What Does IGI Stand For?

The Short Answer: Instrument Ground Instructor

On igiexam.com, IGI stands for Instrument Ground Instructor. It is an FAA-issued ground instructor rating that authorizes a person to teach the aeronautical knowledge behind instrument flight, meaning the regulations, charts, weather, navigation and decision-making that instrument pilots must master before they ever fly an approach in the clouds.

The letters are also the FAA's knowledge-test code for the exam that leads to the rating. The official test name is Ground Instructor Instrument, and the code printed in FAA testing materials is IGI. If you have searched the acronym and landed on results about unrelated subjects, you were seeing other fields that happen to share the same three letters. This article, and everything on this site, concerns the FAA aviation credential only.

If you want a quick companion read on the term itself, our shorter explainers on what IGI is and IGI meaning cover the same ground from different angles. This guide goes deeper into what the credential involves in practice.

What the Instrument Ground Instructor Rating Actually Is

The FAA issues several categories of ground instructor certificate under 14 CFR Part 61, Subpart I. The Instrument Ground Instructor rating is one of them. Holders are qualified to provide ground training in instrument flight topics and to give certain endorsements related to that instruction, within the scope the regulations allow.

Two points matter right away, because they are the most common misunderstandings:

• It is a knowledge credential, not a flying credential. Section 61.213 does not require you to hold a pilot certificate, log a minimum amount of flight time, or pass a practical flight test to earn this rating.
• It does not authorize flight instruction. IGI privileges concern instrument ground instruction and applicable endorsements. Teaching someone in an aircraft is a separate certificate, the flight instructor rating.

Why the Letters Cause Confusion

Aviation is dense with acronyms, and the FAA's own system uses several that sit close to IGI. A candidate researching the rating will run into all of the following, and each one is a different thing:

• IGI is Ground Instructor Instrument, the subject of this site.
• IRA is Instrument Rating Airplane, the pilot-side knowledge test for people who want to fly under instrument flight rules.
• FII is Flight Instructor Instrument Airplane, the knowledge test for instructors adding instrument privileges to a flight instructor certificate.
• AGI is Advanced Ground Instructor, a broader ground instructor rating covering more than instrument topics.
• FOI is Fundamentals of Instructing, the teaching-principles knowledge area required of instructor applicants unless they are exempt.

These tests overlap in subject matter but they are not identical exams. The question banks, test codes and purposes differ, so treat any resource that blurs them together with caution. We unpack the relationships in the comparison section below.

IGI as an FAA Knowledge Test Code

Within the FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, each knowledge test has a code, a question count, a time allowance, a passing score and a minimum age. For IGI, the matrix lists:

Note the 150-minute figure. Some third-party pages state a two-hour limit; the FAA matrix says 150 minutes, and that is the number to plan around. The matrix's published text carries a September 25, 2026 date while the retrieved table image shows an October 22, 2025 revision footer, but both agree on the IGI question count, time and passing score. Always confirm against the current FAA matrix before test day.

For a closer look at the score threshold itself, see our guide to the IGI passing score.

Test Format, Timing and Registration Mechanics

Scored questions versus validation items

The matrix specifies 50 questions excluding unscored validation items. The FAA sometimes includes extra questions to evaluate them for future use. Those do not count toward your result, and the exact number of such items is not established by the matrix table. Practically, this means you should answer every question with full effort, since you cannot tell which items are the unscored ones.

Cost

PSI publishes an FAA Airman Knowledge Test voucher price of US$175 plus applicable tax. That figure is the test-voucher price only. It is not a preparation-course price, and it is not the total cost of any separately required FOI test. If you are budgeting the full path, our IGI certification cost breakdown separates these components.

Registration prerequisites

• An FAA Tracking Number (FTN), obtained through the IACRA system.
• Acceptable identification at the testing center.
• No instructor endorsement for the initial attempt. Initial IGI testing requires no endorsement or other written authorization.
• For a retest after failure: the failed Airman Knowledge Test Report plus the required instructor training or proficiency endorsement.

