DGCA License Conversion - Complete Guide
By the PilotSphere team
9 min read
DGCA License Conversion is the process a pilot has to through to get their license converted from a foreign aviation license to an Indian aviation license. To get a DGCA CPL License, you do not need to complete your training in India. Many students from India prefer to get their flying training done in Canada, South Africa, USA and some European countries. Training is usually cheaper in these countries with better quality and at a faster pace. Due to the pollution in India training usually gets delayed a lot.
Requirements:
Flying Requirements: the following are the requirements for the issue of an Indian CPL license.
200 Hrs of total flight time
100 hours as Pilot in command
300 NM cross country
10 hours of instrument time.
Flying experience required in the preceding 6 months of submission of document:
15 hours as PIC
5 PIC hours at night with 10 take offs and 10 landings
GFT by Day
GFT by Night
250 NM PIC Day cross country test
120 NM PIC Night Cross Country test
Flying Requirements for instrument rating:
50 Hours cross country as PIC, 40 hours instrument time out of which a maximum of 20 hours can be on a simulator, Instrument Rating test in the preceding 6 months of submission of documents, Signal Reception test (6 to 8 words per minute).
Steps:
To get your license converted, follow the order below.
Computer Number
The first and foremost step is to get a computer number. You will need it for giving your DGCA exams.
Detailed Guide on how to apply for a Computer Number is mentioned on PilotSphere's DGCA Computer Number Article.
Medicals
The next step is to get your medicals done. You are required to get Class 1 medical to get you CPL license converted in India. PilotSphere has a detailed guide on DGCA Medicals.
Note: you are allowed to appear for DGCA written exams without a DGCA medical.
Grounds Exams
After you get a DGCA Computer Number, the next step is to appear for ground exams. You have to clear Meteorology, Air Regulations and Air Navigation exam. Instead of giving Meteorology and Air Navigation exam separately, you can apply DGCA Composite exam which is a combination of the DGCA Meteorology and Air Navigation exam. However, preparing for both exams is usually hard. PilotSphere recommends appearing for Meteorology and Air Navigation exam separately. You are not required to pass or appear for Technical General exam.
Please note that in case you fail any DGCA Written ground exam, there is a cooldown period of 42 days or 6 weeks before you can reappear for the same exam.
PilotSphere has a detailed guide on how to register for DGCA Ground Exams.
PilotSphere also provides ground classes for DGCA exams.
RTR License
To get an RTR license there are two cases for students coming for license conversion.
Case 1: you did your flying aborad from a common wealth country. In this case you can apply for an exemption for RTR Part 1 on eGCA website and appear directly RTR Part 2 Practical exam.
Case 2: you did your flying from a non commonwealth country. In this case you have to pass the RTR Part 1 exam and then pass the RTR Part 2 practical exam. You can register for RTR Part 1 exam directly on DGCA Pariksha as you did for other DGCA written exams.
Please note that in case you fail RTR Part 1 written exam or RTR Part 2 Practical exam, there is a cooldown period of 42 days or 6 weeks before you can reappear for the same exam.
FRTOL
Once you have a radio license, medicals, and passed the required DGCA exams, the next step is to apply for an FRTOL license. You can apply for FRTOL directly on eGCA website.
Find an FTO for conversion
Finally you can now proceed to find an FTO for conversion. Find a list of FTOs on the DGCA website. Make sure the FTO you are applying to has the aircraft on which you have your CPL license of the foreign aircraft endorsed. Do a bit of research on how long they are taking for license conversion students. Don't forget to take reviews from existing students of that FTO.
At the FTO for conversion you will go for a familiarisation flight, flight tests and if required additional lessons for recency or for fulfilling DGCA requirements.
Documents Submission
This is the final step for license conversion. You have to submit all documents for license conversion. DGCA will verify the documents and issue shortfalls if any. Once everything has been verified and found to fulfill the requirements, DGCA will issue the license and any endorsement you applied for.
DGCA has issued the following document mentioning the documents that are required to be submitted for license conversion.
Aviation Logbook and Statements Requirement for DGCA License Conversion
Logbook
Certified DGCA Logbook: Your aviation logbook is not enough to give a history about your flying training in a foreign country. You must get your logbook stamped and certified from the chief flight instructor.
Every info filled: your logbook must be fully filled. Every little info like the cross-country hours, night hours, and whatever columns are present must be filled. The remarks, exercises completed must also be filled.
