We teach the UPT Sigma and USPA Tandem Instructor courses together, so you can earn both ratings in one trip. This page covers who qualifies, what each rating allows, what it costs, and exactly how you earn them, based on the current USPA Instructional Rating Manual (IRM).
Updated November 2026 · Based on the 2026 USPA IRM
Understanding the Ratings
Both ratings certify you to conduct tandem skydives, but they do different jobs:
UPT Sigma Tandem Rating
A system-specific rating issued by United Parachute Technologies, the manufacturer of the Sigma tandem system. It certifies you as proficient and authorized to operate the Sigma rig. You earn it by completing a UPT-certified course, which covers operational procedures, emergency drills, and training jumps unique to the Sigma system.
USPA Tandem Instructor Rating
An instructional rating issued by the United States Parachute Association. It authorizes you to conduct tandem instructional jumps, where the student applies knowledge and skills toward their skydiving license. It focuses on instructional technique, student supervision, and emergency procedures.
Instructor vs. Trainer
USPA also issues a Tandem Trainer rating. A Tandem Trainer conducts tandem discovery jumps, but is not authorized to conduct student training jumps that count toward a license. The Tandem Instructor rating is the one that lets you teach.
Want to do tandems without teaching? See the Tandem Trainer path on our UPT Sigma course page.
Earn both on one course
The USPA rating requires you to complete the manufacturer's course first. When you take both with us, UPT training jumps 7 and 8 can double as your USPA Category A and Category B evaluation jumps.
What It Costs
The USPA Tandem Instructor rating is $100 when you take it with any other tandem training, such as the UPT Sigma course or crossover training from another manufacturer. If you take it separately, the fee is $150.
These are our course fees. They don't include the USPA rating fee, which you pay to USPA when you purchase your rating, and the manufacturer's course has its own fee. You can find the UPT Sigma course fee on the UPT Sigma course page.
USPA Tandem Instructor Prerequisites
You must be a current USPA member, and you need to meet every item below before you attend the course:
- 18 years old or older
- A USPA D license (see the license requirements)
- Hold, or have held, any USPA instructional rating, such as the Coach rating
- At least 500 jumps on a square (ram-air) canopy
- A minimum of three years of experience in parachuting, counted from your first jump (FAR 105.45)
- A current medical certificate acceptable to USPA. Your examiner verifies the original, and you upload a copy to your USPA profile
- Trained on the equipment you'll jump by a manufacturer-rated examiner, with all manufacturer course jumps that require examiner supervision completed
How You Earn the Rating
1. Pass the written exam
Before the course, you need to correctly answer at least 80% of the questions on an open-book exam. It covers the Basic Safety Requirements and FARs, all tandem-related material in the IRM, and the method-related material in the ISP (Integrated Student Program). You take it online, it isn't supervised, and you can retake it as many times as you need.
2. Complete your pre-course activities
These include assisting with a first-jump course under a supervising instructor. Each activity is valid for 12 months toward your rating application. We'll work out together which ones to finish before you arrive and which can wait until after the classroom portion.
3. Attend the course
We cover instructional techniques, emergency procedures, advanced canopy control for tandem loads, student psychology, risk management, and administrative responsibilities. We work through the ISP as it applies to tandem training and to the training and jumps that lead to the A license.
4. Pass your evaluations
You're evaluated in three areas: ground training, supervision, and air skills. You need at least 75% with no automatic unsatisfactory on each evaluation.
- Ground: two evaluations, one using Category A and one using Category B
- Air: two tandem training jumps, one using the Category A tandem dive plan and one using the Category B plan, under the direct supervision of a USPA Tandem Instructor Examiner
- Supervision: scored on the air evaluation form, covering gear checks, boarding, pre-exit procedures, and your debrief
You have four total attempts to pass the two air evaluations. The student on these jumps must hold, or have held, a USPA Coach or higher rating and must be briefed by the examiner. Evaluation jumps have a minimum exit altitude of 9,500 feet AGL.
