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Instrument Rating refers to the qualifications that a pilot must have in order to fly under instrument flight rules. It requires additional training and instruction beyond what is required for a Basic Pilot Certificate, including rules and procedures specific to instrument flying, additional instruction in meteorology and more intensive training in flight solely by reference to instruments.

1 United States Instrument Rating Standards

• Hold at least a Private Pilot Certificate.
  
• Be able to read, write, and converse fluently in English.
  
• Hold a current FAA Medical Certificate.
  
• Receive and log ground training from an authorized instructor (i.e. ground school course) or complete home-study course using an instrument textbook and/or videos.
  

2 Ground Training

Ground training in the United States includes the following.

• Candidates for the IFR rating must be knowledgable in IFR-related items in the AIM, the U.S. ATC system and procedures, IFR navigation, the use of IFR charts, aviation weather, requirements for operating under IFR conditions, recognition of critical weather, Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) and Crew Resource Management (CRM).
• Candidates must also pass the FAA instrument rating knowledge test with a score of 70% or better.
• Accumulate flight experience per FAR 61.65.
• Pilots seeking an IFR rating are also required to have 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, which can include solo cross-country time as a student pilot, which is logged as pilot-in-command time. Each cross-country must have a landing at an airport that was at least a straight-line distance of more than 50 NM from the original departure point. Cross-country flight procedures that include at least one cross-country flight that is performed under IFR and consists of a distance of at least 250 NM along airways or ATC-directed routing, an instrument approach at each airport, three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems (VOR, ADF, GPS)
• Up to 20 hours of the instrument training may be accomplished in an approved flight simulator or flight training device if the training was provided by a CFII.
• Candidate also need a total of 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time in the areas of operation listed in section (7) below, including 15 hours of instrument flight training from a Flight Intructor certified to teach the instrument rating (CFII)
• Within 60 days of the practical test, candidates need to log 3 hours of instrument training from a CFII in preparation.
• Pilots must demonstrate flight proficiency (FAR 61.65(c)). You must receive and log training, as well as obtain a logbook endorsement from your CFII on the following areas of operation: preflight preparation, preflight procedures, air traffic control clearances and procedures, flight by reference to instruments, navigation systems, instrument approach procedures, emergency operations, and postflight procedures.
• Finally, candidate must successfully complete the instrument rating practical test (and oral and flight test), as specified in Practical Test Standards (PTS) for the instrument rating, which will be conducted by an FAA designated examiner.