Picture your first month as a new flight instructor. Your best private pilot student passes the checkride, comes back the next week ready for the instrument rating, and you have to hand them to another instructor. You can’t give that training yet. A lot of new instructors learn the difference between CFI and CFII that way.

For most commercial pilots weighing CFI vs CFII vs MEI, the CFI comes first, the CFII comes soon after, and the MEI comes once you have multi-engine time in your logbook. At Summit Flight Academy we train CFI, CFII, and MEI candidates at Lee’s Summit Airport (KLXT). Below is what each rating lets you teach, what each one asks of you, and how to pick your order in 2026.

What Each Instructor Rating Lets You Teach

Technically, you hold one flight instructor certificate, and CFII and MEI are ratings added to it. Pilots call all three “certificates,” and so will we, but the rule underneath is simple: you can only give flight training in a class of airplane that’s on both your pilot certificate and your instructor certificate. If you haven’t started down this road yet, our guide on how to become a flight instructor walks through the steps.

Rating	Who you can teach	What you need first	Extra FAA knowledge test
CFI (airplane single-engine)	Private and commercial students in single-engine airplanes, flight reviews, student solo endorsements	Commercial certificate with an instrument rating, 15 hours PIC in single-engine airplanes	Two: fundamentals of instructing (FOI) and flight instructor airplane (FIA), with FOI waived for some teachers
CFII (instrument instructor)	Instrument rating students, the instrument training a commercial applicant needs, instrument proficiency checks	An instrument rating on your pilot certificate, which every airplane CFI already has	One: flight instructor instrument
MEI (multiengine instructor)	Students earning a multi-engine rating and other multi-engine training	Multi-engine rating on your commercial certificate, instrument rating, 15 hours PIC in multi-engine airplanes	None when you add it to an airplane CFI

PIC means pilot in command, the pilot responsible for the flight. A plain CFI can still teach the basic instrument flying in private pilot training. The line falls at the instrument rating itself.

Piper Archer II N4353L parked on the ramp at an airport event — Single-engine Pipers like this Archer are where most new CFIs teach their first students. (Source: Summit Flight Academy media archive)

The Difference Between CFI and CFII Shows Up at the Instrument Rating

Under 14 CFR 61.195, instrument training for an instrument rating, and the instrument training required for the commercial and ATP certificates, has to come from an instructor with an instrument rating on their flight instructor certificate. That’s the CFII. Without the II, the student in our opening story needs someone else for the next stage of their training.

CFIIs also give instrument proficiency checks, the check a pilot needs when their instrument currency has lapsed for more than six months. When an instrument-rated owner needs to get current again, the instructor they call is a CFII.

The training asks less than the CFI did. You already hold the instrument rating the CFII requires, because the airplane CFI needs it too. You add one knowledge test on instrument knowledge areas, and you skip the FOI because you’re already an instructor. The practical test covers areas like air traffic control clearances, flight by reference to instruments, navigation aids, instrument approach procedures, and emergency operations, all taught from the right seat.

In 2026, the airplane CFI and MEI checkrides use the FAA’s flight instructor ACS, but the CFII checkride still runs on the older Practical Test Standards format. Our post on the CFI checkride covers what the examiner expects on the teaching side.

Runway and approach lighting seen from the final approach at dusk — Teaching approaches like this one to instrument students takes the CFII. (Source: Summit Flight Academy media archive)

What the MEI Flight Instructor Rating Asks Before You Teach in a Twin

The MEI flight instructor rating has the steepest prerequisite list. You need the multi-engine rating on your commercial certificate, your instrument rating, and at least 15 hours as pilot in command in multi-engine airplanes. That last one is where most pilots get stuck, and it helps to know how the hours get built.

Once the multi-engine rating is on your certificate, the time you fly as sole manipulator of the controls in a twin counts as PIC. So the hours come after the rating, through time building or flying with an instructor. Our multi-engine rating requirements guide explains the rating itself.

Adding the MEI to an airplane CFI takes no new knowledge test. The checkride is shorter too: as an add-on, it focuses on multi-engine operations and skips areas you already proved on your CFI, like the fundamentals of instructing.

New MEIs often miss one more rule. To give training toward a certificate or rating in a twin, you need at least 5 hours as PIC in that specific make and model. A school that trains in one type of twin will want its MEIs to have time in that airplane.

Instrument panel and twin throttle, prop, and mixture levers of the Piper Twin Comanche N7664Y — The panel of our Twin Comanche, where MEI candidates train at KLXT. (Source: Summit Flight Academy media archive)

Why Most Pilots Go CFI, Then CFII, Then MEI

The FAA doesn’t require an order. Most pilots still go CFI, CFII, MEI, and the reasons are practical.