5. Finish your proficiency card and manufacturer rating
You complete the Tandem Instructor Proficiency Card, with every requirement done within the 12 months before your examiner's final sign-off. Your USPA privileges start once USPA Headquarters processes your application. You or your examiner must send proof of your manufacturer's rating to USPA within 60 days of the USPA rating's issue date, or the rating can be administratively suspended.
Have Ready Before You Arrive
- Current copies of the SIM and the IRM, since USPA updates both every year
- The tandem manufacturer's equipment manual and course syllabus
- Your passing result on the online written exam
- Your pre-course activity sign-offs, on the online proficiency card in your USPA profile or on the paper card
- Your original medical certificate, for your examiner to verify
Automatic Unsatisfactory Performance (UNSATs)
These are the errors that fail an evaluation no matter how well the rest of the jump goes. We want you to know them before you arrive, not find out on the jump. They fall into two groups, and they include but aren't limited to the following.
Fails the supervision portion
- Missing major misrigging during gear check
- Failure to supervise the student to the aircraft and back to the hangar
- Failure to provide four gear checks
- Failure to confirm winds are acceptable for the jump
- Missed attachment or lateral adjustment
- Failure to provide a final briefing before exit
- Bad spot or cloud-clearance violation
- Failure to provide corrective retraining in the debrief
- Failure to limit improvement points and give fixes
Fails the entire air evaluation
- Unstable for more than 10 seconds
- Unable to control freefall heading
- Freefall below 8,000 feet
- Missed droguefall handle check
- Unable to control droguefall heading
- Drogue release below 5,000 feet
- Bad canopy control or landing
If You Don't Pass
If you fail only one area of the evaluations, we'll talk through your options and build a retesting plan together, which often includes a waiting period. If you fail more than one area, you retake the complete course at another time. If you don't finish retesting within 12 months of the failed course, you must retake the entire course.
Train at Your Dropzone
Want to certify at your own dropzone? We travel to any USPA Group Member dropzone to run the course on location. There is no minimum number of candidates, so we can teach one person or a group. Otherwise, we train at Skydive Palatka in Florida.
Questions Candidates Ask
Can I earn the USPA Tandem Instructor rating without a manufacturer rating?
No. Every USPA Tandem rating candidate must complete the manufacturer's certification course and hold, or have held, a rating from the manufacturer of the system they want to be rated on. For the Sigma, that is the UPT rating. We run the UPT Sigma and USPA courses together, and we can also add the USPA rating to crossover training from another manufacturer.
Do I need a Coach rating first?
You need to hold, or have held, any USPA instructional rating. A Coach, AFF, static-line, or IAD rating all qualify. If you don't have one yet, the Coach rating is the usual place to start.
How much does the USPA rating cost?
Our fee for the USPA Tandem Instructor rating course is $100 when you take it with any other tandem training, such as the UPT Sigma course or crossover training from another manufacturer. It's $150 if you take it separately. These fees don't include the USPA rating fee, which you pay to USPA when you purchase your rating. The manufacturer's course has its own fee.
Where is the course held?
At Skydive Palatka in Florida, or at your USPA Group Member dropzone. We travel to teach, and there is no minimum number of candidates.
Do I need a current medical?
Yes. You need a current medical certificate acceptable to USPA. Your examiner verifies your original, and you upload a copy to your USPA profile.
What happens if I don't pass an evaluation?
If you fail only one area of the evaluations, we build a retesting plan, which often includes a waiting period. If you fail more than one area, you retake the complete course at another time. You must finish retesting within 12 months of the failed course or retake the entire course.
About Your Examiner
Juan Arango
Juan has been skydiving since 2001 and has more than 11,000 jumps. He is a USPA/UPT Tandem Examiner, a USPA AFF Instructor, and an FAA Senior Rigger, so the tandem system, the gear, and the procedures all get real attention in his courses.
He teaches the UPT Sigma and USPA Tandem Instructor courses at Skydive Palatka in Florida, or at your USPA Group Member dropzone.
Ready to share the thrill of skydiving with new jumpers?
Reach out and we'll walk you through scheduling, registration, and next steps for the UPT Sigma and USPA Tandem Instructor ratings.
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