The Flight School Association of North America (FSANA) released new figures Monday related to the U.S. supply of Designated Pilot Examiners (DPEs). According to the report, fiscal year 2024/2025 saw increases in both total practical tests conducted for applicants and the total number of active examiners. The FSANA reported DPEs conducted 153,967 practical test events from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025, up from 129,000 in FY2024 and 140,000 the previous year. The organization further reported that the total examiner pool reached 1,122 active DPEs.
The data shows a broad range of activity levels among examiners. FSANA reported that 536 DPEs completed between 100 and 400 tests, while 319 conducted fewer than 50 tests during the fiscal year. A smaller group of 48 examiners performed more than 400 tests, including 22 who recorded more than 500 evaluations. The association noted that 264 DPEs accounted for 52.9% of all tests by completing 200 or more evaluations. Last year also saw a rise in total number of DPEs as well.
FSANA said the figures illustrate how testing demand and examiner activity varied across the network. The organization noted that more than 28% of DPEs averaged fewer than one test per week during the reporting period.
I’m a CFII and have hopes of being a DPE someday.
The important data to track: How long does it take to schedule a practical test? How long does it take to reschedule if the practical is cancelled due to weather or other reasons? How long does it take to schedule a retake if the practical test is discontinued or failed? How much are DPE’s charging for practical tests? If the overall number of DPE’s is meeting needs of the community all these numbers will drop. Regarding cost of a practical the follow on question is what is a reasonable balance between affordability for the applicant and a price level that keeps DPE’s engaged.