What each licence allows, what a frozen ATPL is, how a type rating and the instrument rating stay valid, what MCC, APS MCC and Advanced UPRT are, how long the Class 1 medical and the English endorsement last, where the United Kingdom sits since 2021, and the age limits. Each statement carries the rule behind it.
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| Licences for commercial air transport | ATPL(A); CPL(A) with instrument rating and ATPL theory credit, known as a frozen ATPL; MPL |
|---|---|
| Created by | Annex I (Part-FCL) to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 |
| Licence validity | Unlimited. The ratings, certificates and medical attached to it expire |
| Type rating and instrument rating | 12 months, revalidated by a licence proficiency check (FCL.740, FCL.625) |
| Class 1 medical | 12 months, 6 months from age 60 (MED.A.045) |
| English language endorsement | Level 4 valid 4 years, level 5 valid 6 years, level 6 no re-evaluation (FCL.055) |
| ATPL theory credit | 7 years from the last examination pass (FCL.025) |
| Age limit in commercial air transport | 65. From 60, multi-pilot crew only (FCL.065) |
| Recognition | Valid in every EASA member state, with no conversion |
Three Part-FCL licences carry privileges in commercial air transport on aeroplanes: the ATPL(A), the CPL(A) held with an instrument rating and the ATPL theory credit, and the MPL. Each is issued by the aviation authority of an EASA member state.
A Part-FCL licence does not expire. What is written on it does: the type ratings, the instrument rating and the language endorsement each carry a validity date, and the medical certificate that has to accompany the licence carries another. Currency is a question about those dates, not about the licence.
| Licence | What it allows | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| ATPL(A) FCL.505, FCL.510.A | Pilot-in-command and co-pilot on any aeroplane in commercial air transport. It is the licence a captain's seat requires. | 1,500 hours total time, of which 500 hours on multi-pilot aeroplanes, 500 hours as pilot-in-command or pilot-in-command under supervision, 200 hours cross-country, 75 hours instrument time and 100 hours at night, plus the ATPL theory and a skill test. |
| CPL(A) with IR and ATPL theory "frozen ATPL" | Co-pilot on multi-pilot aeroplanes in commercial air transport. | CPL(A) skill test, multi-engine instrument rating, and all ATPL(A) theory examinations passed. The theory credit lasts 7 years (FCL.025). The ATPL(A) is issued once the hours above are reached and the ATPL skill test is passed. |
| MPL FCL.405.A | Co-pilot on multi-pilot aeroplanes, within the operator whose training programme issued it. No single-pilot privileges. | A competency-based course run with a specific operator, about 750 hours of theory and around 240 hours of practical training across four phases, most of it in flight simulation training devices. Converts to an ATPL(A) at 1,500 hours. |
The words do not appear in the regulation. They describe a CPL(A) holder who has the instrument rating and has passed the ATPL theory, and who may therefore fly as a co-pilot on multi-pilot aeroplanes while building the hours for the full ATPL(A).
Thirteen examination subjects under the European Central Question Bank in force since 2020. Older guides still say fourteen, because Communications used to be two papers.
The subjects are 010 Air Law, 021 Airframe and Systems, 022 Instrumentation, 031 Mass and Balance, 032 Performance, 033 Flight Planning and Monitoring, 040 Human Performance, 050 Meteorology, 061 General Navigation, 062 Radio Navigation, 070 Operational Procedures, 081 Principles of Flight and 090 Communications.
The pass mark is 75 percent per paper, with no averaging across papers. All papers have to be passed within 18 months of the first sitting, and the credit then stays valid for 7 years for the issue of an ATPL(A), counted from the date of the last pass (FCL.025).
Every airline aeroplane needs a type rating on the licence, and a type rating is valid for 12 months. It is revalidated by a licence proficiency check, and the instrument rating is revalidated at the same check.
The type rating names an aircraft type from the EASA class and type rating list, where a single endorsement commonly covers a whole family of variants. It is issued after a type rating course at an approved training organisation, a skill test with a type rating examiner, and base training on the aircraft. From then on the rating runs on a 12 month cycle. Two other checks sit alongside it and are easy to confuse with it.
| Check | Rule | How the clock runs |
|---|---|---|
| Licence proficiency check (LPC) | FCL.740 | Revalidates the type rating every 12 months. Taken within the 3 months before expiry, the new period is counted from the old expiry date. |
| Instrument rating | FCL.625 | Revalidated together with the type rating at the LPC, on the same 12 month cycle. |
| Operator proficiency check (OPC) | ORO.FC.230 | Every 6 months under Part-ORO. May be combined with the LPC. An expired OPC stops commercial flying at that operator even when the LPC is valid. |
| Line check | ORO.FC.230 | Every 12 calendar months, flown on the line. |
| Recent experience | FCL.060 | 3 take-offs, approaches and landings on the type, or in a full flight simulator, in the preceding 90 days to carry passengers. |
| Expired type rating | FCL.740 | Renewal training scales with the time lapsed: refresher sessions for a rating expired under 3 years, a full course beyond that, then a proficiency check. |
Two courses come before a first multi-pilot type rating: Advanced UPRT, flown on an aeroplane, and MCC, flown mostly in a flight simulation training device. Neither certificate expires.
