IGI Meaning

What IGI Stands For

In aviation training, IGI stands for Instrument Ground Instructor. It is a rating issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that authorizes a person to teach the ground-school side of instrument flying: regulations, charts, weather, navigation, air traffic control procedures and the decision-making skills that underpin flight under instrument flight rules (IFR). It is a classroom and briefing-room credential. It does not authorize anyone to give flight instruction in an aircraft.

The acronym also appears as the FAA knowledge-test code. The exam you sit for the rating is officially titled Ground Instructor Instrument, and its test code is IGI. So when someone says "I'm taking the IGI," they usually mean the knowledge test, while "I hold an IGI" refers to the rating itself. If you want a broader orientation, our explainers on what IGI is and what IGI stands for cover the same ground from slightly different angles.

Why the Acronym Causes Confusion

"IGI" is a short acronym, and several unrelated organizations and credentials use it. Search results for the three letters can wander into fields that have nothing to do with aviation. This article and this site concern only the FAA's Instrument Ground Instructor rating. Nothing here describes fees, dates, pass rates or exam outlines from any other credential that happens to share the letters, so if you arrived looking for something outside aviation instruction, you are in the wrong place.

Even inside aviation, the FAA's family of instructor and instrument tests invites mix-ups. IGI sits near several similarly named codes, and they are not interchangeable. The comparison section below untangles them. For a short companion read on the phrase itself, see what does IGI mean.

What the Rating Actually Covers

The Instrument Ground Instructor rating is about knowledge transfer. Under 14 CFR 61.213, the rating's aeronautical-knowledge requirement incorporates the subject areas listed in 61.65(b), the same knowledge areas required for an instrument rating. A holder can instruct on those topics and can give the endorsements that fall within ground-instructor privileges, but cannot sign anyone off for flight training given in an aircraft.

A useful way to think about it: the rating certifies that you understand instrument-flight knowledge well enough to teach it to someone else. The knowledge test is the gate, and the regulation spells out what that knowledge must span. Note also that Section 61.213 does not impose a pilot certificate, a flight-time minimum or a practical flight test for this ground instructor rating. That makes it unusually accessible among FAA instructor credentials. For the full eligibility picture, see IGI requirements: eligibility, prerequisites and how to qualify.

The IGI Knowledge Test in Numbers

Every figure below comes from the FAA's Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix and related FAA and PSI publications.

Two points deserve emphasis. First, the time limit is 150 minutes, which is two and a half hours, not the two hours that some competing prep pages state. Second, the 50-question figure refers to scored questions. The FAA's table does not establish how many additional unscored validation items might appear, so do not assume the number on your screen will be exactly 50. Treat every question as if it counts.

The US$175 figure is the PSI voucher price for the knowledge test only. It is not a preparation-course price, and it does not cover any separately required Fundamentals of Instructing test. For a fuller breakdown of what a candidate might spend, see IGI certification cost.

Test-day rules

The test is computer-based, so you will answer on a screen at a PSI center. Approved calculators and navigation aids are allowed subject to memory clearing and proctor approval, and you receive the supplied testing supplement. Outside study materials are prohibited. FAA Order 8080.6H, Conduct of Airman Knowledge Tests (September 22, 2017), chapter 3, is the active governing document for test-aid rules; the older Advisory Circular 60-11C has been canceled and should not be cited.

Registration mechanics are simple but require some pre-work: you need an FAA Tracking Number (FTN) obtained through IACRA, plus acceptable identification. Initial IGI testing does not require an instructor endorsement or other written authorization.

Results and difficulty

The FAA's CY2025 Airman Knowledge Test Volume Report records 2,751 IGI test administrations, a 99.71% passing rate and a 93.11% average score. Read those carefully: they are 2025 administration-level results, not a 2026 figure and not a first-attempt-only pass rate. They show that candidates who reach the testing center overwhelmingly pass, which likely reflects that many applicants are already instrument-rated pilots or well-prepared instructors. They do not mean the test is trivial for someone new to IFR material. See what the pass-rate data shows and how hard the IGI exam is for more context, and IGI passing score for how the 70% threshold works in practice.

The Ten Knowledge Areas Behind the Name

The FAA does not publish a weighted exam-domain table for the IGI test. The ten areas below reproduce the headings in 14 CFR 61.65(b), the statutory aeronautical-knowledge areas. Their number says nothing about which area carries the most questions, so resist any source that assigns percentages to them. The FAA's matrix points candidates to the testing supplement and Learning Statement Codes rather than an independently weighted blueprint.

For deeper treatment of each, see our complete guide to all ten IGI content areas, and try the questions on the main practice test site to see how these areas surface in multiple-choice form.

IGI vs. IRA, FII, AGI and FOI

This is where many candidates get tangled. The FAA publishes separate knowledge tests with similar-sounding codes. They are different tests with different purposes, and they should not be assumed to share content, length or scoring.

Eligibility, Endorsements and the FOI Exemption

Under 14 CFR 61.213, certificate eligibility requires the applicant to be at least 18, to meet the specified English proficiency, to pass the applicable aeronautical-knowledge examination and to have FOI knowledge unless exempt. (The minimum testing age is 16, which is lower than the minimum certificate age of 18.)

Who is exempt from FOI

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

Initial test versus retest

The first time you take the IGI knowledge test, no instructor endorsement is required. If you fail, retesting is different: you need the failed Airman Knowledge Test Report and the required instructor training/proficiency endorsement. Keep that report safe. Candidates sometimes assume a retest works like the initial attempt and arrive at the testing center without the paperwork.

For planning around scheduling and windows, see IGI exam dates.

A Certificate That Does Not Expire, and Currency That Does

Ground instructor certificates are issued without an expiration date under 14 CFR 61.19(e). Once you hold the rating, the certificate itself does not lapse on a calendar.

That is not the same as being current. Under 14 CFR 61.217, exercising your privileges requires recent experience within the preceding 12 calendar months, satisfied by any one of these alternatives:

1. Qualifying ground-instructor activity
2. Qualifying flight-instructor activity
3. An approved flight instructor refresher course
4. An authorized-instructor proficiency endorsement

Who Uses the Rating

The rating tends to appeal to people who teach or support instrument training: flight school ground instructors, university aviation program staff, independent instructors preparing students for the instrument knowledge test, and pilots who want to formalize their ability to teach. Because the rating does not require a pilot certificate, it can also suit people whose role is classroom-centered rather than cockpit-centered.

Pay for ground instruction varies widely by employer, region and workload, and the FAA does not publish a salary premium tied to this credential. Be skeptical of any source that quotes a specific figure as though the rating alone guarantees it. For a grounded look at earnings and value, see the IGI salary guide, the worth-it analysis and our overview of IGI jobs.

Sequencing Your Preparation

Because the FAA does not weight the ten areas, a sensible approach is to sequence them by dependency rather than by an invented percentage. Regulations and AIM material give you the vocabulary; charts and navigation build on them; weather and decision-making tie everything together. One compact way to order it:

Practice with the actual supplement in hand, since the test provides it and expects you to use it. For a fuller plan, read the IGI study guide, keep the IGI cheat sheet nearby for quick review, and check out IGI training options. When you are ready to test yourself, the IGI practice tests mirror the multiple-choice format.

Frequently Asked Questions