Can You Use Custom Checklist on FAA Check Ride?

Here’s what Part 91 pilots need to know about using personally developed checklists during practical tests.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Student pilot uses a checklist during preflight process. [Credit: Meg Godlewski]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA does not approve checklists for general aviation (Part 91) operations; pilots must ensure their checklists comply with the aircraft's Airplane Flight Manual (AFM) or Rotorcraft Flight Manual (RFM).
For FAA practical tests under Part 91, applicants are permitted to use personally developed checklists as long as they accurately reflect the operating limitations and procedures specified in the aircraft's AFM or RFM.
Therefore, the student's custom checklist, if it accurately copies information from the AFM, is acceptable for their multiengine commercial pilot check ride, contrary to their instructor's assertion.

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Question: I am working on my multiengine commercial pilot certificate at a Part 61 school. The checklist for the airplane, a 1959 Beech Travel Air, was getting kind of ragged, so I created a new one copying the information out of the aircraft owner’s manual and the serial number specific Airplane Flight Manual [AFM]. The one I made has larger print and is laminated, organized just like the pages of the AFM, and has a section for basic maneuvers in addition to the rest of the required pages. My MEI [Multi-Engine Instructor] says I can’t use it because it isn’t an FAA-approved checklist, and if I try to use it on the check ride, the DPE will fail me. Is this accurate?

Answer: According to the FAA, Part 121 and 135 operators must submit cockpit checklists to the agency, and it must approve them as part of their operating manual.