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.
Plain English
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.
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 It means qualified again after the earlier qualification was no longer enough or no longer current.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.