The CFI is the foundation. It’s where you take the FOI and FIA knowledge tests, get the spin training endorsement, and learn to teach. Each add-on after it is smaller.
Private pilot students are the biggest group. A new CFI can start teaching the students most schools have the most of.
The CFII builds on what you just did. Your instrument knowledge is still fresh, and it’s one more knowledge test, not a new class of airplane.
The MEI waits on multi time. Few pilots finish their CFI with 15 hours of multi PIC, so the MEI naturally lands last.

Each rating carries its own training, test fees, and examiner fee, and the order changes when you pay them. Our breakdown of CFI training cost walks through those line items.

When a Different Order Makes More Sense

Some pilots arrive with a logbook full of multi-engine time. If that’s you, the MEI can be your first instructor rating. That’s called an initial MEI. It’s uncommon, and it means taking the FOI and FIA knowledge tests with it. You still need the spin training endorsement, because it applies to any airplane flight instructor applicant.

Other pilots want the CFI and CFII back to back. If you’re aiming for a school that hires CFIIs, finishing both while your instrument flying is sharp gets you to a hireable set of ratings sooner. Talk to us about stacking them before you start, so your ground study for one carries into the next.

Career-track students can plan the multi time on purpose. In our Career Track, we offer the multi-engine rating paired with the MEI, so the multi-engine time you build after the rating counts toward the 15 hours PIC the MEI needs.

Which Combinations Make You Easier to Hire

A CFI alone lets you teach private and commercial single-engine students. A CFI with a CFII lets you keep a student from their first lesson through the instrument rating and into commercial. We, like a lot of flight schools, strongly prefer instructors who can do that, because it keeps one instructor with a student through their training.

Adding the MEI widens the pool again. Teaching instruments in a twin takes both the CFII and the MEI, and multi-engine students need an MEI with time in the school’s airplane. Our post on flight instructor jobs in Kansas City covers the job search itself.

When we hire, we look for CFIIs, and an MEI is a plus. You’ll find openings on our Teach at Summit page when we have them. Each rating widens who you can teach. Hiring still depends on a school’s students, aircraft, and fit.

How We Train CFI, CFII, and MEI at Summit

Both of our founders, Jeremy Davis and Levi Self, hold CFI, CFII, and MEI, and most of the instructors on our team are CFIIs.

CFI: plan on about 15 hours of right-seat flying with us, plus ground work building and teaching your own lesson plans.
CFII: your training includes extra simulator time, so you learn to teach in the sim as well as the airplane, and you sharpen your own right-seat instrument flying.
MEI: you train in our Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche, the same airplane our multi-engine students fly. By our count, only about 10 to 12 schools still train in one.

If you earn your MEI in our Twin Comanche, your multi-engine PIC time is in the airplane our multi students train in, which is the make and model the 5-hour rule looks at. Our multi-engine rating program runs seven days in that same airplane, if you still need the rating itself.

If you’re paying for more than one rating, financing can spread the cost through the lending partners we work with.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a CFI and a CFII?

A CFI teaches private and commercial students in the class of airplane on their certificate. A CFII adds instrument instruction: training for the instrument rating, the instrument training commercial applicants need, and instrument proficiency checks. See our instructor training page for how we train both.

Can I get my CFII before my CFI?

The usual path is CFI first, then the CFII as an added rating, which skips the FOI test. Most pilots stick with that order because the CFI covers the most students. Talk to our instructor training team if your situation is unusual.

How many multi-engine hours do I need for the MEI?

You need at least 15 hours as pilot in command in multi-engine airplanes, logged after you hold the multi-engine rating. To teach toward a rating in a specific twin, you also need 5 hours PIC in that make and model. Our multi-engine rating page covers the first step.

Does the CFII or MEI need another knowledge test?

The CFII adds one knowledge test on instrument topics. Adding the MEI to an airplane CFI adds none. Neither add-on repeats the FOI. Our CFI cost guide shows where test fees fit.

Which instructor rating makes me most hireable?

For most flight schools, a CFI with a CFII is the combination that matters most, and an MEI adds to it. When we hire, we look for CFIIs, and an MEI is a plus. Check Teach at Summit for current openings.

Where does the FAA list the instructor standards?

The FAA publishes its practical test standards on its Airman Certification Standards page, including the Flight Instructor for Airplane Category ACS used for CFI and MEI checkrides. Our CFI checkride guide explains how it’s graded.

Map Out Your Instructor Ratings With Us

You don’t have to pick your order alone. Tell us where your logbook stands, what you want to teach, and how much multi time you have, and we’ll lay out a CFI, CFII, and MEI plan that fits. Start your instructor training with Summit Flight Academy.