90 Day FAA Currency: Full Stops Only in the Night Window
To carry passengers as pilot in command, you need three takeoffs and three landings in the preceding 90 days, in the same category, class, and type if a type rating is required. If any of that flying happens at night, those landings must be full stops, completed between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise. A touch and go during that night window does not count.
TL;DR:
- Night currency has a narrower window than logged night: landings must be full stops, completed from one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise.
- Only count takeoffs and landings you control in the same category, class, and required type; log each date, airport, aircraft, and landing type.
- After currency lapses, passenger flights must wait until you complete the missing takeoffs and landings; day and night status recover independently.
- Simulators cannot restore passenger currency, though approved devices may count toward instrument requirements when FAA logging conditions are met; minimum landings do not prove proficiency.
Table of Contents
- 14 CFR §61.57: the rule in detail for day and night currency
- Logging and counting: what qualifies and common pitfalls
- If your 90 day currency has lapsed: how to legally regain it
- FAA guidance: treating currency as a floor, not a target
- How Simulator Center Training supports regaining and maintaining currency
- A note from Jake on currency versus proficiency
- Ready to regain or sharpen your currency
- FAQ
- Sources
14 CFR §61.57: the rule in detail for day and night currency
The regulation splits into two separate clocks, and mixing them up is the single most common currency mistake pilots make. Under 14 CFR §61.57(a), you need three takeoffs and three landings within the last 90 days to act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying persons, whether those landings happen at noon or at midnight. That satisfies your day currency.
Night currency is a separate, stricter requirement under §61.57(b). You need three takeoffs and three full-stop landings within the recent 90-day period, but they must occur during the specific window beginning one hour after sunset and ending one hour before sunrise. This is tighter than the general aviation definition of “night” used for things like logging night flight time or turning on position lights, which typically runs from sunset to sunrise. For currency purposes, the FAA carves out a narrower band that excludes civil twilight on both ends.
Category, class, and type matter because the regulation requires the takeoffs and landings to be performed in an aircraft of the same category and class, and the same type if a type rating is required for that aircraft. A few points to keep straight:
- Landings in a single-engine piston airplane do not count toward currency in a multi-engine airplane.
- A pilot type-rated in an Airbus A320 needs qualifying landings specifically in that type, not just any airliner.
- Glider, rotorcraft, and lighter-than-air categories each carry their own category and class currency requirements separate from airplane currency.
- A pilot flying multiple types for work needs to track currency independently for each one.
None of this changes based on whether you hold a private or commercial certificate. The 90-day clock applies the same way regardless of certificate level, though commercial operations often layer on additional company or regulatory requirements beyond §61.57.
Logging and counting: what qualifies and common pitfalls
Every qualifying takeoff and landing has to be logged, and the pilot claiming it must have been the sole manipulator of the controls for that specific event. Flying along as a safety pilot or watching from the right seat does not count, even if you are rated in the airplane.
The pitfalls that trip pilots up most often follow a pattern:
- Logging a touch and go at night and assuming it satisfies the night full-stop requirement when it does not.
- Counting landings made during twilight, just after sunset or just before sunrise, as night currency when they fall outside the official window.
- Assuming landings in one aircraft type carry over to a different type that requires its own type rating.
- Failing to note the specific airport, date, and landing type in the logbook, leaving no clear record if currency is ever questioned.
Your logbook is the legal record the FAA and any examiner will rely on, so entries should specify the date, aircraft category/class/type, number of landings, and whether each was a full stop. For IFR currency rather than passenger currency, the rules shift again: InFO 15012 clarifies how instrument approaches can be logged and the conditions under which an approved simulator or flight training device counts toward that separate six-approach requirement. That guidance applies to instrument currency, not to the day or night takeoff and landing counts under §61.57(a) and (b).
If your 90 day currency has lapsed: how to legally regain it
Once the recent 90-day period closes without the required landings, your privilege to carry passengers simply pauses until you fix it. There is no grace period and no waiver for ordinary currency lapses.
Regaining it is straightforward: perform the needed takeoffs and landings, in the correct category, class, and type, before carrying passengers. A few things to keep in mind:
- You can fly solo or with an instructor to log the regain landings; passengers just cannot be aboard until currency is restored.
- Night currency and day currency lapse and regain independently, so check both before you plan a passenger flight after any flying layoff.
