The EASA basic AME course is a 60-hour theoretical and practical programme in aviation medicine that ends in a written examination. After passing, you apply to your competent authority for the AME certificate, which authorises you to issue, revalidate and renew class 2 and LAPL medical certificates. Class 1 privileges require further conditions.
What the 60-hour basic course covers
The basic training course in aviation medicine should consist of 60 hours of theoretical and practical training, including specific examination techniques. It spans 23 subject areas, from aviation physiology to legislation, and builds aeromedical risk-management and decision-making skills.
The course details come from the accepted means of compliance to Part-MED, reproduced in the Easy Access Rules revision of August 2023. A training organisation may only provide the course after the competent authority of the Member State where it has its principal place of business has approved the course.
The learning objectives combine theoretical knowledge, risk management and decision-making principles across 23 listed subjects, with demonstrations and practical skills where appropriate. The subjects cluster into three families you can use to organise your study.
First, the aviation environment: introduction to aviation medicine, basic aeronautical knowledge, aviation physiology, the cabin crew working environment, the in-flight environment, and space medicine. Second, body systems and fitness assessment: cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, metabolic and endocrine systems, haematology, genitourinary system, obstetrics and gynaecology, musculoskeletal system, psychiatry, psychology, neurology, visual system and colour vision, otorhinolaryngology, and oncology. Third, regulation and professional practice: medication and flying, legislation and rules, incidents and accidents, examination techniques, and communication and interview techniques.
- Regulatory framework for aeromedical examinations maps to the legislation, rules and regulations subject, which covers ICAO provisions, European implementing rules, AMC and GM, and the accredited medical conclusion concept.
- Medical standards and fitness assessment map to the body-system subjects, which the AMC ties to the risk of incapacitation in each system.
- Examination techniques and procedures run through the practical training and the system-specific examination procedures, such as ECG, spirometry, visual acuity and functional hearing tests.
- Aeromedical decision-making and risk assessment appear as cross-cutting learning objectives rather than a single standalone subject.
Who can apply for the AME certificate
Applicants must be fully qualified and licensed medical practitioners with evidence of completed specialist medical training, must have passed the basic course, and must show the competent authority adequate facilities, documentation and confidentiality procedures.
Part-MED sets four cumulative conditions for issuing an AME certificate. You must be fully qualified and licensed for the practice of medicine and hold evidence of completed specialist medical training. You must have completed the basic training course in aviation medicine, including practical training in examination methods and aeromedical assessments.
You must also demonstrate to the competent authority that you have adequate facilities, procedures, documentation and functioning equipment suitable for aeromedical examinations, and that procedures are in place to protect medical confidentiality.
The application itself goes to the competent authority in the form it specifies. It includes your personal and professional details, the documentation proving you meet the requirements above, and a written declaration that you will issue medical certificates on the basis of the Regulation. If you examine in more than one location, you must tell the authority about all practice locations and facilities.
What the certificate authorises you to do
An AME certificate lets you issue, revalidate and renew class 2 and LAPL medical certificates and conduct cabin crew medical assessments. Class 1 privileges are not included initially and require a defined extension route.
The privileges of an AME certificate holder cover class 2 and LAPL medical certificates, the associated examinations and assessments, and cabin crew members' aeromedical examinations and medical reports. Any condition on your privileges is written into the certificate itself, and you may hold only one AME certificate at a time.
Class 1 medical certificates are different: Part-MED reserves their initial issuance to aeromedical centres (AeMCs), not to individual AMEs. An AME can extend their privileges to the revalidation and renewal of class 1 certificates, but only after meeting all four extension conditions: holding a valid AME certificate, conducting at least 30 examinations for class 2 certificates or equivalent over no more than the 3 years preceding the application, passing the advanced training course, and completing at least 2 days of practical training at an AeMC or under competent authority supervision.
Working across borders is also regulated. You may not conduct aeromedical examinations in a Member State other than the one that issued your certificate unless you have been granted access to practise there as a specialised doctor, have informed that State's competent authority, and have received a briefing from it.
Sources checked: Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), Revision from August 2023 — AME provisions and training courses (MED.D, AMC/GM to MED.D.020 and MED.D.030) — Annex IV (Part-MED), Subpart D, and AMC/GM material; Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), Revision from August 2023 — Part-MED provisions (MED.A, MED.B) — Annex IV (Part-MED), Subparts A and B
How the course is assessed
Approved courses are concluded by a written examination on the course content, except for refresher training. The training organisation issues a certificate of successful completion once you pass.
Course approval itself is quality-controlled. To obtain approval, the training organisation must demonstrate that the syllabus contains the learning objectives needed for the required competencies and that the instructors have adequate knowledge and experience.
