The requirements at a glance

The Class 1 medical certificate is a legal requirement to work as a professional pilot. The requirements are set out in EASA Part-MED and are the same throughout Europe; the examination is carried out by an approved AME or an AeMC (Aeromedical Centre). For CPL or ATPL training the Class 1 medical is mandatory, and most flight schools want to see a valid Class 1 medical at intake or shortly after the start of training. A Class 1 medical certificate is a legal requirement for anyone who wants to fly commercially with a CPL or ATPL, and you also need it to start professional training. A Class 2 medical cannot be upgraded; for CPL or ATPL training you still need the full initial Class 1 medical at an AeMC. If you want to become a professional pilot, it is therefore better to start with Class 1 straight away. A Class 1 medical is valid for 12 months, or for 6 months once you reach 60, or from 40 if you fly single-pilot commercial air transport carrying passengers (MED.A.045).8101127

Medical requirements

For a Class 1 medical, specific medical conditions must fall within the set standards. Although these conditions may be normal in everyday life, for the Class 1 medical they must meet the requirements. Keratoconus is not an automatic fail: under MED.B.070 an applicant with keratoconus may be assessed as fit after a satisfactory examination by an ophthalmologist, and Class 1 applicants are referred to the medical assessor of the licensing authority. Under JAR-FCL there was no option for colour-deficient applicants to be assessed as fit with a limitation for Class 1, unlike Class 2, where daytime flying was possible. The visual acuity requirement for a Class 1 medical, with or without correction, is 6/9 in each eye and 6/6 with both eyes together. According to one candidate in 2012, refraction for Class 1 had to be within +5 / -6 dioptres and cylinder (astigmatism) could not exceed 2.146927

Exceptions and borderline cases

Glasses or contact lenses are permitted within the correction limits, but you must then always have a spare pair of glasses within reach in the cockpit. Laser eye treatment is often acceptable after a stable recovery period, provided it is well documented. Heart abnormalities do not automatically mean you are unfit but do require a cardiological examination. Some conditions lead to an OML (operational multi-crew limitation), which means you may only fly in a multi-crew cockpit. Asthma is not automatically disqualifying; it depends on how severe it is and whether it is stable and controlled with medication. A history of, for example, depression or ADHD does not automatically lead to a finding of unfit, but always requires an individual assessment. Mild hearing loss within the EASA limits is sometimes acceptable, but severe hearing loss is not. Hearing aids are not ruled out: if the hearing requirements can only be met with hearing aids, they should give optimal hearing, be well tolerated and be suitable for aviation (AMC1 MED.B.080), and the certificate then carries the HAL limitation (wear hearing aids). There is no hard BMI limit; weight, urine and blood values are taken into account, and significant overweight or underweight can lead to further examination. The doctor looks at the overall picture, not at individual measurements. Conditions that used to be disqualifying, such as mild diabetes, certain heart rhythms and treated depression, are now often accepted with limitations. Glasses or lenses are not automatically disqualifying at the medical, provided your corrected vision meets the requirements. Colour blindness can, however, be grounds for a finding of unfit. Age is not grounds for a finding of unfit at the Class 1 medical.10121327

What candidates experienced

An aspiring pilot deals with the Class 1 medical for fitness, a medical for loss-of-licence insurance when taking out a loan, and a medical by the employer. It is advisable to go through the Class 1 requirements early, particularly for colour vision, heart murmurs and previous diagnoses, to avoid disappointment after years of preparation. A flight instructor in Canada reports that a student with an ADHD or autism diagnosis, who declared it honestly, still obtained a CPL, which suggests that medical requirements can differ between countries. In Belgium, an additional psychological assessment has been mandatory for all Class 1 applicants since 1 July 2019; the 2025 price list of Medex gives €400 for this test, paid directly to the specialised centre. One commenter familiar mainly with FAA rules expects EASA to be at least as strict as the FAA, where you must be off medication for at least 90 days before a neuropsychological assessment for ADHD.19212228