How to Become a Pilot

Get your DGCA Computer Number

Your permanent identity with the DGCA, and the single thing that unlocks everything else. You cannot register for a ground exam without it. Where: the Pariksha portal, under Flight Crew. Cost: free. Time: around 15 working days once your documents are accepted. Documents, now pulled through DigiLocker: Class 10 certificate and marksheet, Class 12 marksheet and pass certificate showing Physics and Maths, address proof, plus a passport photo and signature.

The mistake everyone makes: Pariksha and eGCA are two different portals with two different accounts. Your Computer Number comes from Pariksha. Medicals, RTR slots and the licence itself come from eGCA. Register on both.

Create your eGCA account and PMR number

eGCA is the licensing side of the DGCA. Medicals, RTR(A) slots, ratings and your final CPL are all issued through it. Register, then generate your PMR, the Personal Medical Record number. You cannot book a Class 2 or Class 1 medical without it, so do this before you approach any doctor.

Clear your Class 2 Medical

A basic fitness check with a DGCA empanelled Class 2 examiner: vision, hearing, blood pressure, ECG, basic pathology. Cost: roughly Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 depending on the centre. Needs: your PMR number from step 2. The list of empanelled examiners sits on the DGCA site under Personnel, then Medical.

Pass the five ground subjects

Air Navigation, Aviation Meteorology, Air Regulations, Technical General and Technical Specific. Computer based, booked through Pariksha with your Computer Number. Pass mark: 70% in each subject, no negative marking. Validity: a pass stays valid for 5 years, and you only re-sit the subject you failed. Fees: about Rs 2,000 per paper in a regular session, around Rs 5,000 for an on demand slot.

This is the step this site exists for. Every subject above has a free question bank here, with a worked explanation on every answer.

Fly at a DGCA approved FTO

Where you actually log hours: dual, solo, cross country, night and instrument. The regulatory minimum for a CPL is 200 hours of total flying time. A Multi Engine rating and an Instrument Rating are separate add ons, but airlines will not look at an SEP only CPL holder, so most students train for CPL, ME and IR as one package. Run this in parallel with your ground exams, not after them.

Upgrade to a Class 1 Medical

Far more thorough than Class 2, and mandatory before your CPL can be issued even if everything else is complete. Booked through eGCA using your PMR number, at Indian Air Force medical centres or DGCA accepted civil hospitals. Slots are limited and the wait runs from a few weeks to a couple of months, so book well ahead.

Clear your RTR(A)

The Radio Telephony Restricted (Aeronautical) certificate. Without it you cannot legally operate the aircraft radio, and your CPL will not be issued. Two parts: a written paper on regulations and procedures, and a practical covering transmission technique and a viva. You need a valid Computer Number to register.

This changed recently. RTR(A) used to be run by the WPC wing. Since November 2025 the DGCA conducts it, and practical slot booking moved to eGCA from 1 January 2026. Older guides still send students to the WPC site, which will cost you weeks.

Apply for your CPL

With five subjects passed, 200 hours logged, RTR(A) in hand and a valid Class 1, you submit the licence application through eGCA for verification and issue. Have your logbook totals, certificates and medical assessment reconciled before you apply. Mismatched hours between your logbook and your FTO records are the most common reason an application sits in query.

Type rating and getting hired

A CPL makes you licensed, not employed. Airlines run their own selection on top of it: cadet screening, group discussions, technical and HR interviews, and a type rating on the aircraft you will actually fly. If you are choosing between a cadet programme and the self sponsored route, decide before you start step 5.