- This is entirely separate from your flight review under 14 CFR §61.56, which runs on a 24-calendar-month cycle, and from instrument currency under §61.57© and (d), which runs on a six-month cycle and requires an instrument proficiency check if it lapses beyond that.
- If you have been away from an aircraft for a while, a short session with a CFI adds a safety margin beyond the bare legal minimum.
Pro Tip: Before a regain flight, check sunset and sunrise times for your airport and build in a buffer so your landings clearly fall inside or outside the night window, with no ambiguity in the logbook.
FAA guidance: treating currency as a floor, not a target
Advisory Circular AC 61-98E is explicit that the 90-day numbers are a legal minimum, not a proficiency standard. The FAA frames currency as the floor below which you cannot legally fly with passengers, while encouraging pilots to build a personal currency program that goes further.
Practical ways to act on that guidance include:
- Reviewing FAA WINGS and FAASTeam materials periodically, even when current, to keep skills sharp between required landings.
- Getting a make and model checkout any time you return to an aircraft type you have not flown recently, even if your logbook shows you technically current.
- Treating night operations as deserving extra practice, since the margin for error shrinks with reduced visual reference, and three landings in each recent 90-day period is a minimal baseline for real proficiency.
The gap between “legal” and “safe” is where most of the FAA’s advisory language lives, and it is worth reading that way.
How Simulator Center Training supports regaining and maintaining currency
We offer full-motion simulator sessions that pilots use to rebuild proficiency after a currency lapse or before carrying passengers again in an unfamiliar aircraft. Our simulator training sessions cover Airbus A320, Airbus A330, ATR 42/72, Boeing 737, Boeing 737 Classic, and Boeing 757/767 platforms, which lets a pilot get make and model familiarization in the specific type they fly rather than a generic airplane.
For pilots who also need to address IFR currency, simulator time logged under the conditions in InFO 15012 can count toward instrument approach requirements when the device and curriculum meet those conditions. We structure sessions so the logbook notation matches what that guidance requires.
Beyond simulator hours, our recurrent training options and type rating programs give pilots a structured path back to full proficiency, not just the minimum three landings.
A note from Jake on currency versus proficiency
Meeting the 90-day minimum tells you that you are legal. It does not tell you that you are sharp. I have seen pilots technically current on paper who had not flown at night in months, and the numbers alone did not capture that gap.
If you are stepping back into an unfamiliar aircraft or returning to night flying after a break, treat the regulation as a starting point and get real practice before you load up passengers.
— Jake
Ready to regain or sharpen your currency
If your currency has lapsed or you want to build real proficiency beyond the bare minimum, our simulator training sessions put you in a Level D full-motion environment for your specific aircraft type, guided by instructors with airline backgrounds. We also support pilots converting foreign licenses through our FAA license conversion programs, and those preparing for airline transition through our ATP-CTP course.
Every session we schedule is built around your specific aircraft and your specific gap, whether that is a lapsed currency window, an upcoming proficiency check, or a license conversion. Visit our flight training programs page to see which path fits your timeline and get started.
This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer. Consult a qualified legal professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.
FAQ
What are the currency requirements for carrying passengers?
To carry passengers during the day, you need three takeoffs and three landings in the preceding 90 days in the same category, class, and type. For night passenger flights, those must be three full-stop landings completed between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise.
What is the best age to become a pilot?
There is no single best age; the FAA sets minimum ages for specific certificates, but pilots start training successfully at many ages. The right timing depends more on your health, finances, and career goals than on hitting a specific birthday.
Which pilots earn the highest salaries?
Pilot pay varies widely by airline, aircraft type, seniority, and whether the role is captain or first officer, with senior widebody captains at major carriers typically earning the most in the profession. No single published figure applies across all pilots or airlines.
Do touch and go landings count for night currency?
No. Night currency under §61.57(b) specifically requires full-stop landings, so a touch and go performed at night does not satisfy that requirement even though it may count toward other logging purposes.
Can a flight simulator help restore my currency?
A simulator cannot replace the actual takeoffs and landings required under §61.57(a) and (b) for passenger-carrying currency, since that rule requires flight in an actual aircraft. Approved simulators can, however, count toward separate instrument currency requirements when logged under the conditions described in InFO 15012.
Sources
- eCFR :: 14 CFR 61.57 – Recent flight experience: Pilot in command. (FAR 61.57)
- InFO15012: Logging Instrument Approach Procedures (IAP)