FAA Color Vision Test

The three FAA-approved tests (since Jan 1, 2025)

Scores quoted from the FAA AME Guide, retrieved 2026-08-09. The FAA list is authoritative — tests not on it, including printed plates and lantern tests, are not acceptable for new applicants.

What changed on January 1, 2025?

For decades the FAA accepted a long menu of color vision tests — printed pseudoisochromatic plates like Ishihara, and signal-light or lantern tests such as the Farnsworth Lantern. That ended for new applicants on January 1, 2025: the AME Guide now lists exactly three approved computer-based tests, requires them to be administered in person, and states that virtual, downloaded, or printed versions are prohibited and that any test not specifically listed is not acceptable. Color-correcting lenses (such as X-Chrom) are explicitly not accepted as a fix.

The screening also became one-time. Instead of proving color vision at every medical, a pilot is screened once; only an acquired condition or medication that could affect color vision triggers retesting. Returning pilots are grandfathered: anyone who historically passed any previously FAA-approved color vision test marks a pass and moves on, and holders of a first- or second-class letter of evidence (LOE) or SODA keep their certificate without taking the computer test.

The three approved tests and their passing scores

The table above quotes the FAA's pass criteria verbatim. Two details are worth understanding. First, the CAD limits differ by diagnosis — a deutan applicant passes below 6 CAD units but a protan applicant gets up to 12 — because protans also see red lights as dimmer, and the limits were derived from how reliably applicants judged real aviation signal colors. Second, the Rabin test scores each cone type separately per eye, so a single weak cone class fails the screen even if overall color naming feels fine.

If your AME's office does not own one of the three instruments, the exam does not stall: the AME can issue a third-class certificate with the day-VFR limitation on the spot, or you can take the test at another clinic and have the printout forwarded. Either way the test name and scores go into the application record.

What happens if you fail?

Failing every approved test is no longer a dead end, but the consequences are real. The AME records the failure and issues a third-class medical certificate with limitation #104 — “Valid for day visual flight rules (VFR) only.” That allows private flying in daytime VFR conditions but rules out night flying and the first- or second-class certificates that commercial and airline careers require.

Upgrading from there is an appeal to the Federal Air Surgeon, not a retest at the AME's office. Under the pre-2025 system, borderline pilots could demonstrate practical ability through an Operational Color Vision Test and medical flight test and earn a letter of evidence; pilots who hold those letters keep their privileges today. For new applicants the practical-demonstration route now runs through the appeal process, so the realistic advice is: know where you stand before the medical, and if you fail at the AME, talk to an aviation medical consultant before assuming the ceiling is permanent.

Can you check your chances before the medical?

You cannot practice your way past a threshold test — the CAD and Rabin tests measure how much color signal your eyes need, which no amount of memorization changes. What you can do is remove the surprise. A free screening tells you whether a deficiency is likely, whether it is protan or deutan, and roughly how strong it is. That maps directly onto the FAA's criteria: a mild deutan result puts you near the most forgiving CAD limit, while a strong protan result means the day-VFR limitation is the likely outcome and the appeal route is worth researching early.

Our screening runs in the browser and estimates exactly those variables — type and severity — with honest error bars, because an uncalibrated screen is a screening tool, not a certification instrument. No online result, ours included, counts toward an FAA medical.

FAA color vision test — frequently asked questions

What color vision tests does the FAA accept in 2026?

Three computer-based tests, administered in person: the CAD test (Environment and Aviation Commercial version), the Rabin Cone Contrast Test (military version, each eye separately), and the Waggoner CCVT (Adult Diagnostic or FAA version). Virtual, downloaded, or printed tests are prohibited, and any test not on the FAA's list — including the old lantern tests and paper Ishihara plates — is no longer acceptable for new applicants.

Is the Ishihara test still accepted by the FAA?

Not for new pilot applicants since January 1, 2025 — printed plate tests came off the approved list when the FAA moved to computer-based screening. Pilots who passed Ishihara (or any other previously approved test) at an earlier FAA medical are grandfathered and do not need to take the new computer tests.

What score do you need on the Rabin Cone Contrast Test for the FAA?

55 or higher for each color — red, green, and blue — tested in each eye separately, using the military (Air Force/Army/Navy/Coast Guard) version of the test. A single cone score below 55 is a fail even if the others are perfect.

Can you be a pilot if you fail the FAA color vision test?

Yes, with limits. The AME issues a third-class medical with limitation #104, valid for day VFR only — enough for private daytime flying, not for night flying or commercial certificates. Upgrading requires an appeal to the Federal Air Surgeon. Pilots holding a pre-2025 letter of evidence or SODA keep the privileges they already earned.

Is the FAA color vision test one-time or at every medical?

One-time, since the 2025 policy change. A pilot who passes is not screened again at later medicals unless a medical condition or medication that can affect color vision appears — those cases follow the condition-specific protocols in the AME Guide rather than routine screening.

Do color blind glasses help with the FAA test?

No — the FAA explicitly states that color-vision-correcting lenses such as X-Chrom are not acceptable as a means of correcting a deficiency for the medical. The computer tests are taken without them.