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CFI Renewals vs. Reinstatements: How to Keep Your Instructor Privileges Active (Without Getting Trapped by the Calendar)

If you’ve been a CFI for a while, you’ve probably lived through at least one confusing conversation that starts with:


“Wait… do CFIs still expire?”


Here’s the practical, pilot-focused truth: your flight instructor certificate isn’t the same “expires on X date” problem it used to be, but your ability to exercise CFI privileges can absolutely lapse if you don’t meet the recent experience requirements on time. When you lapse, you can’t instruct until you’re back in compliance.


That’s where the two buckets come in:

  • Renewal (staying current): you meet a qualifying requirement before your 24-month window runs out.

  • Reinstatement (after a lapse): your privileges have lapsed and you need a specific path to get them back.


This post is written from a Part 61, real-world CFI perspective.



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The Clock You Actually Live By: “24 Calendar Months”

CFI currency is based on 24 calendar months, not “two years to the day.”


That distinction matters because “calendar months” are forgiving and sneaky:

  • If you’re current through January 2026, you’re current until January 31, 2026.

  • If you let it slide past the end of that month, you’re done until reinstated.


The “Don’t Lose Months” Trick: The Final 3 Calendar Months

If you complete a qualifying renewal activity within the final 3 calendar months of your current period, you can usually time it so you don’t “reset early” and waste months. In other words, you can keep your renewal aligned with the end of your current window instead of shifting your cycle earlier every time you renew.


This is why many instructors plan renewal activity for the last quarter of their window.


Renewal: Common Ways CFIs Stay Current

Think of renewal as: “What can I do so my instructor privileges don’t lapse?”

Here are the main, practical paths CFIs use.


1) Pass a CFI practical test (add a rating, or re-test a rating you hold)

Passing a practical test for an instructor rating can reset your clock. This is popular if you’re already planning to add something like CFII or MEI, or if you prefer the structure of a checkride to prove proficiency.


  • Pros: clean, unambiguous, often builds your qualifications

  • Cons: time, cost, scheduling, and it’s still a checkride


2) The “5 applicants / 80% first-time pass” route

If, in your 24-month window, you’ve endorsed at least five applicants for a practical test and your first-attempt pass rate is at least 80%, that can satisfy a renewal option.


Real-world note: track first-attempt outcomes as you go. At month 23, nobody wants to be doing math while sweating the calendar.


3) Service in qualifying training/evaluation roles

Certain professional roles that involve structured training and evaluation can count (think airline/charter training departments, check pilot/check airman functions, or other roles where you’re routinely evaluating pilot performance).


  • Pros: great if you’re already in that ecosystem

  • Cons: not available to most “local airport” CFIs


4) Complete a Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC)

A FIRC is the most common path because it’s predictable and easy to plan. The timing matters: this option is generally used close to the end of your window, and many instructors schedule it in the final three months to preserve their full cycle.


  • Pros: consistent, convenient, low-drama

  • Cons: still requires you to mind deadlines and file what needs filing


Paperwork Reality: Doing the Thing Isn’t the Whole Thing

A lot of instructors stumble here:

Completing the renewal activity is step one. You still need to properly document it and submit the appropriate application so the FAA can record your current status.


If you’ve ever heard someone say, “I did the refresher but I’m not sure it ‘took’,” that’s usually a paperwork or processing issue—not a flying issue.


What “Lapse” Means in Plain English

If you miss the end of your 24-calendar-month window, your instructor privileges lapse.


That means:

  • You can’t give flight instruction as a CFI

  • You can’t give ground instruction that requires CFI privileges

  • You can’t provide CFI endorsements


Even if you’re “only a little late,” you’re still not current.


Reinstatement: Getting Your Privileges Back After a Lapse

Reinstatement depends heavily on how long it’s been since your privileges lapsed.


If you’re within about 3 calendar months after your window ended

There’s typically a path to reinstatement that can include a refresher course (and/or other qualifying methods). This is the “act fast” window: the sooner you address it, the more straightforward it tends to be.


Important: you still can’t instruct during that gap until you’re reinstated and properly documented.


If it’s been more than about 3 calendar months

At that point, reinstatement generally becomes a practical test problem. In other words: you’re looking at a flight instructor practical test to regain instructor privileges.


This is the big incentive to handle a lapse quickly—because the difference between “simple reinstatement” and “book a checkride” can be just a few flips of the calendar.


Military-related options

If you’re in a military instructor/examiner pipeline, there are additional reinstatement paths tied to military proficiency checks and documentation. If that’s you, it’s worth reviewing the exact requirements that apply to your role and records.


The “Pilot-Proof” CFI Currency Plan

If you want a simple system that almost never fails:

  1. Know your month. Put it on your calendar as a month, not a date.

  2. Plan renewal inside the last 3 calendar months of your window.

  3. Complete your chosen renewal activity (FIRC, checkride, pass-rate method, etc.).

  4. Document and file promptly.

  5. Don’t flirt with the last day of the last month. Weather, maintenance, DPE schedules, and life all love eating deadlines.


Bottom Line

CFI “renewal” is really about staying current inside a 24-calendar-month system. Reinstatement is what you do when you fall out of that system—and the longer you wait, the more likely it becomes a practical test situation.



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