The DGCA Class 1 medical: the complete guide
The Class 1 medical is the single most important gate in your entire journey. No Class 1, no Commercial Pilot Licence, and unlike almost everything else, it is one thing you cannot study, buy or retake your way around. This guide covers the whole thing in depth: where the standards come from, where the exam is done, every test you will face, the vision rules that trip most people up, the fees, the validity, and exactly what happens if you are not cleared first time.
The DGCA Class 1 medical is the fitness certificate you must hold for a commercial licence. The initial exam can be done from age 17, needs a valid Class 2 first, and can only be done at one of 13 approved centres (3 Air Force boarding centres plus DGCA-empanelled civil hospitals). It runs over 1 to 2 days, is booked and paid through eGCA and Bharatkosh, and is valid for 12 months (6 months once you are over 40 in single-pilot operations). Colour vision and eyesight are the items that catch the most people, so check them early.
Do a Class 2 medical, or at minimum get your eyes and colour vision professionally checked, before you pay a flying school a rupee. Almost everything below can be checked early. The tragedy in this field is discovering a Class 1 problem after spending on training.
Where the standards come from
DGCA's medical standards live in Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 7, Series C, which is India's implementation of ICAO Annex 1, Chapter 6. That matters for two reasons: the standards are broadly consistent with international norms, but India applies some of them more strictly than the FAA or EASA, colour vision being the big one (more below). Never assume a rule you read about American or European pilots applies to a DGCA Class 1.
You need a Class 2 first
A Class 1 initial is done when someone who already holds a valid Class 2 medical applies for the first time for a Class 1 (the requirement for a commercial licence). If your last Class 1 is more than two years old, you have to do a fresh initial (called a "re-initial") again. So the Class 2 is not optional: it is the step before this one.
Where the initial exam is done
Your first-ever Class 1 (the initial, and any re-initial) can only be assessed at a small set of DGCA-approved centres. As of late 2025 there are 13: three Indian Air Force boarding centres and ten DGCA-approved civil aeromedical evaluation centres.
| Type | Centres |
|---|---|
| IAF boarding centres | AFCME, New Delhi · IAM (Institute of Aerospace Medicine), Bengaluru · MEC(East), Jorhat |
| Civil aeromedical centres | Approved hospitals in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Gurugram, Pune and more |
Use the examiner finder for the current verified centres. Later renewals are easier: they can be done at a wider set of IAF centres and DGCA-empanelled examiners across the country, but the initial must be at one of the 13 above.
The full process, step by step
- 1
Register on eGCA and get your computer number. Everything routes through the eGCA portal. Set this up early: it gates the booking.
- 2
Pay the fee on Bharatkosh. The DGCA medical licensing fee and the investigation charges are paid online through Bharatkosh. Carry the receipt (in two copies for boarding centres).
- 3
Get an NOC if your case needs one. Re-initial, delayed, early, post-temporarily-unfit and special medicals need a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from DGCA Medical before booking. A straightforward first initial usually does not.
- 4
Do your pre-tests at an accredited lab. Investigations not done at the centre must be done at a NABL, NABH or ISO-accredited lab, with reports carrying a QR code and ID verification.
- 5
Book and attend (1 to 2 days). Report at 0730 at an IAF boarding centre, or by appointment at a civil centre. The assessment is thorough and usually runs across one to two days.
- 6
Get your result on eGCA. The outcome is uploaded to your eGCA portal. Your medical certificate is the CA-35 (valid only when ink-signed in blue by the examiner and by you); the DGCA Medical Assessment is digitally signed by the DGCA assessor.
Every test, by system
Class 1 is a head-to-toe assessment. For an initial, expect all of the following:
| System | What is checked |
|---|---|
| Eyes | Distant and near visual acuity, refraction, colour vision, depth perception, visual fields, dilated fundus examination |
| Ears (ENT) | Pure-tone audiometry (hearing thresholds), ear/nose/throat exam |
| Heart | Blood pressure, resting ECG; a treadmill test (TMT) by age or if indicated |
| Lungs | Chest X-ray |
| Blood & urine | Haemoglobin, blood counts, fasting and post-meal blood sugar and HbA1c, lipid profile, liver and kidney function, uric acid; urinalysis |
| Abdomen | Ultrasound (USG) of abdomen and pelvis |
| General | Height, weight and BMI, cardiovascular, respiratory, abdominal and musculoskeletal exam |
| Neurological / mental health | Neurological exam; an EEG may be required; psychological screening |
Aeromedical examiners are experienced and cross-check thoroughly. Hiding a condition to "pass" is a trap: undisclosed history tends to surface, and non-disclosure can cost you your certificate later. Most conditions are far more manageable when declared openly and early than when discovered.
Vision: the part that matters most
Vision is where the most candidates are caught, so understand it properly.
Acuity (sharpness)
Distant visual acuity must be 6/9 or better in each eye separately, and 6/6 or better with both eyes, correctable to 6/6. In plain terms: glasses and contact lenses are completely acceptable, and plenty of airline pilots wear them. There are limits on how much correction is allowed (see refraction). Near vision is tested too.
