FAA examiners and inspectors
The FAA does much of its testing and inspecting through private designees: 7,259 people in all, among them 975 pilot examiners, 1,289 aviation medical examiners, 285 mechanic examiners, 215 airworthiness representatives (maintenance). A student pilot's checkride is given by a designated pilot examiner; the medical certificate comes from an aviation medical examiner; a new mechanic is tested by a mechanic examiner; an airworthiness representative signs off a rebuilt or imported aircraft. This page counts them by state and town and places each at the main public airport of the town the FAA lists, so every airport page and flight-school page can say how many work nearby and what they may test for. The site shows counts, not names, its policy at this time: the FAA's own designee locator gives names, telephone numbers and email addresses (choose the designee type, then search by town, state or zip code).
By kind active designees in the United States
| Kind | What they do | How many |
|---|---|---|
| DPE pilot examiners | Designated Pilot Examiner: gives the practical tests (checkrides) for pilot certificates and ratings | 975 |
| AME aviation medical examiners | Aviation Medical Examiner: a doctor who issues the medical certificates pilots must hold | 1,289 |
| DME mechanic examiners | Designated Mechanic Examiner: tests candidates for the mechanic certificate (airframe and powerplant) | 285 |
| DAR-T airworthiness representatives (maintenance) | Designated Airworthiness Representative, maintenance: issues airworthiness certificates and approvals for aircraft in service | 215 |
| DAR-F airworthiness representatives (manufacturing) | Designated Airworthiness Representative, manufacturing: issues airworthiness certificates for newly built aircraft and parts | 254 |
| DER-T engineering representatives | Designated Engineering Representative: approves engineering data for repairs and alterations on the FAA's behalf | 945 |
| DPRE parachute rigger examiners | Designated Parachute Rigger Examiner: tests candidates for the parachute rigger certificate | 33 |
| DADE aircraft dispatcher examiners | Designated Aircraft Dispatcher Examiner: tests candidates for the dispatcher certificate | 39 |
| TCE training center evaluators | Training Center Evaluator: gives tests at a simulator training center | 1,225 |
| APD aircrew program designees | Aircrew Program Designee: an airline's own check pilot who gives the FAA's tests to the airline's pilots | 824 |
| DCTO-E training center examiners | Designee at a certificated training organisation | 230 |
| DMIR manufacturing inspection representatives | Designated Manufacturing Inspection Representative: inspects on the FAA's behalf at a manufacturer | 498 |
| DER-Y engineering representatives (company) | Designated Engineering Representative working within a company | 280 |
| Admin-PE administrative pilot examiners | Administrative Pilot Examiner: handles certificate paperwork rather than flight tests | 167 |
By state click a state for its towns
| State | Pilot examiners | Medical examiners | Mechanic examiners | All designees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 96 | 117 | 21 | 956 |
| Florida | 112 | 106 | 25 | 825 |
| California | 80 | 94 | 24 | 497 |
| Georgia | 26 | 42 | 8 | 443 |
| UK | 0 | 0 | 0 | 347 |
| Colorado | 16 | 37 | 5 | 281 |
| Kansas | 15 | 23 | 7 | 265 |
| Washington | 26 | 38 | 8 | 243 |
| Arizona | 57 | 21 | 9 | 234 |
| Ohio | 35 | 34 | 12 | 232 |
| North Carolina | 24 | 38 | 8 | 220 |
| Tennessee | 35 | 30 | 10 | 171 |
| New Jersey | 16 | 20 | 4 | 148 |
| New York | 27 | 47 | 14 | 148 |
| Illinois | 32 | 36 | 11 | 129 |
| Michigan | 21 | 34 | 7 | 128 |
| Missouri | 22 | 25 | 4 | 128 |
| Pennsylvania | 26 | 36 | 8 | 127 |
| Utah | 19 | 25 | 2 | 119 |
| Oregon | 33 | 18 | 7 | 118 |
| Minnesota | 18 | 21 | 7 | 104 |
| Alaska | 20 | 20 | 4 | 103 |
| Kentucky | 13 | 15 | 4 | 95 |
| Oklahoma | 14 | 24 | 8 | 94 |
| Indiana | 22 | 20 | 7 | 89 |
| Alabama | 16 | 24 | 5 | 88 |
| Wisconsin | 13 | 28 | 3 | 85 |
| Nevada | 17 | 13 | 3 | 84 |
| Delaware | 0 | 5 | 1 | 82 |
| Virginia | 15 | 37 | 9 | 77 |
| Connecticut | 3 | 15 | 1 | 75 |
| South Carolina | 20 | 18 | 8 | 75 |
| Louisiana | 8 | 18 | 3 | 69 |
| Iowa | 16 | 29 | 6 | 68 |
| Maryland | 14 | 22 | 4 | 62 |
| Arkansas | 12 | 16 | 4 | 56 |
| Idaho | 13 | 22 | 3 | 56 |
| Massachusetts | 8 | 12 | 4 | 49 |
| Hawaii | 8 | 8 | 1 | 47 |
| Montana | 12 | 16 | 1 | 46 |
| Mississippi | 8 | 11 | 3 | 44 |
| New Hampshire | 5 | 12 | 2 | 38 |
| North Dakota | 7 | 8 | 1 | 35 |
| New Mexico | 10 | 7 | 1 | 33 |
| Nebraska | 6 | 16 | 4 | 30 |
| Wyoming | 4 | 12 | 0 | 22 |
| Vermont | 2 | 2 | 1 | 21 |
| South Dakota | 6 | 9 | 1 | 18 |
| West Virginia | 2 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| Puerto Rico | 7 | 5 | 2 | 16 |
| Maine | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Guam | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Source: the FAA's designee locator (the Designee Management System), read October 10, 2026: 9,064 listings of 7,259 active designees (a designee with several addresses is counted once per town; one without a public airport in the town is counted in the state but placed nowhere). The locator names each designee with a telephone number and email address; this site shows counts only, its policy at this time. A designee's functions are the FAA's own codes (DPE-PE-ASEL is a pilot examiner for the private certificate in single-engine airplanes); the airport pages spell the main ones out. Examiners who list a flight school, FBO, operator or repair station on this site as their place of work are counted on that organisation's page (15 FBOs, 56 operators, 216 repair stations, 74 flight schools).