What you may bring

Under FAA Order 8080.6H, Conduct of Airman Knowledge Tests (chapter 3), approved calculators and navigation aids are permitted subject to memory clearing and proctor approval, along with the testing supplement the center provides. Outside study materials are prohibited. This active order replaced the canceled advisory circular that older study sites still cite.

What an Instrument Ground Instructor Must Know

The aeronautical knowledge areas for this rating come from 14 CFR 61.213(a)(4)(iii), which incorporates the knowledge areas listed in 61.65(b). There are ten, and they define what a candidate must be able to explain. Importantly, these are statutory subject headings, not an FAA-published table of weighted exam percentages. Anyone quoting a precise percentage per domain for IGI is inventing it, and the count of ten areas does not tell you which one carries the most questions.

For a deeper treatment of each area and how to prioritize your review, read our complete guide to all ten IGI content areas.

What the questions feel like

Because the exam is multiple choice and references the supplied testing supplement, many items ask you to read a chart excerpt, decode a weather product or apply a regulation to a scenario. Expect scenario framing more than pure recall. A candidate who has only memorized definitions will struggle when asked to interpret an approach plate figure. If you are weighing the challenge honestly, our piece on how hard the IGI exam is gives a grounded view.

IGI Compared With IRA, FII, AGI and FOI

Because the subject matter overlaps, candidates often wonder which exam they actually need. These tests share a knowledge base but serve different goals and are not interchangeable.

Eligibility, FOI Exemptions and Staying Current

Eligibility under 14 CFR 61.213

To be issued the rating, an applicant must be at least 18, meet the specified English-language proficiency, pass the applicable aeronautical-knowledge exam, and demonstrate FOI knowledge unless exempt. Note that the minimum age to sit the knowledge test is 16, while the certificate itself requires 18. Our IGI requirements guide walks through the full eligibility picture.

FOI exemptions

You may not need to take a separate FOI test if you fall into an exempt group. Exemptions include:

• Holders of a ground instructor certificate or 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 none of these describe you, plan for the FOI requirement as a separate item, and remember its fee is not part of the IGI voucher price.

The certificate does not expire; your privileges still need upkeep

Under 14 CFR 61.19(e), ground instructor certificates are issued without an expiration date. That is permanent in the sense that the document does not lapse on a calendar. However, exercising the privileges requires recent experience under 61.217 within the preceding 12 calendar months. The alternatives are:

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

Who Uses This Rating and What It Allows

People who hold an Instrument Ground Instructor rating tend to work in aviation training settings where instrument knowledge must be taught reliably. Typical environments include flight schools running instrument rating ground courses, Part 141 and Part 61 training operations, university aviation programs, and independent instructors offering exam-preparation sessions. Some hold the rating as a stepping stone while building toward a flight instructor certificate; others use it as a stand-alone way to teach without maintaining flight-instructor currency.

Pay varies widely by employer, region and whether instruction is the only duty. Broader ground-instructor job pay is not the same as a verified premium attached specifically to this credential, so treat any single salary claim with skepticism. Our IGI salary guide separates credential eligibility from general job earnings, and the ROI analysis helps you weigh cost against likely benefit. If employment is your main interest, see our overview of IGI jobs.

Pass-rate context

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. Treat these as 2025 administration-level results. They are not a 2026 figure and not a first-attempt-only pass rate, and the candidate pool that takes this test is self-selected. Read more in our IGI pass rate analysis.

A Short Study Sequence Built Around IGI Content

You do not need an elaborate system. Sequence the material so that foundational regulations and navigation come before the judgment-heavy topics. One workable arrangement:

Finish by working through realistic questions on our IGI practice test platform, and keep our IGI cheat sheet handy for a final one-page review. For the fuller method, the IGI study guide expands on this plan.

Frequently Asked Questions