Overview

Class 1 medical certificates are needed for:

• a commercial pilot licence (CPL)
• a multi-crew pilot licence (MPL)
• an airline transport pilot licence (ATPL)

Class 2 medical certificates are needed for:

• a private pilot licence (PPL) (except where the pilot is exercising the privileges of a LAPL in respect of aircraft other than turbine engine helicopters, in which case the pilot may make a medical declaration instead)
• a sailplane pilot licence (SPL) for the purpose of commercial sailplane operations other than those specified in Article 3(2) of UK Regulation (EU) No. 2018/1976 (except the pilot may make a medical declaration instead)
• a balloon pilot licence (BPL) for commercial passenger ballooning (except, unless there are more than 4 persons are on board the aircraft, the pilot may make a medical declaration instead)
• a balloon pilot licence for commercial operations other than commercial passenger ballooning, with more than 4 persons on board the aircraft

LAPL medical certificates are needed for:

• a light aircraft pilot licence (LAPL) (except where the pilot is exercising the privileges of a LAPL in respect of aircraft other than turbine engine helicopters, in which case the pilot may make a medical declaration instead)
• a balloon pilot licence (BPL) issued in accordance with Annex III (Part-BFCL) to UK Regulation (EU) 2018/395 (except, unless there are more than 4 persons are on board the aircraft, the pilot may make a medical declaration instead)
• a sailplane pilot licence (SPL) issued in accordance with Annex III (Part-SFCL) to UK Regulation (EU) 2018/1976 (except the pilot may make a medical declaration instead)
• pilots exercising the privileges of a LAPL in respect of a turbine engine helicopter

Class 3 medical certificates are needed for:

• applicants for and holders of an air traffic controller licence, or student air traffic controller licence

Pilot medical declaration

A declaration can be used by those who already hold a National Private Pilot Licence (NPPL), a UK Private Pilot Licence or a UK Commercial Pilot Licence (Balloons) that is restricted to commercial operation and to the privileges of a United Kingdom Private Pilot Licence (Balloons and Airships). Note also that pilots holding some of the pilot licences referred to in the previous section can also make a medical declaration (see above).

A medical declaration can be made using the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) medical records system, Cellma, if the pilot believes they meet the medical requirements for a Group 1 Licence issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency; and are not subject to a disqualifying medical condition.

The pilot may only exercise the privileges of their licence:

• in an aircraft with a maximum take-off mass of 5,700kg or less;
• with not more than three passengers on board;
• by day or when exercising the privileges of a night rating;
• in visual meteorological conditions or when exercising the privileges of an instrument meteorological conditions rating; and
• within the United Kingdom unless the holder has the permission of the competent authority for the airspace in which the aircraft is being flown.

There is a special alleviation for aircraft with a take-off mass of 2,000kg or less. You may make a medical declaration to fly such an aircraft provided you are not taking medication for any psychiatric illness. If you are taking medication for a psychiatric illness, you must consult an aeromedical examiner (AME) and apply for a LAPL (or higher) medical certificate.

The full regulations are found in the Air Navigation Order 2016.

There are two key steps. Firstly, you will need to apply for a medical certificate on our medical records system Cellma through the CAA Customer Portal. Further information on accessing Cellma is on the applicant guide webpage.

You will then need to make an appointment with an Aeromedical Examiner (AME). AMEs are doctors who are trained and certificated by us to undertake the responsibilities of this role. They are not employed by us.

For your first UK Class 1 or Class 3 medical, this should be at an aeromedical centre. Please visit our list of aeromedical centres.

To renew or revalidate your Class 1 or 3 medical certificate, the medical does not need to be undertaken in an aeromedical centre but should be completed by an AME certificated to undertake Class 1 or 3 medical examinations.

Class 2 or LAPL medicals (initial/revalidation/renewal) can be undertaken with any UK AME.

A list of AMEs is available and this should help you to locate an AME near you.

For a LAPL medical certificate, you may be able to have a certificate issued by your GP if they hold your entire NHS medical record and you have no significant medical history. You will need to fill in a LAPL form first in the CAA’s Cellma medical records system, and your GP will need to register with us. More information is available in our medical assessment guide.

The cost of an application be found in Section 9 of the latest CAA Scheme of Charges. Charges levied by us are found in the section covering medical examination for personnel licences. Currently for 2023/24 business year the charge is £17.57 for Class 1 or 3 initial, revalidation or renewal medicals and £10.53 for Class 2 initial, revalidation and renewal medicals.

The Aeromedical Examiner (AME) will also charge you for undertaking the medical and for the associated administration that goes with it. This cost is not determined by us and will vary from AME to AME and according to the type of medical examination. Charges are often published on the AME’s own webpage.  

There may also be costs incurred in obtaining reports or investigation results from your own doctors.

When you apply online through the Cellma system, you do not need to attach any documents. However, if you have ticked “yes” to any medical conditions or events, and particularly if these conditions or events have occurred since your last medical or it is your first medical examination, then you should gather copies of medical records relating to the condition or event, to provide to your Aeromedical Examiner (AME). There may be a delay in completing an assessment of your fitness if these need to be obtained following your medical examination.

