Prepare for the LAPL medical assessment by assembling proof of identity, a signed declaration of your medical history with supporting documents, and your most recent certificate if you are revalidating. Expect a clinical examination with blood pressure, a urine test, and vision and hearing checks at initial issue. The certificate lasts 60 months until you reach 40, then 24 months per cycle, and a class 1 or class 2 certificate also covers LAPL privileges.
Which licence requires the LAPL medical certificate
If you fly under a Light Aircraft Pilot Licence, a balloon pilot licence or a sailplane pilot licence in EASA Member States, you must hold at least a valid LAPL medical certificate. A class 1 or class 2 medical certificate also covers LAPL privileges.
The LAPL medical certificate is issued under Annex IV (Part-MED) of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011. Part-MED provides that a pilot exercising the privileges of a light aircraft pilot licence must hold at least a valid LAPL medical certificate, and the same baseline applies to balloon and sailplane licences.
The certificate types nest. A class 1 medical certificate includes the privileges and validities of class 2 and LAPL certificates, and a class 2 includes the privileges of a LAPL certificate. If you already hold a higher certificate, you do not need a separate LAPL medical.
One additional rule is easy to miss: if a night rating is added to a PPL or a LAPL, the licence holder must be colour safe. The colour-vision standard behind this is covered later in this guide.
Note that this assessment has no question count, duration or pass mark, because it is a medical examination rather than a theoretical knowledge test. What matters is your documented history and whether you meet the standards described below.
Who can issue the certificate and how to apply
An aeromedical centre (AeMC) or an authorised aeromedical examiner (AME) can issue a LAPL medical certificate. Your own general practitioner (GMP) may also do it, but only where the national law of your licensing authority permits.
These three roles matter for booking. An AeMC is an approved aeromedical centre, an AME is a doctor approved to conduct aero-medical examinations, and a GMP is your family doctor acting under national provisions. The same range of practitioners can revalidate and renew a LAPL certificate, again with the GMP option subject to national law.
You apply in the form and manner your competent authority establishes. The regulation requires you to provide proof of identity and a signed declaration covering your medical history, whether you have previously applied for or undergone an aero-medical examination, and whether you have ever been assessed as unfit or had a certificate suspended or revoked.
If you are revalidating rather than applying for the first time, present your most recent medical certificate to the examiner before the examination starts. Examiners are advised not to begin the examination without it, unless relevant information is available from the medical assessor of the licensing authority.
What the aero-medical examination includes
The assessment is based on aero-medical best practice with special attention to your complete medical history. The initial assessment, and any reassessment after you turn 50, must include at least a clinical examination, blood pressure, a urine test, vision and hearing.
The LAPL-specific requirements in MED.B.095 apply these five mandatory items to your initial assessment, to all reassessments after the licence holder reaches 50, and to any assessment where your medical history is not available to the examiner.
Between the initial assessment and your 50th birthday, re-assessments are lighter: they include a review of your medical history plus whichever of the five items the examiner deems necessary under aero-medical best practice. This is why later appointments before 50 are typically quicker than your first one.
Because the history carries so much weight, the accuracy of your signed declaration effectively shapes the assessment. An examiner can only judge a resolved or managed condition on the facts you disclose, so bring documentation rather than recollection for every significant item.
Validity, revalidation and renewal
A LAPL medical certificate is valid for 60 months until you reach 40, and for 24 months once you are over 40, with an age-based early-expiry rule for certificates issued before 40. You can revalidate up to 45 days before expiry.
The validity table below shows the headline periods, but one detail trips people up: a certificate issued before the holder reaches 40 ceases to be valid after the holder reaches 42, regardless of the nominal 60 months. The worked example below shows how this works in practice.
For revalidation, you may take the aero-medical examination up to 45 days before the expiry date. If you miss that window, a renewal examination is required instead, which means the examiner assesses your medical history and performs the examinations required under MED.B.005 and MED.B.095.
Worked example
Assume Ana is 39 when she is issued her first LAPL medical certificate on 1 March 2026, and that she turns 40 in September 2027. How long is her certificate nominally valid, and when does it actually stop being valid?
Show answer
The certificate carries a 60-month validity period, but because it was issued before Ana reached 40, it ceases to be valid after she reaches the age of 42, that is, after her birthday in September 2029.
MED.A.045(a)(4) sets LAPL validity at 60 months until the holder reaches 40, and adds that a certificate issued before the holder reaches 40 ceases to be valid after the holder reaches 42. Ana turns 42 in September 2029, well before the nominal expiry in March 2031, so the earlier age-based date controls. The tempting mistake is to diary only the 60-month figure; the age rule can cut the real validity by years.
| Situation | Validity of a LAPL medical certificate |
|---|---|
| Holder under 40 | 60 months, but a certificate issued before the holder reaches 40 ceases to be valid after the holder reaches 42 |
| Holder above 40 | 24 months |
| Validity calculation | From the date of the aero-medical examination for initial issue and renewal; from the previous certificate's expiry date for revalidation |
How the standards treat common conditions
The LAPL guidance assesses most conditions on demonstrated stability and control rather than on the diagnosis label. A condition can be acceptable when it is stable and documented, while the same diagnosis without treatment evidence can lead to an unfit assessment.
