FAA ATP requirements: the 1,500 hours of 61.159 and the R-ATP
Checked against the sources below on 29 October 2026. How these guides are written
Log it in Off Chocks, free for your first 50 logged hours.On a computer? Scan this with your iPhone camera to open Off Chocks in the App Store.
An FAA ATP certificate with an airplane rating needs 1,500 hours total time as a pilot, including 500 hours cross-country, 100 hours night, 75 hours instrument, 50 hours in the class sought, and 250 hours as PIC (or SIC performing PIC duties under supervision) with 100 cross-country and 25 night (14 CFR 61.159(a)). You must be 23. The restricted ATP under 61.160 allows 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours, or 1,500 at 21. A multiengine ATP needs the ATP-CTP course first (61.156).
- Total time
- 1,500 h as a pilot; no more than 100 h of it in a FFS or FTD in an approved course
- Lifetime
- 61.159(a), (a)(6)
- Cross-country
- 500 h (200 h for the restricted ATP)
- Lifetime
- 61.159(a)(1); 61.160(e)
- Night
- 100 h; up to 25 h credited from night full-stop landings after the first 20
- Lifetime
- 61.159(a)(2), (b)
- Instrument
- 75 h actual or simulated; no more than 25 h in a FFS or FTD (50 h in a Part 142 course)
- Lifetime
- 61.159(a)(4)
- Class
- 50 h in the class sought; up to 25 h in a FFS in an approved course, no FTD or ATD
- Lifetime
- 61.159(a)(3)
- PIC
- 250 h PIC, or SIC performing PIC duties under supervision; includes 100 h cross-country and 25 h night
- Lifetime
- 61.159(a)(5)
- Restricted ATP
- 750 h military; 1,000 h aviation bachelor's with 60 credits; 1,250 h associate's or 30-59 credits
- Age 21; multiengine only
- 61.160(a)-(d)
The 1,500-hour breakdown
61.159(a) requires "at least 1,500 hours of total time as a pilot" that includes 500 hours cross-country, 100 hours of night flight time, 50 hours in the class of airplane sought, 75 hours of instrument flight time and 250 hours "as a pilot in command, or as second in command performing the duties of pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command, or any combination thereof". The 250 hours must include 100 hours cross-country and 25 hours night. The sub-totals sit inside the 1,500, not on top of it.
Cross-country for the ATP uses its own definition. 14 CFR 61.1 paragraph (vi) counts time on a flight "that is at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 nautical miles from the original point of departure" using navigation, and unlike the commercial definition it does not require a landing at that point. A flight that goes more than 50 nm from the departure point and returns without landing elsewhere qualifies.
Device limits: no more than 100 hours of the total in a full flight simulator or flight training device in an approved Part 121, 135, 141 or 142 course (61.159(a)(6)); no more than 25 hours of simulated instrument time in a FFS or FTD, or 50 hours in a Part 142 course (61.159(a)(4)); and up to 25 of the 50 class hours in a FFS, with "A flight training device or aviation training device may not be used" for that line (61.159(a)(3)).
Credits that shorten the count
Night: once you have "at least 20 night takeoffs and landings to a full stop", each extra one counts as 1 hour of night, capped at 25 hours (61.159(b)). SIC time in a Part 135 second-in-command professional development program counts toward the totals but "may not be logged as pilot-in-command time" and does not count toward the 250 PIC hours (61.159(c)). Flight engineer time can count at 1 hour per 3, to a maximum of 500 hours (61.159(d)).
If you use the night, SIC or flight engineer credits, the certificate carries "Holder does not meet the pilot in command aeronautical experience requirements of ICAO" until you show the ICAO experience (61.159(e) and (f)). That matters if you plan to fly outside the United States on the certificate.
The restricted ATP (R-ATP) under 61.160
61.160 lowers the total time for an ATP with a multiengine class rating, or one issued with a multiengine type rating. Former or serving U.S. military pilots who graduated from Armed Forces pilot training need 750 hours (a). A graduate with an aviation bachelor's degree from an institution holding an FAA letter of authorization, 60 semester credits of recognised aviation coursework, and a commercial with instrument rating trained in an approved Part 141 curriculum at that institution (or, for the flight training, a partner Part 141 school) needs 1,000 hours (b). An associate's degree with 30 credits (c), or a bachelor's with 30 to 59 credits (d), needs 1,250 hours.