The written examination covers the subjects included in the course content. Passing it triggers the certificate of successful completion, which is exactly the evidence you attach to your AME certificate application. The retrieved sources do not publish question counts or pass marks; those are matters for the training organisation and the competent authority.
Worked exercise: checking eligibility for class 1 privileges
The extension conditions in MED.D.015 are cumulative, so a shortfall in one condition blocks the extension even when the others are met. The exercise below tests a realistic record against all four.
Practise reading the rule as a checklist rather than a summary. Each condition is independent, and the examination-count condition has its own time window anchored to the application date.
Worked example
Dr Weber holds a valid AME certificate issued two years ago. In the two years preceding her application to extend her privileges, she has conducted 26 examinations for the issue, revalidation or renewal of class 2 medical certificates. She has completed the 66-hour advanced training course and a two-day practical training placement at an aeromedical centre, and she continues to meet the general conditions for medical practice. Can she be granted the extension to class 1 revalidation and renewal privileges today? State any assumption you rely on.
Show the answer
Not yet. The rule requires all of four conditions: a valid AME certificate; at least 30 examinations for class 2 certificates or equivalent over no more than the 3 years preceding the application; successful completion of the advanced training course; and at least 2 days of practical training at an AeMC or under the competent authority's supervision. Dr Weber meets three conditions, but her count of 26 is four short of the minimum. She can qualify by performing at least 4 more qualifying examinations within the 3-year window preceding her application, assuming her AME certificate stays valid and her other conditions remain met.
The rule is cumulative, so every condition must be satisfied. Two shortcuts fail here. Treating the advanced course and practical placement as sufficient ignores that the examination count is an independent condition. Counting examinations since the certificate was issued rather than within the 3 years preceding the application misreads the time window. This exercise uses only the conditions stated in MED.D.015; national application procedures may add administrative steps.
Keeping the certificate valid
An AME certificate is valid for 3 years. Revalidation requires an active medical licence, refresher training within the last 3 years, at least 10 aeromedical examinations per year, and demonstrated ongoing competency.
The competent authority can shorten the 3-year period for justified reasons in an individual case. On application, revalidation requires that you continue to fulfil the general conditions for medical practice and maintain your licence, that you have undertaken refresher training in aviation medicine within the last 3 years, that you have performed at least 10 aeromedical examinations or equivalent every year, that you remain compliant with the certificate's terms, and that you have demonstrated ongoing aeromedical competency under your authority's procedure.
The guidance material adds refresher training volumes: a minimum of 20 hours during the certificate's validity, rising to at least 10 hours per year for an AME exercising class 1 privileges. Some attendance at scientific meetings and flight-deck experience can be credited, but only if the competent authority has assessed it in advance as relevant.
Study priorities and what to confirm before you book
Study the Part-MED rule text alongside the course subjects, prioritise the body-system chapters and the referral rules, and confirm fees, providers and exam formats with your competent authority and training organisation.
The course subjects correspond directly to the structure of Part-MED itself, so the rule text is your primary study source. Subpart B organises medical requirements for class 1 and class 2 certificates by body system, from cardiovascular and respiratory through neurology, the visual system, colour vision and otorhinolaryngology, with a separate chapter for LAPL medical certificates. Subpart A contains the general machinery you will use daily: medical confidentiality, obligations after a decrease in medical fitness, application procedures, and the referral rule under which documentation moves to the licensing authority's medical assessor.
Two cautions keep your preparation honest. The course includes practical training in examination methods, so paper study alone cannot establish the hands-on competence the certificate assumes. And the AMC/GM text evolves: the training-course details reproduced in the August 2023 Easy Access Rules stem from ED Decision 2019/002/R, while the current AMC and GM edition for Part-MED is Issue 2, Amendment 1 from February 2025, so check the current edition and any national differences before your exam.
Several practical details are not published centrally in the retrieved sources: course fees, the list of approved providers in your Member State, exam question counts and pass marks, and the exact application forms. Your competent authority and your chosen approved training organisation are the right places to confirm each of these before you commit time or money.
Sources checked: Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), Revision from August 2023 — Part-MED provisions (MED.A, MED.B) — Annex IV (Part-MED), Subparts A and B; Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), Revision from August 2023 — AME provisions and training courses (MED.D, AMC/GM to MED.D.020 and MED.D.030) — Annex IV (Part-MED), Subpart D, and AMC/GM material; AMC & GM to Part-MED — Issue 2, Amendment 1 (ED Decision 2025/002/R), EASA Document Library — Publication listing and related ED Decision
Sources checked
Facts checked against EASA rule text:
- AMC & GM to Part-MED — Issue 2, Amendment 1 (ED Decision 2025/002/R), EASA Document Library
- Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), Revision from August 2023 — Part-MED provisions (MED.A, MED.B)
- Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), Revision from August 2023 — AME provisions and training courses (MED.D, AMC/GM to MED.D.020 and MED.D.030)