
FAA Vision Requirements As Per Federation Aviation Regulations
| Medical Certificate | Pilot License | Type of Aviation Operations | Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) |
| 1st Class | Airline Transport Pilot | Passenger & cargo airlines | Part 67.103 |
| 2nd Class | Commercial Pilot License | Any commercial operation other than major airline or cargo services | Part 67.203 |
| 3rd Class | Private Pilot License | General aviation (non-commercial) flights | Part 67.303 |
| Basic Med | Private Pilot License | General aviation – with limitations | Part 68.5 |
What are the 4 types of medical certifications for pilots?
In order to legally fly, pilots must undergo a medical exam. Once you pass your medical exam, you will be issued a medical certificate. This document certifies your fitness to fly.
The certificate that you are issued is valid for a fixed period of time, after which it expires. When it expires, you will be required to undergo another medical exam, and obtain another medical certificate, which then will again be valid for a fixed period of time.
When it comes to aviation, there are actually four different types of medical certificates for pilots.
Each type of medical certificate requires progressively more stringent fitness standards than the previous one. These certificates correlate to the purpose for which you will be legally allowed to fly.
These certificates must be carried with you, as a pilot, onboard the airplane at all times, during flight.
There are four main types of medical certifications that pilots can obtain.
Of the four main types of medical certificates, three of them fall into “classes”. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
The 1st class certificate bears the most stringent medical requirements.
The 2nd class certificate is less stringent than the 1st class one.
The 3rd class certificate is less stringent than the 2nd class one.
Each of the aforementioned certifications require pilots to undergo a medical exam that is administered by an FAA-certified Aviation Medical Examiner (AME).
There is a fourth class of medical classification, known as “BasicMed” which is actually a step below the 3rd class, and bears the least stringent medical requirements among all of the aforementioned.
Each of these are expounded upon in the sections that follow.
3rd Class Medical Certificate Vision Requirements
The 3rd class medical certificate is the lowest of the three classes of medical certificates. It is the minimum class of medical certificate required in order for pilots to obtain their basic private pilot license. The 3rd class medical certificate is valid for general aviation flights only. It cannot be used for commercial flying.
The 3rd class medical certificate has the least strict standards for vision. Holders of this class of medical certificate, namely private pilots, are allowed to wear glasses, contact lenses, or even get LASIK done, in order to fly airplanes. As long as you can demonstrate the minimum vision standards with the corrective vision during an FAA-administered medical exam, you are legal to fly. This is the case regardless of whether you have myopia (near-sightedness) or hyperopia (far-sightedness), or even a vision deficiency such as amblyopia (lazy-eye). If you have other ocular medical conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts, heterophoria, or even monocular vision, on the other hand, you may be faced with an uphill battle of challenges in obtaining a medical certificate.
If you are under the age of forty at the time that you get your 3rd class medical certificate, it will be valid for five years before it expires. If you are above the age of forty at the time that you obtain your 3rd class medical certificate, then it is valid for twenty-four months.
So what happens if you let your 3rd class medical certificate lapse? The answer is simple: You are grounded, and no longer legally allowed to fly until you undergo the required medical exam and obtain your medical certificate.
What happens if you fail the 3rd class medical exam? It depends. And you have options.
If you are a student pilot and you have never held a 3rd class medical certificate before, and you have not yet obtained your pilot’s license, then you will not be allowed to get your pilot’s license, until your medical condition improves and / or you do whatever is necessary in terms of achieving corrective vision.
Likewise, if you already have your private pilot’s license, your 3rd class medical certificate is expired and due up for renewal: If you fail the medical exam, you don’t “lose” your pilot’s license per se.
Unlike a drivers license which expires every few years, your private pilot license itself never expires or needs renewing. You just won’t be able to legally exercise the privileges of it thereof until you obtain a newly current medical certificate.
What if you have a chronic medical condition that precludes you from ever being able to fly? What if your vision isn’t up to par with the bare minimum standards of a 3rd class medical certificate, even with corrective lenses? If that ends up being the case, then you may be able to explore the option of flying under “BasicMed” rules. “BasicMed” is not a type of medical certificate per se. It is the lowest tier of medical qualification to fly. Please refer to the section on BasicMed below, for more details on how BasicMed differs from a 3rd class medical certificate.
Vision standards for a 3rd-class airman medical certificate, are as follows (Part 67.303):
| Visual Acuity | 20/40 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses, during flight. |
| Near Vision | Near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at 16 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. |
| Color Perception | Must be able to perceive those colors necessary for the safe operation of flight. |
| Pathological Conditions | No acute or chronic pathological condition of either eye that interferes with their proper function during flight. |
What if you have astigmatism? What does the FAA say about that?
And what about colorblindness? What does the FAA say about that?
