EASA Medical Certificate Validity: Class 1, Class 2 and LAPL explained

Your medical certificate is one of the most time-sensitive documents in your pilot file. Miss the expiry and your licence privileges lapse immediately — no warnings, no grace period. Here's exactly how long each class lasts, how age affects it, and what you need to do to stay current.

The three medical classes

EASA Part-MED defines three classes of medical certificate, each tied to the licence privileges it supports:

• Class 1 — required for ATPL, CPL, and IR privileges exercised commercially
• Class 2 — required for PPL, CBIR, and most night rating privileges
• LAPL Medical — required for the Light Aircraft Pilot Licence; a less demanding standard than Class 2

A higher class always covers the privileges of lower classes, so a Class 1 holder can exercise PPL privileges without a separate Class 2.

Validity periods

Validity is counted from the date of the medical examination, not the date the certificate is issued or printed. The examining AME records the examination date; that is your reference point for calculating expiry.

Class 1

The standard validity period for a Class 1 medical is 12 months. There is one important exception:

This 6-month rule applies only to that specific operational context. If you hold a Class 1 but fly non-commercially, the 12-month validity applies regardless of age.

Class 2

Class 2 validity depends on your age at the time of examination:

The step-down at age 40 catches many pilots by surprise. If you pass your Class 2 at 39, your certificate is valid for 5 years — but the next examination (at age 44) will only generate a 2-year certificate.

LAPL Medical

The LAPL medical can also be declared by a GP or occupational health physician, not only an Aeromedical Examiner, which makes renewal more accessible for recreational pilots.

What "expiry" actually means

When a medical certificate expires, the privileges that depend on it cease immediately. There is no grace period under EASA Part-FCL. Flying with an expired medical is unlawful regardless of whether you feel perfectly fit.

This is distinct from what happens to your licence: the licence document itself does not expire, but the privileges listed in it cannot be exercised without a valid medical. Once you renew the medical, those privileges are restored without any requalification.

Renewal vs. revalidation

Medicals are renewed, not revalidated — the terminology matters. Revalidation applies to ratings (IR, type ratings, class ratings) and involves demonstrating continued proficiency. Medical renewal is a fresh examination by an AME, with no flying test required.

You can renew your medical at any point before expiry. Renewing early does not waste validity: the new certificate's validity period starts from the date of examination, not from the expiry of the old one — unless you renew within a short window before expiry, in which case many AMEs will date-sequence the new certificate appropriately. Confirm with your AME when booking.

Privileges of a lower class

A Class 1 medical automatically covers Class 2 and LAPL privileges. Similarly, a Class 2 covers LAPL privileges. This means:

• A CPL holder with a valid Class 1 can fly as a PPL without a separate Class 2 certificate
• A PPL holder with a valid Class 2 can fly LAPL privileges without a LAPL medical

This becomes relevant when a pilot downgrades their medical class — for example, a retired airline pilot who no longer needs Class 1 may choose to renew as Class 2 to reduce the examination burden.

UK CAA specifics

Post-Brexit, UK pilots hold UK FCL licences issued under UK Part-MED rather than EASA Part-MED. The validity periods above mirror EASA rules and are effectively identical for Class 1, 2 and LAPL. If you hold both a UK FCL licence and an EASA licence, each has its own medical certificate — they are not interchangeable.

Keeping track

Medical expiry dates are easy to miscalculate, especially when age-based validity changes kick in mid-cycle. The safest approach is to record the examination date, apply the correct validity period for your age at that examination, and set reminders well in advance — 90, 60 and 30 days before expiry is the standard used by most pilots.