IGI Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown

The IGI Cost Picture at a Glance

The Instrument Ground Instructor (IGI) rating is one of the cheaper FAA credentials to earn, because the regulatory path is short. Under 14 CFR 61.213, the ground instructor rating does not require a pilot certificate, a minimum amount of flight time, or a practical flight test. What you need is an aeronautical-knowledge test result, proof of Fundamentals of Instructing (FOI) knowledge unless you are exempt, and the basic eligibility items such as age 18 and English proficiency.

That structure means your costs cluster in three buckets: the knowledge-test voucher, optional or conditional extras (a possible FOI test, a retest), and whatever preparation materials you choose to buy. This article walks through each bucket so you can build a realistic budget. For a broader look at whether the spend pays off, see our ROI analysis of the IGI certification.

The PSI Knowledge Test Fee

The FAA's knowledge test for this rating is named Ground Instructor Instrument, with test code IGI. It is delivered by PSI at authorized knowledge-testing centers. PSI publishes an FAA Airman Knowledge Test voucher price of US$175 plus applicable tax. Treat that as the voucher price for the IGI test itself. It is not a preparation-course price, and it does not cover any separately required FOI test.

Because tax rules and center procedures can vary, confirm the final amount at checkout on PSI's FAA testing program page before you schedule. The voucher price is the single most concrete number in your IGI budget, and it is the one expense you cannot avoid if you take the test.

What the voucher buys you

The fee buys one sitting of a computer-delivered, multiple-choice knowledge test. According to the FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, the IGI test has:

• 50 questions, excluding any unscored validation items (the exact count of extra unscored items is not specified in the matrix)
• 150 minutes of testing time
• A 70% passing score
• A minimum testing age of 16

Note the time limit carefully. Some competing prep pages describe a two-hour timer; the FAA matrix specifies 150 minutes. That difference matters for pacing, and it is covered further in our guide to the IGI passing score.

Before you pay: the administrative prerequisites

You need an FAA Tracking Number (FTN) obtained through IACRA, plus acceptable identification at the testing center. Neither carries a fee for the IGI path as described in the source material, but arriving without them can cost you a rescheduling headache or a forfeited appointment, so sort them out first. Our IGI exam dates and scheduling guide covers the logistics in more detail.

The FOI Question: A Possible Second Test

This is the line item most candidates overlook. Under 14 CFR 61.213, eligibility for the ground instructor certificate includes FOI knowledge unless you are exempt. The IGI knowledge test and FOI knowledge are separate items, and the voucher price above applies to the IGI test, not to any FOI test you might also need.

Who is exempt from the FOI requirement

The FOI exemptions described in the source regulations include:

• Holders of a ground instructor certificate or a flight instructor certificate
• Holders of a qualifying teaching certificate that permits teaching at grade 7 or higher
• Teachers employed at accredited colleges or universities

If you fall into one of these groups, you may avoid a second test and its cost entirely. If you do not, plan for the FOI requirement as an additional expense and an additional study load. The exact fee for any FOI test is not established in the material we rely on here, so check current pricing directly with the provider before budgeting a specific figure.

What You Don't Pay For

Part of understanding IGI cost is knowing what is absent. Compared with other aviation credentials, the ground instructor path skips several of the biggest expense categories:

• No flight training costs. Section 61.213 imposes no flight-time minimum for this rating.
• No practical test or checkride fee. The rating is earned through the knowledge test and eligibility requirements, not a practical flight test.
• No pilot certificate prerequisite. You do not need to hold a pilot certificate to qualify under the cited regulation.
• No endorsement fee on the first attempt. Initial IGI testing requires no instructor endorsement or other written authorization.
• No expiration-driven renewal fee. Ground instructor certificates are issued without an expiration date under 14 CFR 61.19(e).

This is why the IGI is often described as an accessible credential for people who want an instrument-instruction rating without the cost of additional flight hours. Be careful, though, not to confuse the IGI with the instrument rating itself or with the flight instructor instrument rating. Those are different credentials with different tests and different costs. Our overview of IGI certification clarifies what the rating covers and what it does not.

Preparation Spending: Where Money Is Optional

Nothing in the FAA's requirements obliges you to buy a prep course. That makes preparation the most flexible part of your budget, and the place where candidates most often overspend or underspend.

