The main facts about DLR Pilot Certificate (DLR test), each with its source.

The modules of DLR Pilot Certificate (DLR test) and what each one measures. For all modules: Duration: Part of the one-day examination; Online or on site: On site, in person (no online option).

Programmes and selections where DLR Pilot Certificate (DLR test) appears, each with its source.

DLR reports your performance in four sections, each graded A (Above Standard), B (Standard), C (Marginal) or D (Below Standard). The certificate indicates your standing against the EASA criteria and contains no selection decision, so everyone receives a certificate once payment has been received. The selecting organisation then applies its own thresholds. The European Flight Academy asks for an A or B in Basic Cognitive Abilities and in Operational and Professional Competencies, and an A, B or C in Personality Traits and Social Competencies; the personality and social areas are also covered again in Step 2, the Lufthansa Group assessment. If English Language Proficiency is rated C or D, a B2 certificate from an accepted list can replace it. A result below the required rating means your European Flight Academy application is rejected. You may repeat the test. DLR recommends waiting 6 months because short-term retests usually do not improve knowledge, skills or competences. All areas must be repeated, results from different examinations cannot be combined, and you choose which certificate to use. The repeat is not noted on the certificate, but the contract asks whether you took the test in the past two years and DLR reserves the right to apply statistical correction procedures. The certificate is valid for two years.12389

The DLR Pilot Certificate documents that you took part in an examination covering the EASA psychological requirements for cockpit crews. The DLR test centre in Hamburg tests up to 10,000 applicants a year for professions such as pilots, air traffic controllers and astronauts. It is computer-based and the certificate is yours: one certificate can go to all your applications, and you decide who receives it. The European Flight Academy asks for it as step one of its selection.238

The certificate groups the examination into four sections. Basic Cognitive Abilities contains Information Processing, Spatial and Numerical Abilities and Technical Comprehension. Operational and Professional Competencies contains English Language Proficiency, Psychomotor Abilities and Multitasking. Personality Traits covers self-organisation and discipline plus stress coping and impulse control. Social Competencies covers communication and leadership and teamwork. The DLR contract adds that the tests cover memory, spatial awareness, basic performance, English, technology, mathematics, attention, psychomotor activity, multitasking and teamwork.

Plan for a full day. In Hamburg the examination starts at 08:00 and ends around 17:00, and other locations may differ. Only in-person testing is possible, because of the special significance of the certificate. You can book Hamburg, Milan or Zurich in the European Flight Academy webshop, where new appointments appear at the beginning of each month, and Vienna joins as a DLR testing centre from October 2026. Under 18 your legal guardians sign the contract; from 18 you contract with DLR yourself.18

Through the European Flight Academy webshop the test costs EUR 427. For appointments between 1 October and 31 December 2026 an autumn discount code lowers the price to EUR 327. The date that counts is the date of your DLR appointment, not the booking date, and slots must still be available. The code can be requested and redeemed once per person; further bookings are charged at full price. Discounted appointments cannot be rescheduled and the booking fee is non-refundable on cancellation. If you register directly with DLR by email instead, DLR's 2026 contract lists EUR 417.69 plus VAT, with free rebooking up to 7 working days before your appointment. You pay the test yourself, because the European Flight Academy treats it as an investment in your own career.678

With a certificate that meets the required ratings you apply online with your CV, a valid ID and your transcripts. The European Flight Academy requires fluent English at B2 level, a minimum age of 17, EU, Swiss or EFTA citizenship and a general higher-education entrance qualification or equivalent. Step 2 is the Lufthansa Group assessment, run by psychologists of Interpersonal GmbH or the SWISS assessment centre in Zurich, with interviews, group exercises and psychomotor tests. Step 3 is the Class 1 medical, including a drug screening. If you do not pass Step 2, you can repeat the selection after 24 months. Swiss citizens with a recent SPHAIR certificate can apply with that instead, which limits cockpit access to SWISS and Edelweiss.78

Preparation material comes with DLR's invitation, and the European Flight Academy emails a link to its preparation software once you book. DLR advises spreading the training sessions over three weeks because distributed learning works better. You agree to keep the test content confidential for three years. Arrive rested for a long day, and use the weeks before to work through DLR's own preparation material and keep mental arithmetic, English comprehension and multitasking sharp.8

EASA rules (CAT.GEN.MPA.175(b), binding since February 2021) require operators to ensure flight crew have had a psychological assessment before line flying, covering cognitive abilities, personality traits, operational and professional competencies, and social competences. The DLR certificate is built around those EASA criteria. Source for the criteria: EASA AMC and GM; the date is from DLR and Symbiotics.23

The practice hub has aptitude practice under Aptitude tests, such as mental arithmetic, number series and understanding radio messages (listening), and Aviation English as a subject in the Theory question bank. Pilot Pass: all questions in study, test and exam mode, as often as you like for the length of your Pass; the interactive aptitude tests are part of the Pass. A free account gets up to 8 free 10-question sets a week.