Applying for a UK Part-FCL licence based on an EASA licence issued or upgraded from 1 January 2021

As long as you have held an EASA licence issued prior to 1 January 2021 and have not upgraded this to a higher level of licence, you will be able to follow the simplified application route to obtain a UK Part-FCL licence.

If you have transferred to another EASA Member State and your current licence was issued after this date, evidence of the issue date for the original EASA licence obtained prior to 1 January 2021 will need to be submitted.

All training and testing for the issue of an FRTOL licence must be undertaken with a UK ATO/DTO and an examiner that holds UK issued examiner certificates. We are unable to accept training and testing completed for non-UK FRTOL licence (this element of the licence is subject to the current UK Air Navigation Order).

The requirements for the FRTOL are outlined on our website.

A valid ICAO English Language Proficiency (ELP) must be held for the FRTOL to be granted. The requirements for the ELP are outlined in the following section.

We may be able to accept some English Language Proficiency Assessments conducted by EASA training providers if the assessment was conducted between 11 November 2019 and 31 December 2020. Evidence will be required; assessments outside of these dates cannot be accepted.

If you do not meet these requirements, you will need to undertake an assessment with an English Language Assessment Centre approved by the CAA, either on its own or in conjunction with your FRTOL examinations.

Due to the requirements of the EU-UK withdrawal act, the CAA is not able to accept any Theoretical Knowledge Examinations (TKE) undertaken with an EASA Member State from 1 January 2021 onwards.

If you have completed TKE with an EASA Member State prior to 1 January 2021, we may be able to accept the passes subject to these being current and valid at the time of application for the issue of the CAA Part-FCL licence, including any relevant exemptions in place at the time of completion such as ORS4 No.1488. Copies of the examination results will need to be provided.

A verification of the partial examination passes will be required from the EASA Member State with whom these have been completed, and can be applied for using our Third Country Verification process. Upon receipt of the verification, the examinations team will confirm within 10 working days which examinations will need to be taken, within the standard 18-month completion period and requirement to pass all examinations in 6 sittings.

The original start date for the examinations will still apply, and relevant exemptions will be taken into consideration. Where the full suite of examinations has been completed prior to 1 January 2021 and are valid, these will be recognised for UK licence issue, without need for verification.

All required TKE must have been completed prior to undertaking the Skill Test for the issue of a licence/rating/certificate, except for integrated course, as per FCL.030. If TKE need to be taken under UK auspices, a new Skill Test may therefore be required.

Where an EASA instructor/examiner has been used, the privileges they hold must have been issued prior to 1 January 2021 and not subsequently renewed or revalidated after this date to be acceptable.

As examiners can revalidate their privileges up to 12 months prior to their expiry date, in some instances an examiner may be acceptable to conduct a Skill Test where the certificate has been revalidated from 1 January 2021 if their previously issued certificate was still in date at the time of test. Evidence of this will need to be provided.

EASA Instructors wishing to instruct for a UK Part-FCL licence are required to hold UK privileges to do so. This can be achieved either by holding a UK Part-FCL licence/certificate, or those working for a UK ATO based within a EASA State can be issued with FCL.900(c) certificates.

EASA Examiners wishing to conduct tests of UK licence holders, are required to hold UK privileges to do so. This can be achieved either by holding a UK Part-FCL licence/certificate, or those working for a UK ATO based within a EASA State can be issued with FCL.1000(c) certificates.

Where a simulator approved by an EASA or EEA Member State has been used, the simulator qualification certificate(s) must have been issued prior to 1 January 2021. A copy of the certificate(s) must be provided, and we are unable to accept the device if it has been re-evaluated by the Member State after this date unless there is also a current and valid UK approval for the simulator.

Please note that some EASA states have simulator evaluation cycles greater than 12 months. For the purposes of UK Part-FCL licence issue, we are unable to recognise simulators that have been evaluated more than 12 months prior to the completion of the test or check.

The ATO must have been approved prior to 1 January 2021 or the DTO must have received confirmation of their declared status before that date. A copy of the ATO approval certificate or DTO declared status showing that the organisation was approved for the period that the training was undertaken must be provided.

