Where the checkride examiners are: DPEs by state in 2026
The FAA lists about 1,065 Designated Pilot Examiners. Ten states hold nearly half of them. Here is the state-by-state count, what it does and does not tell you about your checkride, and how to use it.
Every pilot certificate ends with a checkride, and every checkride needs a Designated Pilot Examiner. How hard it is to book one depends a great deal on where you train. AviPrep mirrors the FAA Designee Management System into a searchable directory, and as of September 2026 that mirror holds 1,065 examiner listings. This is where they are.
The ten states with the most examiners
Florida leads with 111 listed examiners. Texas follows with 99, California with 73, and Arizona with 60. Those four states alone hold about a third of the national roster, which tracks the concentration of flight training in warm-weather states.
The next six are Oregon (36), Illinois (33), Tennessee (28), Pennsylvania (27), New York (25), and Missouri (25). Together the top ten states account for 517 of the 1,065 listings, just under half.
The remaining half is spread across the other 40 states and the territories. Several states list fewer than ten examiners in total, and in those places a single designation such as CFI initial may be held by only one or two people.
What the count does not tell you
A listing is not availability. The FAA roster includes every designated examiner, but examiners set their own schedules and many work part time. Industry reporting has consistently found that a few hundred examiners administer most of the practical tests in the country.
A listing is also not a designation match. Each examiner is authorized for specific certificates and ratings. A state with 60 examiners may have far fewer who can give an instrument or CFI ride. Always check the designation before you count someone as an option.
Finally, examiners travel. Most work within about 100 nautical miles of their home airport and many will go further for a fee. A thin count in your state can be offset by a strong count next door.
How to use this
Start looking at the beginning of your final training stage, not after your instructor signs you off. In the high-density states the popular examiners book weeks out, and in the low-density states the problem is finding anyone with the right designation at all.
Filter by designation first, then by distance. The AviPrep examiner directory is browseable by state and certificate type, and pilots who have taken a checkride can leave a review of the examiner so the next applicant knows what to expect.
Ask your instructor and your home airport. The FAA list tells you who exists. The people at your field tell you who is actually giving rides this month.
Ready when you are
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