Certified Statements
Apart from your logbook you have to prepare certain statements which too have to be verified/signed/stamped by your ground school instructor and the chief flight instructor.
General Statements - prepare a word document get the following statements - Single Engine Hours Statement, Multi Engine Hours Statement, Simulator Hours Statement (Separate ones for single engine and multi engine), Ground Training Statement, Aircraft Ground Training Statement, Accident/Incident Free Record (Mentioning you haven't been involved in any accident/incident but if you have been involved it must be mentioned), Statement of Airworthiness (mentioning your qualification/experience), Instrument Flying Statement, Logbook Verification Statement (mentioning your logbook has been fully verified and found to be correct), 100 Hours PIC Statement, Cross country hours statement (as PIC), Night hours as PIC in the last 6 months, Total PIC hours in the last 6 months, Total Flight Time Statement, 300 NM Cross Country Statement
If the statement is of flying hours/simulator hours you must prepare a summary of each.
Statement Letter requirements: The statements must include Logo of the Flight School, Date, Name of the report, name of the Pilot, License no. of the pilot, number of hours completed, name of the school, sign of the CFI, Stamp of the ground school, phone number of the ground school, email of the ground school, name of the person signing and certifying, Simulator model (if certifying simulator hours).
Flying Summary Statement: Apart from the statements, you have to get a flying summary
The flying summary of every statement should include Date, Aircraft Type, Registration, Departure/Arrival, Time, Takeoff/Landings, Night Time, Cross Country Time, Instrument Time, Remarks and other relevant info such as Navaids, Sim Time. Create a table which looks like your logbook listing all the relevant info.
The following flying summary statements are required - Instrument Flying Summary, Cross Country Summary, Multi Engine Flying Summary, 300 NM Cross Country Flying Summary, 15 Hours PIC in the Last 6 months Summary, 5 Hours as PIC at Night Summary along with takeoffs and landings.
Test Reports
You must attach a copy the of every test that was attempted by you during your training at the foreign country. A report of every flying test, ground test must be submitted to DGCA.
Frequently Asked Questions About DGCA License Conversion
If you still have a doubt your DGCA License Conversion you can ask PilotSphere AI which specialises in answering these questions. Below are some frequently asked questions.
FAQs
The best time to get your foreign aviation license converted to an Indian license is usually March to September. As October to March are peak pollution months, you will hardly get to fly in India.
Yes, even though you gave every ground exam in the foreign country where your CPL was issued, you are still required to give every ground exam in India except Technical General. The reason is due to different regulations in India, different weather and differences in how Air Navigation is done in India. As Technical General stays the same everywhere you do not need to give that exam again in India when coming for license conversion.
There are two cases in this. Case 1: You did your flying from a commonwealth country - In this case you are allowed to skip DGCA RTR exam Part 1 but are still required to appear for RTR part 2. You have to apply for RTR Part 1 exemption. After you get an exemption for RTR Part 1 exam, you are required to appear for RTR Part 2. PilotSphere has a detailed guide on how to apply for RTR Part 2. You can also take ground classes for DGCA RTR Exam from PilotSphere
Unfortunately, the DGCA ground exams are considered one of the hardest in the world. The syllabus of both ATPL and CPL exams in India are the same which pushes the content. The difficulty is primarily due to an in depth content to study. Other countries during CPL level usually focus on what is practically required but the DGCA CPL exams are more in depth which is what makes the exams one of the hardest in the world. The EASA and DGCA exams have similar content and similar difficulty level. Students who come for DGCA License conversion from a European country usually do not face much difficulty in terms of difficulty.
There are certain things you should be careful about while doing your flight training abroad. Some of these mistakes could be costly. Cross Country mistake: Every country has different requirements in what is considered a cross country flight. For a flight to be considered for cross country hours in India, the first leg must be at least 100 NM in radius from the departure aerodrome. Please check the cross country requirements in India and make sure your school makes necessary changes in your flight training curriculum to satisfy the requirements of India. Buddy Flying: Buddy flying is not allowed for a flight for a training flight in India. Aircraft: Not every aircraft available abroad may be available in India. Many aircraft models are also grounded in India. Students face difficulty due to this during license conversion. Make sure the aircraft you are getting trained for is available with multiple schools in India or else you may have to go for additional training.
If you have an aviation license from a foreign country and do not meet the requirements for getting a license issued in India or a rating endorsed, you can go for additional training during your conversion process to qualify for the requirements.