If the training organisation has their approval reissued from 1 January 2021 but already held the authorisation to deliver the training prior to this date, we can accept this towards the issue of a UK Part-FCL licence where evidence can be provided.

The CAA will not accept ATO or DTO certificates issued from 1 January 2023 by an EASA ATO.

For applicants who have undergone modular training, both the CPL and IR Skill Tests must have been taken within the 6 months preceding the date of application to the CAA to comply with the requirements of FCL.015(f). You may therefore be required to retake either or both Skill Tests to apply for a UK Part-FCL licence.

All required TKE must have been completed prior to undertaking the Skill Test for the issue of a licence/rating/certificate as per FCL.030. If TKE need to be taken under UK auspices, a new Skill Test may therefore be required.

The initial CPL and IR Skill Tests must be booked through our Flight Test Bookings department. Any additional training prior to completing the Skill Test will be at the discretion of the ATO and/or examiner.

CPL and IR Skill Tests should not be combined and are therefore not acceptable for UK licence issue – if you have completed a combined CPL/IR test, you will be required to take a separate CPL and IR test for these to be acceptable to the CAA.

Please ensure you refer to the relevant sections of this guidance relating to non-UK examiners, simulators, and training organisations to ensure that these are acceptable in relation to the training and Skill Test(s) for UK licence issue.

For applicants who have undergone integrated training, the CPL Skill Test is classed as a progress test and is acceptable for UK licence issue. The examiner would need to have been acceptable to the CAA at the time of test, otherwise the CPL Skill Test will need to be re-taken.

The final test completed is the IRT which must comply with FCL.015(f), with the licensing application submitted no later than 6 months after having completed the final test

If the examiner is not acceptable for testing UK candidates or you apply outside the 6-month validity period of FCL.015, you will need to retake the IR Skill Test. Please note this must be a full Skill Test, and we are unable to accept an IR renewal proficiency check in lieu of this requirement.

The initial IR Skill test must be booked through our Flight Test Bookings department. Any additional training requirements prior to completing the Skill Test will be at the discretion of the ATO and/or examiner.

Please ensure you refer to the relevant sections of this guidance relating to non-UK examiners, simulators, and training organisations to ensure that these are acceptable in relation to the training and Skill Test(s) for UK licence issue.

MEP Rating

A proficiency check completed for the revalidation/renewal of the MEP cannot be used for the initial issue of the MEP on the UK licence. An initial Skill Test must be completed for the initial issue of the rating on the UK licence as per FCL.725(c).

Should you not require a valid MEP rating, we may be able to issue this as an expired rating on the back of your licence. To reinstate the privileges in the future, the MEP renewal requirements must be met as stated in FCL.725.

Instrument Rating (IR)

If your IR application was made more than 6 months after test completion and you have subsequently obtained a valid multi-pilot rating with type-specific IR, this may be used instead of a single pilot IR to gain the UK licence.

Your instrument rating will then be issued on your licence with the type rating and the IR restricted to Multi Pilot only. If later want to obtain the Single Pilot Instrument Rating you would need to do a further Single Pilot IR Skill Test. This is subject to the CAA being able to accept your Multi Pilot type rating application and meeting our requirements for issue.

SEP Rating

If your SEP rating was gained as a progress test as part of your integrated course, you will be able to apply for this by submitting the relevant flight test form and application in respect of this, including confirmation that this was a progress test. Further guidance in respect to applying for the issue or renewal/revalidation of the SEP can be found here.

Type Rating

To apply for the issue of the rating we will also require UK paperwork and examiner report forms to be completed. Please refer to the section on EASA-approved instructors and examiners, simulators, and training organisations for the relevant acceptance criteria.

Further guidance in respect to applying for a type rating, can be found here.

As per FCL.015(f), an applicant must apply no later than 6 months after having succeeded at the skill test for the issue of a licence, certificate or rating.

Please refer to the section on Theoretical Knowledge Examinations, EASA-approved instructors and examiners, simulators, and training organisations for the relevant acceptance criteria.

A valid UK Part-MED medical certificate of the appropriate class will need to be held prior to the issue of a UK Part-FCL licence. A valid Class 1 UK medical certificate is required for the issue of a CPL or ATPL. PPL holders will need to hold at least a valid Class 2 UK medical certificate.

Further information can be found on our medical webpages.