Pilot license conversion in India

What you will need

• A valid foreign license with a current rating on the aircraft type: at least 10 hours as pilot in command on it in the last 24 months (half of co-pilot or dual time counts), or a flight review, check ride or skill test on the type in that time, done in the country that issued your license
• If the rating is not current: DGCA's technical exam on the type, then endorsement training and skill tests in India, before you apply
• DGCA exams in Air Regulations and in a composite paper on Air Navigation and Aviation Meteorology, passed within the 5 years before you apply (for an ATPL: Air Navigation, Avionics and Meteorology, plus an oral exam)
• Skill tests at an approved flying school in India within the 6 months before you apply: flying tests by day and by night, a day cross-country test of at least 250 NM, a night cross-country test of at least 120 NM, and the instrument rating test if you want the rating
• For a CPL(A): at least 200 hours, including 100 hours as pilot in command and 20 hours of cross-country flying as pilot in command. In the 6 months before you apply: 15 hours as pilot in command, including 5 hours at night with 10 take-offs and landings
• An Indian radiotelephony license (RTR(A)). Since December 2025 DGCA runs the written and the practical exam; a radiotelephony license from a Commonwealth country (for example Australia, New Zealand or the UK) or the Philippines exempts you from the written part. Also a signals test, unless your school abroad did it
• Class 12 with physics and mathematics, and an Indian Class 1 medical valid on the day you apply
• English Level 4 or higher endorsed on your foreign license, which DGCA can accept after verification