What the market offers

Several providers sell instrument-oriented ground instructor prep, including Sheppard Air, Gleim Aviation, ASA, King Schools, and OpenExamPrep. Their offerings and prices differ, and their marketing claims do not override FAA requirements. We do not quote competitor prices here because they change and vary by bundle. Compare current offerings directly, and judge them against what the test actually asks.

What a good prep investment must cover

The IGI test draws on the aeronautical-knowledge areas in 14 CFR 61.65(b). Those ten areas are statutory headings, not an issuer-published weighted blueprint, so be skeptical of any product that claims precise percentage weights for each one. Your materials should cover the full list:

For a deeper treatment of each area, see our complete guide to all 10 IGI content areas. If you want practice questions that mirror the multiple-choice format, our IGI practice test is a low-cost way to find weak spots before you pay for an exam sitting.

Retest Costs and the Endorsement Requirement

The FAA's 2025 volume report records 2,751 IGI test administrations with a 99.71% passing rate and a 93.11% average score. Those are administration-level results for calendar year 2025, not a first-attempt-only pass rate and not a 2026 figure. They suggest that most candidates who sit the test pass it, but they do not guarantee your outcome. We examine the data further in our IGI pass rate analysis.

If you do fail, the cost picture changes in two ways:

1. You need paperwork. Retesting requires the failed Airman Knowledge Test Report and the required instructor training or proficiency endorsement. The first attempt needs no endorsement; a retest does.
2. You should expect to buy another test voucher. Confirm the retest pricing and scheduling rules with PSI at the time of purchase.

The endorsement requirement can involve time with an authorized instructor, and any instructor fee is a private arrangement not covered by FAA or PSI pricing. The practical lesson: the cheapest path is passing the first time, which makes a modest investment in practice testing worthwhile. Our guide on how hard the IGI exam is helps you gauge how much preparation you realistically need.

Budgeting Study Time by Domain

Money is only half the budget; study time is the other half. Because the ten domains are statutory areas without published weights, avoid allocating time by invented percentages. Instead, sequence your study so that foundational content comes first and applied judgment topics come last. This is the one planning template in this article, and it is tied directly to IGI content:

A four-week plan is an illustration, not a prescription. Candidates with strong instrument backgrounds may compress it; others may extend it. For a fuller approach, our IGI study guide and one-page IGI cheat sheet provide additional structure.

Keeping the Rating Usable: Currency Costs

Here is a point that surprises many new instructors: the ground instructor certificate has no expiration date under 14 CFR 61.19(e), yet your ability to exercise its privileges depends on recent experience. Section 61.217 requires one of the following within the preceding 12 calendar months:

• Qualifying ground-instructor activity
• Qualifying flight-instructor activity
• An approved flight instructor refresher course
• An endorsement of proficiency from an authorized instructor

These alternatives carry different costs. Active instructors may satisfy currency simply by teaching, which costs nothing extra. Someone who earns the rating but does not teach regularly may need a refresher course or a proficiency endorsement, which brings a fee or time commitment. There is no fixed continuing-education-unit requirement to budget for; currency here works through these alternatives, not through CEUs.

Keep in mind the scope of the rating as well. IGI privileges concern instrument ground instruction and applicable endorsements. They do not authorize flight instruction, so the rating does not replace the cost of earning a flight instructor certificate if that is your goal.

Weighing Cost Against Return

With a voucher price in the low hundreds, no practical test, and no expiration fee, the IGI has a modest cost of entry compared with most aviation credentials. Whether it pays back depends on how you plan to use it. We do not cite a salary figure here because no verified, credential-specific salary premium for the IGI is established in our source material, and broader ground-instruction job pay varies by employer and role. For a qualitative discussion of earning potential, see our IGI salary guide, and for the types of roles that use the rating, see our overview of IGI jobs.

Typical settings where an instrument ground instructor rating is relevant include flight schools, collegiate aviation programs, and independent instructors who prepare pilots for instrument-related knowledge testing. The rating can also complement other credentials you already hold. If you are comparing it with other instructor ratings, remember that the IGI test is its own exam with its own code. It is not the same as the Instrument Rating Airplane test, the Flight Instructor Instrument Airplane test, the Advanced Ground Instructor test, or the Fundamentals of Instructing test.

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