Valid 12 months, and 6 months once the holder reaches 60. It is issued under Part-MED, Annex IV to the same regulation.
The initial Class 1 examination is done at an aeromedical centre and covers a 12-lead ECG, audiometry, vision and colour vision, and cardiovascular, neurological and psychiatric assessment. Revalidations may be done by an aeromedical examiner. Under MED.A.045 the period is 12 months, reduced to 6 months from age 60, and to 6 months from age 40 for single-pilot commercial operations carrying passengers. A certificate issued before age 40 cannot run past the holder's 42nd birthday.
A revalidation examination may be taken up to 45 days before the expiry date, and the new period is then counted from the old expiry date rather than from the examination. Limitations such as corrective lenses are printed on the certificate. The medical is a separate document from the licence, and a valid licence with a lapsed medical allows no flying.
Language proficiency is endorsed on the licence under FCL.055. The ICAO scale runs from 1 to 6, and only levels 4, 5 and 6 satisfy the rule.
Level 4, operational, is re-evaluated every 4 years. Level 5, extended, every 6 years. Level 6, expert, is not re-evaluated. Level 4 is the minimum required to hold the licence. The endorsement carries a test date and an expiry date, and a second language may be endorsed at its own level.
On 1 January 2021 the United Kingdom left the EASA system. A licence issued by the UK CAA is now a UK Part-FCL licence under UK law, not an EASA licence.
Before that date a UK issued licence was an EASA licence like any other, and many pilots still hold one that was converted at the time. Since then the two systems are separate: a UK licence is not automatically accepted for aircraft registered in an EASA member state, and an EASA licence is not automatically accepted for UK registered aircraft. Each authority sets its own route for validation or conversion, and the requirements change, so the current authority pages are the reference.
A UK base runs on a UK licence and a UK issued Class 1 medical, a base in an EASA member state on an EASA licence and an EASA medical. Pilots who work in both systems commonly hold both.
65 in commercial air transport, under FCL.065. From 60, only as a member of a multi-pilot crew.
The licence carries the ratings. The rest sits on separate documents, each with its own validity rule.
Issued in the standard European format under Part-ARA, so a licence issued in one member state reads the same in another.
ATPL(A), CPL(A) or MPL, with the authority that issued it.
Each type rating and class rating with its expiry date, and the instrument rating with its expiry date.
The ICAO English level and, where held, other languages, with the date the next evaluation is due.
TRI, SFI, TRE and SFE certificates with their type and expiry, where held.
Each carries its own date, and none of them is part of the licence.
12 months, 6 months from age 60, with any limitations printed on it.
ATPL theory results, valid 7 years for licence issue. MCC or APS MCC, Advanced UPRT, type rating course and base training records, none of which expire.
The latest LPC form signed by the examiner, the OPC record and the line check record.
A certified summary page plus the last pages, or a digital export, with simulator time shown separately from flight time.
Industry shorthand, not a licence type. It means a CPL(A) with a multi-engine instrument rating and all ATPL(A) theory examinations passed. The holder may fly as a co-pilot on multi-pilot aeroplanes. The ATPL(A) itself is issued once the experience in FCL.510.A is met, including 1,500 hours total time and 500 hours on multi-pilot aeroplanes, and the ATPL skill test is passed. The theory credit lapses 7 years after the last examination pass, under FCL.025.
No. The licence document is issued with unlimited validity. What expires is written on it and around it: each type rating and the instrument rating run for 12 months from the proficiency check, the Class 1 medical for 12 months, or 6 months from age 60, and the English language endorsement for 4 or 6 years unless level 6 is held.
12 months. Revalidation is by a licence proficiency check with an examiner within the 3 months before the expiry date, under FCL.740. The instrument rating is revalidated at the same check. A separate operator proficiency check runs every 6 months under Part-ORO.
The licence proficiency check (LPC) is a Part-FCL check that revalidates the type rating and the instrument rating on the licence, every 12 months. The operator proficiency check (OPC) is a Part-ORO check that runs every 6 months. The two may be combined. A pilot with a valid LPC but an expired OPC cannot fly commercially at that operator.
12 months, and 6 months once the holder reaches 60. For single-pilot commercial operations carrying passengers the period is 6 months from age 40. A certificate can be revalidated up to 45 days before it expires and the new period is then counted from the old expiry date, under MED.A.045.
Under FCL.055, level 4 is valid for 4 years, level 5 for 6 years, and level 6 does not need re-evaluation. Level 4 is the minimum required to hold the licence.
Not since 1 January 2021. UK Part-FCL licences are issued under UK law and are no longer EASA licences, and an EASA licence is no longer automatically accepted for UK registered aircraft. Each authority runs its own validation and conversion process, and pilots who fly in both systems commonly hold both licences.
Under FCL.065 a licence holder may not act as a pilot in commercial air transport after reaching 65. Between 60 and 64 a pilot may act in commercial air transport only as a member of a multi-pilot crew. Single-pilot commercial air transport ends at 60.
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