Following reforms to the Royal Air Force's promotion system, wherein previously, university graduates passed out of RAF Cranwell at a higher substantive rank than their non-graduate peers, pilot officer rank is now only applicable to ground branches.

Aircrew and engineers receive their commissions as flying officers and skip the rank altogether.

Pilot officers are more likely to be found in the CCF and Air Training Corps organisations of the VR(T) branch, because they are likely to spend far longer in rank than those serving in the RAF.

This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform.

As with the mess insignia for other RAF officer ranks, the band of gold does not have the Royal Navy's loop.