Airspace
VFR Weather Minimums by Airspace Class
✓ Reviewed against current FAA sources on October 22, 2026
In this guide
In short
Under 14 CFR 91.155 (opens in a new tab), most controlled airspace below 10,000 feet MSL requires 3 statute miles flight visibility and cloud clearances of 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 2,000 feet horizontal. Class B requires 3 statute miles and clear of clouds. At or above 10,000 feet MSL the requirement rises to 5 statute miles with 1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 1 statute mile horizontal.
Basic VFR weather minimums are a table, and tables are memorized badly and reasoned about well. The structure underneath makes them far easier to hold.
The pattern that covers most of the table
For Class C, Class D and Class E below 10,000 feet MSL, the requirement is 3 statute miles flight visibility with cloud clearance of 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 2,000 feet horizontal. If you learn one line of the table, learn that one, because it recurs.
Class B is the exception that looks like a relaxation
Class B requires 3 statute miles and clear of clouds. It appears easier than Class C and D, and the reason is that everyone inside Class B is talking to Air Traffic Control and being separated. The cloud clearance exists to keep you from meeting an aircraft you cannot see. Inside Class B that job is being done for you.
Above 10,000 feet MSL
At or above 10,000 feet MSL, Class E requires 5 statute miles with 1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 1 statute mile horizontal. The reason is speed. The 250 knot limit below 10,000 feet goes away above it, so closure rates rise and the numbers grow to match.
Class G, where day and night differ
Class G is the only class where the time of day changes the requirement. At or below 1,200 feet above the surface during the day, an airplane needs 1 statute mile and clear of clouds. At night, the same airspace requires 3 statute miles with 500 below, 1,000 above and 2,000 horizontal.
Section 91.155 (opens in a new tab) also contains helicopter-specific values, a limited traffic pattern allowance in paragraph (b), and further structure above 1,200 feet. The table has more rows than any summary should pretend to reproduce, so read 14 CFR 91.155 (opens in a new tab) itself before you rely on a row.
Class A is not on the table
Class A has no VFR minimums because VFR is not permitted there. Operations in Class A are conducted under instrument flight rules.
What this is really testing
The knowledge test rarely asks you to recite the table. It describes a situation, expects you to identify the airspace and the altitude, and then asks whether the flight is legal. Identifying the airspace is the hard half, which is why the chart work matters more than the memorization.
Source: 14 CFR 91.155 (opens in a new tab), basic VFR weather minimums.