All of these paths need 200 hours cross-country in place of 500 and otherwise meet 61.159 (61.160(e)). A pilot with 1,500 hours and 200 hours cross-country can also apply under 61.160(f). The certificate reads "Restricted in accordance with 14 CFR 61.167": under 61.167(b) you may not act as PIC in Part 121 operations, under 91.1053(a)(2)(i) or 135.243(a)(1), or serve as SIC in a flag or supplemental operation that needs three or more pilots. The restriction comes off when you meet 61.159 and are 23.
The ATP-CTP and the age limits
For a multiengine ATP, 61.153(e) and 61.156 require a graduation certificate from the ATP Certification Training Program before you sit the knowledge test, from a provider under Part 121, 135, 141 or 142. It is at least 30 hours of classroom (8 on aerodynamics including high altitude, 2 on meteorology, 14 on air carrier operations, 6 on leadership, professional development, CRM and safety culture) and 10 hours in a flight simulation training device, of which at least 6 are in a Level C or higher full flight simulator of a multiengine turbine airplane of 40,000 lb maximum takeoff weight or more. A single-engine ATP does not need it.
You must be 23 for an ATP under 61.159, or 21 under 61.160 (61.153(a)). You also need a commercial certificate with an instrument rating, a qualifying military background, or a foreign ATPL or CPL with instrument privileges (61.153(d)). At the other end, 121.383(d) and (e) bar anyone who "has reached his or her 65th birthday" from serving as a pilot in Part 121 operations; the ATP certificate itself has no upper age.
Mistakes pilots make
- Counting the 100 cross-country and 25 night PIC hours on top of the 250 PIC hours. They are part of it.
- Logging Part 135 professional development SIC time as PIC. 61.159(c)(4) bars it, and it does not count toward the 250 hours.
- Expecting all FTD or ATD time to count toward the 50 class hours. Only a full flight simulator in an approved course counts, for up to 25 hours.
- Treating the R-ATP as available at 1,000 hours to any degree holder. The school needs an FAA letter of authorization and the commercial and instrument training must be in its Part 141 curriculum.
- Booking the ATP knowledge test before finishing the ATP-CTP. 61.153(e) requires the graduation certificate first for a multiengine ATP.
What Off Chocks tracks
- The Licence progression card and Goals track the 61.159 lines against your logbook: 1,500 total with the 100-hour device cap, 500 cross-country, 100 night, 75 instrument with the 25-hour device cap, 250 PIC with its 100 cross-country and 25 night.
- Cross-country uses the figure you log; where you left it blank, Off Chocks estimates it from airports more than 50 nm apart and flags flights within 0.3 nm of the line.
- Off Chocks does not track the 50 hours of multiengine class time, the 61.159(b) night landing credit or the R-ATP pathways. The ATP goal in Goals lists the multiengine time as a checklist item you tick; check the night credit and R-ATP rules against your own records.
- The FAA 8710-1 and IACRA summary exports give the totals you transcribe into the application.
Common questions
- Do I need 1,500 hours to fly for a U.S. airline?
- To act as captain in Part 121 you need an unrestricted ATP under 61.159 (61.167(b)). An R-ATP under 61.160 (750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours, depending on the pathway) carries the 61.167(b) limits, which bar Part 121 PIC and SIC in three-pilot flag or supplemental operations.
- Does a cross-country for the ATP need a landing?
- No. 14 CFR 61.1 cross-country paragraph (vi) counts flight more than 50 nm straight-line from the original point of departure with navigation, without a landing requirement.
- How much simulator time counts toward the ATP?
- No more than 100 hours of the total in a FFS or FTD in an approved course (61.159(a)(6)), and within that, no more than 25 hours of the instrument time (50 in a Part 142 course) and 25 of the class hours.
- Can SIC time count toward the 250 PIC hours?
- Yes when you were second in command "performing the duties of pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command" (61.159(a)(5)). Part 135 professional development SIC time does not.
- Is there a maximum age for an ATP?
- Not for the certificate. Part 121 stops pilots serving after their 65th birthday (121.383(d) and (e)).
Sources
- 14 CFR 61.159 Aeronautical experience: Airplane category rating (eCFR, up to date as of 27 Oct 2026)
- 14 CFR 61.160 Aeronautical experience, airplane category restricted privileges (eCFR)
- 14 CFR 61.156 Training requirements, ATP certification training program (eCFR)
- 14 CFR 61.153 Eligibility requirements: General (eCFR)
- 14 CFR 61.167 ATP privileges and limitations (eCFR)
- 14 CFR 121.383 Airman: Limitations on use of services, age 65 (eCFR)
This is a plain-words summary to help you keep your own records, not legal advice. The regulation and your operator's procedures always take precedence.