2nd Class Medical Certificate Vision Requirements
The 2nd class medical certificate is the next “tier” on the rung of medical certificates. This is the minimum class of medical certificate that is required in order for you to obtain your commercial pilot license. This medical certificate allows you to fly-for-hire or get compensated for your flying.
The requirements for the 2nd class medical certificate are more stringent than the 3rd class medical certificate.
Not only that, but the 2nd class medical certificate has a shorter validity period before it expires. Unlike the 3rd class medical certificate which is valid for either 24 months or 60 months (depending on your age at the time of the medical exam), the 2nd class medical certificate is valid for only 12 months.
Why is this the case? Simply put, the FAA has determined that the higher the class of medical certificate, the more frequently you will need to be examined. This will ensure that you remain compliant with the criteria and the requirements for maintaining this certification standard.
If your 2nd class medical certificate expires, then it automatically becomes downgraded to a 3rd class medical certificate, which expires at the end of whatever the remaining balance of the latter’s validity period would have been.
Vision standards for a 2nd-class airman medical certificate, are as follows (Part 67.203):
| Visual Acuity | 20/40 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses, during flight. |
| Near Vision | Near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at 16 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If age 50 or older, near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at both 16 inches and 32 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. |
| Color Perception | Must be able to perceive those colors necessary for the safe operation of flight. |
| Field of Vision | Normal fields of vision with respect to depth perception and peripheral vision. |
| Pathological Conditions | No acute or chronic pathological condition of either eye that interferes with their proper function during flight. Bifoveal fixation and vergence-phoria relationship sufficient to prevent a break in fusion under conditions that may reasonably be expected to occur during flight operations |
1st Class Medical Certificate Vision Requirements
The 1st class medical certificate is the highest level of medical certificate that any pilot can achieve. This class of medical certificate is typically required in order to hold an Air Transport Pilot license. It bears the most stringent medical standards in terms of general mental and physical fitness to fly.
It also has the shortest validity period before it expires and requires you to renew it with a new medical certificate. The 1st class medical certificate is valid for only six months before it expires! This means that 1st class medical certificate holders must undergo an FAA-mandated medical exam and pass it with flying colors (pun intended) twice a year. (There would be nothing worse than for an airline pilot to be flying with vision that has degraded, and that has gone unchecked for more than six months!)
If your 1st class medical certificate expires, then it automatically becomes downgraded to a 2nd class medical certificate, which expires at the end of whatever the remaining balance of the latter’s validity period would have been.
Vision standards for a 1st-class airman medical certificate, are as follows (Part 67.103):
| Visual Acuity | 20/40 or better in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses, during flight. |
| Near Vision | Near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at 16 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. If age 50 or older, near vision of 20/40 or better, Snellen equivalent, at both 16 inches and 32 inches in each eye separately, with or without corrective lenses. |
| Color Perception | Must be able to perceive those colors necessary for the safe operation of flight. |
| Field of Vision | Normal fields of vision with respect to depth perception and peripheral vision. |
| Pathological Conditions | No acute or chronic pathological condition of either eye that interferes with their proper function during flight. Bifoveal fixation and vergence-phoria relationship sufficient to prevent a break in fusion under conditions that may reasonably be expected to occur during flight operations |
What is interesting to note is that, as of this writing, whereas the overall medical standards for 1st and 2nd class medical certificates may differ, the actual vision requirements for both medical certificates are actually identical.
BasicMed
BasicMed is a more “relaxed” form of medical certification. Unlike the other 3 medical certification classes, no formal “certificate” is issued for this one. However, it does have its own set of requirements that pilots must comply with in order to qualify for flying “under BasicMed”.
Unlike the other three classes of medical certificates, you do not need to undergo an FAA-mandated medical exam administered by an AME. Instead, you are required to undergo a general physical fitness exam, which can be conducted by any general physician. This exam must be conducted once in every 4 years. If you are covered by a health insurance plan that entitles you to undergo a free annual physical, you could use that annual physical to satisfy this requirement. All you need to do is bring some paperwork to the exam, for your doctor to fill out.
- You can download the BasicMed exam form here.
- Furthermore, you need to take a free BasicMed online course every two years, as a review on the FAA’s requirements and guidelines for fitness for flight.
Of all the other medical certificates, BasicMed is the least strict in terms of its requirements for vision and other medical fitness. You can wear any type of corrective lenses or even have gotten LASIK done.
So what’s the “catch”? The catch is that BasicMed is for recreational and private pilots only. It is intended for noncommercial use. The types of airplane you can fly and the operations you can fly under are also limited as well:
- The aircraft itself cannot have a gross takeoff weight of more than 6,000 pounds.
- You cannot carry more than 6 passengers (including yourself).
- You cannot fly at an airspeed greater than 250 knots.
- You cannot fly above 18,000 feet above sea level.
- You cannot fly for compensation or hire.
If your BasicMed lapses, there is no recourse but to get another physical exam and complete the online course as soon as possible, in order to regain legal compliance.