Often, yes. The FAA standard for every class of medical certificate is the “ability to perceive those colors necessary for the safe performance of airman duties” (14 CFR 67.303(c)). Since January 1, 2025, first-time applicants are screened once with one of three approved computer-based tests. If you cannot pass any of them, the AME can still issue a third-class medical certificate limited to “Valid for day visual flight rules (VFR) only,” and you can ask the FAA to review an upgrade.
This guide summarizes 14 CFR part 67 and the FAA’s Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners (AME Guide) as of its September 30, 2026 revision; it is not medical advice. Color vision policy changed in 2025, so confirm the current steps with your Aviation Medical Examiner (AME). If you cannot pass a test, an upgrade or limitation removal is decided by the FAA, not the AME.
Why color vision matters in the cockpit
In its color vision questions and answers, the FAA says pilots must be able to perceive the colors needed to discern cockpit display colors, aircraft signaling and airport lighting. That covers things you will use in training, such as the light gun signals a tower uses when your radio fails, PAPI and VASI glide path lights, and airport lighting. The FAA lists the spread of color displays, poorly standardized administration of older tests and an NTSB safety recommendation for commercial pilots among its reasons for modernizing color vision testing.
The FAA color vision standard
The wording is the same for first, second and third class (67.103(c), 67.203(c), 67.303(c)). The regulation, unchanged since 1996, names no colors and no test score. The AME Guide sets the approved tests and passing scores, and the 2025 change came through an AME Guide revision. Visual acuity has separate standards, covered in our pilot with glasses guide.
The color vision tests the FAA accepts now
For pilot exams on or after January 1, 2025, the AME Guide accepts only three computer-based tests, and color vision screening is a one-time check rather than a test at every exam:
| Approved test | Passing result (AME Guide) |
|---|---|
| Colour Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD), Environment and Aviation (Commercial) version | Red-green and yellow-blue scores within FAA limits; the red-green limit depends on the type of deficiency diagnosed |
| Rabin Cone Contrast Test, military version, each eye tested separately | 55 or higher for each of red, green and blue |
| Waggoner Computerized Color Vision Test, Adult Diagnostic or FAA Color Vision Test | At least 21 of 25 general and 10 of 12 tritan, or at least 20 of 32 protan, 20 of 32 deutan and 10 of 12 tritan |
- Testing must be done in person. Virtual, downloaded and printed versions are not accepted, and a result must be verifiably yours.
- You may try any or all three tests, with no limit on attempts; passing any one is a pass.
- An earlier result from one of these tests, for example from military testing, can be accepted.
- Color vision correcting lenses, such as X-Chrom, are not acceptable.
If you cannot pass: the day VFR only limitation
A first-time applicant who cannot pass any of the three tests is not deferred. If otherwise qualified, the AME issues a third-class medical certificate with limitation 104, “Valid for day visual flight rules (VFR) only.” If your AME’s office has none of the approved tests, the AME can issue that same certificate rather than defer, or you can test at another office that sends the printout to your AME.
That certificate supports student and private pilot flying in daylight under visual flight rules. If you later want first or second class (see medical certificate classes), or want the limitation removed, you can take the computer tests again at any time. If you still cannot pass, your AME submits a Color Vision Limitation Review, and the request goes to the FAA as an appeal to the Federal Air Surgeon. The FAA reviews these case by case and may ask for more information.
If you suspect a color deficiency, you can take one of the approved computer tests at a clinic or AME office that has it before your FAA exam, and bring the provider-signed printout. The FAA accepts earlier results from these tests, and knowing yours lets you plan your training before the exam.
What changed in 2025, and older color vision outcomes
Before 2025, AMEs could use other approved color vision tests. An applicant who failed could take the FAA’s Operational Color Vision Test (OCVT) and, in some cases, a color vision Medical Flight Test (MFT); the AME Guide notes that first- and second-class Letters of Evidence (LOE) and Statements of Demonstrated Ability (SODA) were earned by passing both. Pilots who could not pass hold an LOE, a SODA, or limitation 16, “Not valid for flights requiring color signal control during daylight hours,” or limitation 17, “Not valid for night flying or by color signal control.”
The current AME Guide does not list the OCVT or MFT as a step for first-time applicants, but it keeps earlier outcomes in place. As the FAA puts it, what you hold walking into the AME’s office is what you walk out with, unless you take a new test:
- A returning pilot who passed any previously FAA-approved test needs no new test, for any class.
- A pilot with a third-class LOE or SODA keeps third class with no color limitation; to upgrade, they take a computer test.
- A pilot with a first- or second-class LOE or SODA, earned by passing the OCVT and MFT, needs no new test.
- A pilot with limitation 16 or 17 keeps it unless they pass a computer test, at the highest class the FAA has approved for them.
Sport pilots, BasicMed and changes in color vision
A sport pilot who uses a U.S. driver’s license instead of a medical takes no FAA color vision test, but must not know or have reason to know of any condition that would keep them from flying safely (61.23(c)(2)), and sport pilot night privileges require an FAA medical certificate or BasicMed (61.329). The BasicMed physical uses an FAA checklist that includes color vision (68.7).
Color vision can also change over time. The FAA lists eye conditions such as glaucoma and cataracts, some neurological conditions, diabetes, and medications such as hydroxychloroquine among common causes of acquired color deficiency. If you have one of them, extra color testing may be required by the AME Guide or by your authorization letter.
What you'll need
The regulations behind light signals and medical standards, plus the FAA handbook with chapters on airport operations and aeromedical factors.
Frequently asked questions
Can you be a pilot if you are color blind?
Often, yes. If you cannot pass one of the FAA’s approved color vision tests, an AME can still issue a third-class medical certificate limited to day visual flight rules (VFR) only, provided you are otherwise qualified.
What color vision test does the FAA use?
Since January 1, 2025, pilots are screened once, in person, with one of three computer-based tests: the Colour Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD) test, the Rabin Cone Contrast Test or the Waggoner Computerized Color Vision Test. Passing any one is enough.
Can a color blind pilot fly at night?
Not with a medical certificate limited to day VFR only. Pilots who earned a Letter of Evidence or SODA under the earlier policy keep it, and you can ask the FAA to review a limitation through a Color Vision Limitation Review.
Can a color blind person become an airline pilot?
An airline captain needs a first-class medical. If you cannot pass any approved test, the AME issues third class only, and an upgrade to first or second class requires an FAA review that is decided case by case.
Do color correcting glasses help you pass the FAA test?
No. The AME Guide says color vision correcting lenses, such as X-Chrom, are not acceptable to the FAA as a way to correct a pilot’s color vision deficiency.