Two examples show the logic. Cardiovascular assessment turns on measured blood pressure: readings consistently above 160 mmHg systolic or 95 mmHg diastolic lead to an unfit assessment, and starting blood-pressure medication means temporary unfitness until the absence of significant side effects is established. Respiratory assessment accepts asthma when it is stable with compatible medication, but untreated sleep apnoea leads to an unfit assessment.
The table summarises the areas that come up most often, with the key standard for each. Every entry is guidance material to Part-MED, so your examiner applies it case by case rather than as an automatic bar.
Worked example
A LAPL applicant's blood pressure is consistently measured at 158 mmHg systolic and 96 mmHg diastolic. The applicant argues that because the systolic value is under 160 mmHg, the standard is met. Is that reasoning correct?
Show answer
No. The consistently elevated 96 mmHg diastolic reading on its own leads to an unfit assessment, because the guidance applies when blood pressure consistently exceeds 160 mmHg systolic and/or 95 mmHg diastolic, with or without treatment.
The rule is written with 'and/or', meaning either value exceeding its threshold triggers the unfit assessment. The distractor treats the standard as systolic-only and reads 158 < 160 as a pass. A second, independent trap: an applicant who has just started medication to control blood pressure is assessed as unfit until the absence of significant side effects has been established, even if the readings improve.
| Assessment area | Key standard in the LAPL guidance |
|---|---|
| Cardiovascular | Consistently above 160 mmHg systolic and/or 95 mmHg diastolic means unfit; initiating blood-pressure medication means unfit until side effects are excluded |
| Respiratory | Asthma or reduced pulmonary function is acceptable when stable with compatible medication; unsatisfactorily treated sleep apnoea means unfit |
| Metabolic and endocrine | Thyroid disease is acceptable once a stable euthyroid state is reached; type 1 diabetes means unfit, while insulin-treated type 2 diabetes follows a restricted review pathway |
| Neurology | Epilepsy under treatment means unfit, with reassessment possible after treatment has stopped for at least 5 years; migraine and head injury are assessed on full evaluation and recovery |
| Mental health | Disorders due to alcohol or psychoactive substance misuse mean unfit, with a fit assessment possible after documented recovery; mood disorders can be reconsidered after full recovery and psychiatric evaluation |
| Vision | Distant acuity of 6/9 (0.7) binocularly and 6/12 (0.5) in each eye, with or without correction; near vision of N5 at 30-50 cm and N14 at 100 cm |
| Hearing | Correct understanding of conversational speech at 2 metres with your back turned to the examiner, with or without hearing aids |
| Pregnancy | Privileges may be exercised until the end of the 26th week of gestation under routine antenatal care |
| Colour vision | For a night rating: identify 9 of the first 15 plates of the 24-plate Ishihara edition, or be colour safe |
Sources: Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), revision from August 2023 | EASA — Annex IV (Part-MED), MED.B.095 and AMC/GM to MED.B.095 (pages 55 section); Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), revision from August 2023 | EASA — Annex IV (Part-MED), Subpart A — MED.A.030 to MED.A.050
Preparing your documents before the appointment
The official requirements are identity proof, a complete signed declaration, and your most recent certificate if you are revalidating. Preparing source documents for each declaration answer is practical advice that makes the appointment faster and more reliable.
Start with the mandatory items. Arrange acceptable proof of identity, read every declaration question before signing, and answer it from documentation rather than memory where any item is significant. If you are revalidating, bring your current certificate; arriving without it risks the examination not starting.
Then prepare supporting material. A current medication list with doses, your glasses or contact lenses, and a recent optometrist report with measured values are all optional but useful, because they let the examiner verify your declared history and vision against records instead of recollection. This is general preparation advice, not a regulatory requirement.
Finally, check national specifics. Whether your own GP can perform the assessment, the forms used, and the fees all depend on your Member State's implementation, so confirm with your competent authority or the practice you plan to visit before booking.
- Proof of identity, in the form your competent authority requires
- Declaration answers traced to documents: GP summaries, specialist letters, prescription lists
- Most recent medical certificate, if you are attending for revalidation
- Medication list with doses and start dates, flagging any recent change
- Current glasses or contact lenses, plus a recent optometrist report (advised, not required)
Sources: Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), revision from August 2023 | EASA — Annex IV (Part-MED), Subpart A — MED.A.030 to MED.A.050; Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), revision from August 2023 | EASA — Annex IV (Part-MED), MED.B.095 and AMC/GM to MED.B.095 (pages 55 section)
Final pre-appointment checklist
Run through five checks before you book: certificate type, issuer, declaration documents, validity window, and any condition-specific standards that apply to you.
Work through the list below in order. Each point traces back to a Part-MED provision or to a clearly labelled practical tip, so you can verify any item in the official Easy Access Rules before your appointment.
- You have confirmed that the LAPL medical certificate matches your licence, or that an existing class 1 or class 2 certificate already covers LAPL privileges
- You have booked with an AeMC or AME, or with your GP only after confirming national law permits it
- Every declaration answer with a medical history traces to a document you can show
- You are inside the 45-day pre-expiry window if you intend to revalidate rather than renew
- You know which system-specific standards apply to your history, such as blood pressure, asthma stability, visual acuity or the colour-safe requirement for a night rating
Sources: Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), revision from August 2023 | EASA — Annex IV (Part-MED), Subpart A — MED.A.030 to MED.A.050; Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011), revision from August 2023 | EASA — Annex IV (Part-MED), MED.B.095 and AMC/GM to MED.B.095 (pages 55 section)
Sources
Facts checked against EASA Easy Access Rules (August 2023 revision):