Definition
A visual flight rules (VFR) cloud-clearance requirement specifying that the aircraft must remain outside of any cloud, with no minimum lateral or vertical distance specified. It applies in Class B airspace and in Class G airspace at or below 1,200 feet AGL during the day, replacing the standard distance-from-clouds requirements that apply elsewhere.
Plain English
The aircraft must not be inside a cloud. There is no required gap, but you cannot fly through one or be in one.
Context Anchor
Seen in weather minimums for visual flight, especially when a chart or rule lists visibility requirements and then says the aircraft must remain clear of clouds.
Derivation
Clear comes from words meaning bright, plain, or free from obstruction. In this aviation use, it means free from the cloud itself, not hidden inside it or blocked by it.
Why Pilots Care
Maintaining this position keeps the flight legal under visual flight rules and prevents accidental entry into clouds that could lead to loss of visual reference.
Grounding Statement
If the airplane is flying in open air beside, below, or above a cloud and does not enter the cloud, it is clear of clouds.
Intuition Check
Do not read clear of clouds as meaning the sky has no clouds. It means your aircraft stays out of the clouds that are there.
Example Sentence 1
Operating VFR in Class B airspace, the pilot was required to remain clear of clouds rather than meet the standard distance-from-clouds minimums.
Example Sentence 2
During the cross-country flight the student kept the airplane clear of clouds to meet the cloud clearance minimums for Class E airspace.