FAA Color Vision Requirements for Pilots: The 2025 Rule Change

Last verified 2026-10-14 · reflects AME Guide version 09/30/2026 · pilots only (ATCS rules differ and did not change)

⚠️ An online test on this site cannot be used for FAA certification

The FAA requires that “testing must be performed in person. Virtual testing, downloaded, or printed versions of color vision tests are prohibited.” An online screening can only tell you whether booking an Aviation Medical Examiner is worth your time. This page is reference information, not aeromedical advice.

What changed

Effective January 1, 2025, the FAA accepts only three computer-based tests for pilot color vision screening. Every plate book and vision-tester instrument accepted before that date — including the Ishihara test that almost everyone has heard of — was removed. Screening also changed from something repeated at each exam to a one-time requirement.

Notably, this was not done through Federal Register rulemaking. It is FAA medical policy published in the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners. That is consistent with the regulation itself, which never named a specific test.

The three accepted tests and their passing scores

CAD (Colour Assessment & Diagnosis)

Environment and Aviation (Commercial)

Red-Green (RG): 1.7 if normal; less than 6 if diagnosed as Deutan; less than 12 if diagnosed as Protan
AND Yellow-Blue (YB): less than 2.4

If you pass the FAST version, no further colour testing is needed. If you fail it, the full definitive CAD must be completed.

Rabin Cone Contrast Test (RCCT)

Air Force / Army / Navy / Coast Guard version

Score must be 55 or higher for EACH colour: Red, Green, and Blue

Each eye is tested separately. The staircase version is allowed.

Waggoner CCVT (Computerized Color Vision Test)

Adult Diagnostic or FAA Color Vision Test

General: 21 or higher (of 25) AND Tritan: 10 or higher (of 12)
OR Protan: 20 or higher (of 32) AND Deutan: 20 or higher (of 32) AND Tritan: 10 or higher (of 12)

If you do not pass Section 1, Sections 3 and 4 are given automatically. Section 5 (D-15) is not used for FAA purposes.

A contradiction in the official chart (reported as-is)

The FAA chart writes the CAD red-green line as “1.7 if normal,” while the note directly beneath it reads “an RG score of less than 1.7 indicates Normal.” The two readings disagree at exactly the boundary value, and the FAA has published no clarification. CAD is scored in threshold units where lower is better, so the chart’s “minimum number correct to pass” column heading does not really apply to this row. Treat your AME’s actual result as authoritative.

What was removed

Each of these was FAA-accepted before January 1, 2025 and is now not accepted. The FAA’s catch-all is blunt: “ANY tests not specifically listed are NOT acceptable methods of testing for FAA medical certificate.”

Ishihara plate books (14-, 24-, and 38-plate editions)
Dvorine 2nd edition
AOC 1965 and AOC-HRR 2nd edition
Richmond-HRR 4th edition and Richmond 1983
Farnsworth Lantern
OPTEC 900, OPTEC 2000, OPTEC 2500
Keystone Orthoscope and Keystone Telebinocular
Titmus Vision Tester and Titmus i400

What happens if you do not pass

The most important thing first: failing a color vision test does not end your flying. The AME does not defer your application — they issue a third-class medical certificate on the spot (if you are otherwise qualified) carrying limitation #104, “Valid for day visual flight rules (VFR) only.”

You may attempt all three. Passing any one is sufficient, and failing one does not preclude attempting another.
Retries are unlimited. The FAA sets no cap on the number of trials.
No 90-day recency rule. A previous acceptable test result can be submitted, including one done in the military.
You can appeal. To upgrade to first or second class, submit a Color Vision Limitation Review to the Federal Air Surgeon. Requests are reviewed case by case.

On the old operational color vision test (OCVT, the light-gun test) and the color vision medical flight test: neither appears in the current AME Guide as a route to remove a color vision limitation, and the published appeal path is the documentary review above. Existing SODAs and LOEs remain honored. The FAA has not published an affirmative statement that the OCVT is discontinued — we infer it from the removal of that section and its replacement by the review, so confirm your own case with your AME or the FAA.

If you already passed under the old rules

If you have historically passed any previously FAA-approved color vision test, a computer-based test is not required — for any class. A pilot who passed an Ishihara plate book in 1998 is permanently done, first class included.

“Whatever the individual has walking into the AME’s office (e.g., LOE, restricted certificate/any class, unrestricted, failed) is what they will walk out with, unless they take a new color test.” — FAA Color Vision FAQ #7

Only three groups need the new test: new pilots, holders of limitation #16 or #17 who want it removed, and holders of a current LOE or SODA who want to upgrade class.

The regulatory basis

14 CFR 67.103(c) (first class), 67.203(c) (second class), and 67.303(c) (third class) use identical wording, and none of them contains a number:

“(c) Ability to perceive those colors necessary for the safe performance of airman duties.”

In other words, “normal color vision” is not the legal standard. Every specific test and cut score comes from FAA policy, which can change without rulemaking — which is exactly why this page carries a verification date and a Guide version.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

No — and it fails on three separate grounds. The FAA states plainly that 'testing must be performed in person. Virtual testing, downloaded, or printed versions of color vision tests are prohibited.' An online Ishihara also uses a test that was removed from the accepted list on January 1, 2025, and it has no way to verify your identity, which the FAA requires in the same way it does for an EKG. An online test can tell you whether it is worth booking an appointment with an Aviation Medical Examiner. It has zero certification value.

The FAA reduced the accepted color vision tests for pilots to three computer-based tests only: CAD, the Rabin Cone Contrast Test, and the Waggoner CCVT. Every plate book and vision-tester instrument previously accepted — Ishihara, Dvorine, AOC-HRR, Richmond, Farnsworth Lantern, OPTEC, Keystone, Titmus — was dropped. Testing also became a one-time screening rather than something repeated at each exam. This was done through FAA medical policy in the AME Guide, not through a Federal Register rulemaking, which is consistent with the fact that the regulation itself names no test.

You are not deferred and you do not walk out with nothing. The Aviation Medical Examiner issues a third-class medical certificate on the spot (if you are otherwise qualified) carrying limitation #104, 'Valid for day visual flight rules (VFR) only.' You may then request an upgrade to first or second class by appealing to the Federal Air Surgeon through a Color Vision Limitation Review. There is also no limit on retries, and you may attempt all three tests — passing any one of them is enough.

No. The FAA's rule for a returning pilot is explicit: if you have historically passed any previously FAA-approved color vision test, a computer-based test is not required, for any class. Your old pass still counts permanently. The FAA also guarantees you cannot be made worse off: 'Whatever the individual has walking into the AME's office is what they will walk out with, unless they take a new color test.'

No. The FAA states that colour vision correcting lenses such as X-Chrom are not acceptable as a means of correcting a pilot's colour vision deficiency. Tinted lenses marketed for colour blindness alter how colours appear but do not restore the missing cone response, and the FAA does not accept testing done while wearing them.

No, and this surprises most people. 14 CFR 67.103(c), 67.203(c), and 67.303(c) say only that an airman needs the 'ability to perceive those colors necessary for the safe performance of airman duties.' Every specific test and every passing score comes from FAA policy in the Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners, which can be revised without rulemaking. That is exactly why this page is date-stamped and why you should confirm current policy with your AME.

Want a sense of where you stand before booking? Take a free Ishihara screening or read about the different types of color vision deficiency. Again: neither counts for FAA certification — they only help you decide whether to book an AME appointment.