Plain English Meaning
The pilot has been brought back up to standard and is allowed to fly under that certificate or rating again, after a period when they were not.
Full Definition
Having regained a certificate, rating, or authorization after it had lapsed, expired, or been suspended, by completing the training, checking, or currency requirements specified by regulation. A re-qualified airman has met the prescribed standards a second (or subsequent) time and is again authorized to exercise the privileges of that certificate or rating.
Context Anchor
Seen in training and logbook discussions when a pilot or instructor must show that they are again allowed to do something under FAA rules.
Derivation
From the prefix 're-' (Latin, meaning 'again') and 'qualified' (from Latin 'qualis,' meaning 'of what kind' -- to be qualified is to meet the required standard). Re-qualified literally means 'made fit again,' which matches the aviation use: the pilot meets the standard a second time after losing it.
Why Pilots Care
Only time given by a currently qualified instructor counts toward a student’s certificate requirements; using a lapsed instructor can invalidate logged hours.
Intuition Check
Do not read re-qualified as meaning “more qualified” or “newly certified.” It means qualified again after the earlier qualification was no longer enough or no longer current.
Example Sentence 1
After completing a flight review with her instructor, the pilot was re-qualified to act as pilot in command.
Example Sentence 2
The examiner noted that the applicant’s previous instructor had been re-qualified only two weeks earlier, making all recent dual instruction valid.