Standards of medical fitness are in place to protect aviation and public safety, and pilots and air traffic controllers must disclose their full medical history or any deterioration in fitness so that the relevant safety standards can be met. Failure to declare all medical history and / or the use of medication may lead to the suspension of a licence or medical certificate and may also result in prosecution.

You should also be aware of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) fitness of character policy framework.

The only way to find out if you can be issued with a medical certificate is to apply for one. The medical examination and assessment take account of all of your medical history and examination findings. Occasionally we receive queries from applicants about whether they can obtain a medical certificate when they have a particular condition. This would not take account of whether other aspects of their fitness are satisfactory and so it is difficult to respond without all the information required to complete an application. In addition, appealing a fitness assessment decision is only possible if an application has been submitted and an examination completed.

In the majority of applications, the fitness assessment is completed by the Aeromedical Examiner (AME), once they have all the medical information they require and have completed an examination. So the time taken can vary from immediately upon completion of the examination and before you leave the AME’s office to the length of time it takes you to obtain any additional reports you have been asked to obtain and for those to be assessed, which may be a few weeks, depending on your own medical team.

In a few cases, for Class 1 and Class 3 applicants with particular medical conditions, the AME is not permitted to complete an assessment and is required to make a referral to our medical department. The referrals are submitted through the medical records system, Cellma, and arrive immediately at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) when the AME submits the referral. The AME may need you to obtain medical reports before they can submit the referral and will advise you on what to obtain. They will upload these reports to your CAA medical record so that the CAA medical assessor can see them. A medical assessor is a doctor who works in the CAA medical department and has specialist knowledge in the field of Aviation (and Space) Medicine.

Our medical department aim to complete an assessment on 80% of referrals within 10 working days. We cannot achieve 100% due to the complex nature of some cases and the need to seek opinions from specialists in other fields of medicine, for example, cardiology, psychiatry, neurology and so on, or the need to go back to applicants to ask for specific information.

The end result of an application for a medical certificate is an assessment outcome. In the most cases this is a fit assessment and a medical certificate is issued. Sometimes this may come with conditions, such as the need to wear glasses to correct distance vision. In other cases, the outcome may be an unfit assessment and your Aeromedical Examiner (AME) should then notify you of our process for requesting a review of the assessment if you believe you can present evidence demonstrating that the assessment is incorrect.

This certificate validity table shows validity periods for the different types of medical certificate and the frequency with which various investigations are required as part of a medical examination.

You will need to make an appointment with an aeromedical examiner (AME). AMEs are doctors who are trained and certificated by us to undertake the responsibilities of this particular role. They are not employed by us.

A list of AMEs is available and this should help you to locate an AME near you.

Alternatively, your airline may have an occupational health service with an OHMP who has obtained authorisation from us.

There are no charges from us but your Aeromedical Examiner (AME) or occupational health medical practitioner (OHMP) may charge for undertaking the assessment and the associated administration that goes with it. This charge is not determined by us and will vary from AME to AME or OHMP. Charges may be available on the AME/OHMP’s webpages. 

There may also be costs incurred in obtaining reports or investigation results from your own doctors, if that is necessary.

If you have any medical conditions, your Aeromedical Examiner/occupational health medical practitioner (AME)/(OHMP) may ask for reports from your own doctors, or copies of reports or investigations performed by specialists. To avoid unnecessary delays it is often helpful to gather copies of medical records relating to any conditions you may have or medical events you have experienced ahead of seeing your AME/OHMP. They may be able to advise you on this ahead of your appointment. There may be a delay in completing an assessment of your fitness if these need to be obtained following your appointment.

The only way to find out if you can be issued with a cabin crew medical report is to apply for one. The medical assessment will take account of all of your medical history and examination findings. Occasionally we receive queries from applicants about whether they can obtain a cabin crew report when they have a particular condition. This would not take account of whether other aspects of their fitness are satisfactory and so it is difficult to respond without all the information required to complete an application. In addition, appealing a fitness assessment decision is only possible if an application has been submitted and an examination completed.

As there are no mandatory requirements to refer assessments to us, the majority of cabin crew reports are issued at the conclusion of the assessment by the Aeromedical Examiner/ occupational health medical practitioner (AME)/(OHMP) and before you leave their office. If further medical information is required to complete an assessment then it will depend on how long it takes you to obtain any additional reports you have been asked to obtain.

The end result of an application for a cabin crew medical report is the issuance of the report. In the majority of cases this will have a fit assessment. Where there is an unfit assessment you should be informed by the Aeromedical Examiner (AME) or occupational health medical practitioner (OHMP) of our review processes and you will be able to present evidence to us where if you believe that you can demonstrate that the assessment is incorrect.

The cabin crew medical report is usually valid for a maximum of 60 months and you should apply for a further report before expiry. In some cases, due to your medical history, this period may be shortened to facilitate an earlier review. This can be used to mitigate risks associated with some medical conditions and enable the issuance of a cabin crew medical report.