Often, yes, but the FAA looks closely at the last four years. Under the FAA’s Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners (AME Guide), if you have had no ADHD treatment, medication, symptoms or instability in school, work or social life for four years, and no other psychiatric diagnosis, a Fast Track evaluation by a psychologist or neuropsychologist can let your Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) issue your medical certificate. Otherwise a Standard Track evaluation with testing by a HIMS neuropsychologist goes to the FAA for a decision. The AME Guide calls current ADHD medication use incompatible with aviation safety.
This guide explains the FAA’s rules and the AME Guide as of its September 30, 2026 revision; it is not medical advice. Whether to change or stop any medication is a decision for your prescribing physician, not the certification process. Talk to an AME before you apply, and remember that outside the Fast Track, the FAA makes the decision.
Why the FAA looks closely at ADHD
The AME Guide says ADHD, formerly called ADD, and the medications used to treat it “may result in cognitive deficits that pose a risk to aviation safety.” Its guidance for evaluators lists concerns with focused attention, working memory, planning, mental flexibility and resistance to distraction. ADHD medications and stimulants are on the AME Guide’s Do Not Issue list, meaning an AME cannot issue a certificate to someone taking them without FAA clearance, even when the medication is prescribed for something other than ADHD. The same rules apply if you were diagnosed with ADD or took ADHD medication for any reason.
Which ADHD path applies to you
| Your history | AME Guide path | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| No ADHD treatment, medication, symptoms or instability in academic, work or social functioning in the past 4 years, and no other psychiatric diagnosis (some anxiety and depression histories that meet their own fast track are an exception) | Fast Track: records review and evaluation by a doctoral-level psychologist or neuropsychologist | Your AME can issue if every answer on the FAA ADHD Summary is “no” and the AME has no concerns |
| Treatment, medication, symptoms or instability within 4 years, any other psychiatric history, or concerns from the AME or evaluator | Standard Track: in-person evaluation and testing by a HIMS neuropsychologist | The AME defers and the FAA decides |
| Currently taking ADHD medication, including as needed, stopped within the past 90 days, or current symptoms | Your prescriber’s clinical progress note goes to the FAA | The AME defers and the FAA decides |
These rows come from the AME Guide’s ADHD disposition table (updated October 30, 2024). For the third row, the AME Guide states that “taking ADHD medication or symptoms of ADHD are incompatible with aviation safety.”
The Fast Track
Fast Track is a record review and interview rather than a testing battery. The evaluator must be a doctoral-level (PhD or PsyD) licensed psychologist or neuropsychologist with training and experience in ADHD evaluation, and the interview can be in person or by on-screen video, but not audio only. Before your appointment, the FAA’s ADHD document checklist asks you to gather and send:
- Pharmacy records for the last four years and medical records about your ADHD diagnosis and treatment
- Records from anyone else involved, such as a psychiatrist, therapist, school counselor or education specialist
- Academic records: transcripts through your highest grade or degree, plus any Section 504 plan, IEP or accommodations
- Driving records from every state that issued you a license in the last four years
- A typed, signed personal statement answering each item on the FAA ADHD Personal Statement Guidelines
The evaluator completes the FAA ADHD Summary and a detailed report, both within 90 days of your AME exam. If every item is “no” and your AME has no concerns, the AME can issue and sends the package to the FAA. Any “yes” moves you to the Standard Track.
Start collecting school, pharmacy and driving records before you book the evaluation, and send them to the evaluator ahead of the appointment as the FAA asks. The FAA says partial or incomplete packages will not be reviewed and will cause a delay.
The Standard Track
The Standard Track covers everyone who does not fit the Fast Track, including anyone whose Fast Track summary raised a “yes.” A HIMS neuropsychologist reviews the same documents and gives an in-person battery of tests whose specifications the FAA shares only with qualified professionals. Within 24 hours after testing you provide a urine sample tested for both amphetamines and methylphenidate, and if you have stopped ADHD medication, you must be off it for at least 90 days before testing. The evaluation must fall within 90 days of your AME exam, the AME submits the exam as deferred, and the FAA makes the certification decision.
ADHD medication and flying
If you take ADHD medication now, the AME cannot issue. The AME defers and the FAA reviews your prescribing physician’s current clinical progress note with your diagnosis and treatment plan. The AME Guide adds that if your treating physician determines the medication can be safely discontinued, you should be off it at least 90 days before the Standard Track evaluation. For pilots who already hold a medical certificate, 14 CFR 61.53 bars acting as pilot in command while taking a medication that makes you unable to meet your medical standard, and the FAA’s ADHD instructions for pilots say: “Do not fly, in accordance with 14 CFR 61.53, until you have an Authorization from the FAA.” Separately, 14 CFR 91.17(a)(3) bars any crewmember from acting while using a drug that affects their faculties in any way contrary to safety (see our guide to 91.17), and the FAA’s IMSAFE checklist puts medication on every preflight.
Starting flight training with an ADHD history
- The FAA says a medical certificate is not required for flying lessons with an instructor, but you need one before your first solo, as our student pilot certificate guide explains. Talk to an AME about your history before you plan your training timeline.
- Read the FAA’s ADHD answer in its Pre-Flight Your Exam questions and the AME Guide ADHD pages, then talk with an AME about which track fits your history before you submit your application.
- The MedXPress application asks about your medical history and medications. Answer completely; the tracks above are built on your records.
- Sport pilot privileges can use a U.S. driver’s license instead of a medical only if you meet 61.23(c)(2): if you have applied for a medical, your most recent application must have found you eligible, and you must not know or have reason to know of any condition that would keep you from flying safely. Ask your physician and an AME how that applies to you; our sport pilot guide covers the certificate itself.
For how ADHD fits with the other medical classes and options, see our medical certificate classes guide and our BasicMed guide.
What you'll need
Two FAA-based references for the rules behind your medical and the aeromedical factors every pilot studies.
Frequently asked questions
Can you be a pilot with ADHD?
Often, yes. The FAA looks at the past four years. With no ADHD treatment, medication, symptoms or instability in that time and no other psychiatric diagnosis, a Fast Track evaluation can let your AME issue. Otherwise a Standard Track evaluation goes to the FAA for a decision.
Can I fly while taking ADHD medication?
Not with an FAA medical certificate. The AME Guide puts ADHD medications and stimulants on its Do Not Issue list and calls current use incompatible with aviation safety. Any decision to stop a medication belongs to your prescribing physician.
How long do you have to be off ADHD medication to fly?
At least 90 days before a Standard Track evaluation, and only if your treating physician determines the medication can be safely stopped. The Fast Track requires four years with no ADHD medication, treatment or symptoms.
What is the FAA ADHD Fast Track?
A records review and interview by a doctoral-level psychologist or neuropsychologist for applicants with no ADHD treatment, medication, symptoms or instability in four years and no other psychiatric diagnosis. If the FAA ADHD Summary is all “no,” the AME can issue.
Does the AME or the FAA decide?
Your AME can issue under the Fast Track when every criterion is met. For Standard Track cases and anyone currently taking ADHD medication, the AME defers and the FAA decides.