Refraction (your spectacle power)
DGCA sets thresholds beyond which you are referred for a detailed ophthalmological evaluation rather than automatically failed. The commonly applied figures are around myopia (short sight) beyond −6.0 dioptres, hypermetropia (long sight) beyond +5.0 dioptres, and astigmatism beyond 2.0 dioptres.
DGCA has revised its refraction limits over the years, and the exact current figures are specified in CAR Section 7. Treat the numbers above as the ballpark, and if your prescription is anywhere near them, get a professional assessment against the current standard rather than relying on any single article.
Colour vision: read this carefully
This is the most important, most misunderstood, and highest-stakes item in the whole medical.
Colour vision is screened with the Ishihara plates. In India, DGCA has historically treated significant colour vision deficiency as disqualifying for a Class 1, a notably stricter position than the FAA or EASA, where secondary "lantern" tests give many colour-deficient pilots a path through. Whether any secondary testing or concession applies to your case is genuinely case-specific and has changed over time, so if there is any doubt about your colour vision, get formally assessed by a DGCA aeromedical examiner against the current CAR Section 7 before you spend anything. Do not take false hope from foreign rules, and do not give up on the word of a forum. Get the authoritative answer for India.
This single check is the cheapest, highest-value thing you can verify early. If colour vision is fine, one of the biggest uncertainties in your whole plan disappears.
Depth, fields and night vision
The exam also assesses depth perception, visual fields (your peripheral range) and night vision, all genuinely relevant to flying.
LASIK and refractive surgery
Refractive surgery is not an automatic bar: DGCA accepts LASIK and PRK under conditions. Typically these include surgery done at a mature age (commonly cited as after about 20), a stability and observation period of several months to a year afterwards, stable post-operative refraction correctable to 6/6, a healthy cornea, and no complications such as dry eye or poor contrast sensitivity, with your pre-operative records and a surgeon's stability report provided to the medical board.
If you are considering refractive surgery specifically to meet the standard, talk to a DGCA aeromedical examiner before the procedure, so it is done in a way and at a time that DGCA will accept, and so you do not start the waiting-period clock later than you need to.
Hearing, heart and the rest
- Hearing: a pure-tone audiogram checks your thresholds across the speech and higher frequencies; you should hear conversational speech clearly at a set distance.
- Heart: blood pressure and a resting ECG are standard; a treadmill test may be added by age or indication. Well-controlled high blood pressure is often manageable, so declare it.
- Weight and BMI: a high BMI can trigger a temporarily unfit result and a window to reduce it, and can prompt extra cardiac and metabolic screening. Arrive in good general health.
- Blood sugar and metabolism: fasting and post-meal sugar, HbA1c, lipids and organ function are checked; undiagnosed diabetes or thyroid issues sometimes surface here.
Preparing for the exam
- 1
Get your pre-tests done at an accredited lab (bloods, ECG, chest X-ray, ultrasound) and carry the reports with their QR codes.
- 2
In the 48 hours before: avoid alcohol and smoking, skip heavy or very salty meals, sleep properly and stay hydrated. This genuinely affects blood pressure, sugar and ECG readings.
- 3
Clean your ears of wax beforehand, which the audiometry and ENT exam require.
- 4
Carry your documents: photo ID (the one used on eGCA), the last medical assessment and CA-35 if any, your Bharatkosh fee receipt, your current spectacle prescription and your glasses (plus a spare) or lenses, any NOC, and any specialist reports asked for before.
Fees
Budget for two components. At an IAF boarding centre, the investigation charges for an initial are around ₹2,076 (Delhi, at CGHS rates), plus the separate DGCA medical licensing fee paid on Bharatkosh. At a private aeromedical centre, you pay the hospital's own package for the tests, which typically pushes the all-in cost into the ₹8,000 to ₹15,000 range, again plus the DGCA fee. Confirm the current figures when you book: they change.
Validity and renewal
| Your situation | Class 1 valid for |
|---|---|
| Under 40 (multi-crew commercial operations) | 12 months |
| 40 or older in single-pilot commercial ops, or on instructional duties | 6 months |
You can apply for a renewal from about 45 days before your medical expires. You may renew after expiry, but not beyond two years since your last Class 1; past that, you need a fresh initial. Because it is time-limited, plan renewals so your medical never lapses at a moment that grounds you: an expired Class 1 stops you flying commercially even if nothing about your health has changed.
If you are not cleared first time
Being anything other than "fit" is not necessarily the end. There are three outcomes:
- 1
Fit. Your certificate (CA-35) is issued and the assessment is uploaded to eGCA.
- 2
Temporarily Unfit (TUF). A fixable issue (say, a high BMI or a borderline reading). You are given a period to treat or correct it and are then reassessed. Most TUF cases are recoverable.
- 3
Unfit. You do not currently meet the standard. Even here, there may be a review, a medical board, or (for some conditions) an accredited medical conclusion or waiver route. A permanent bar is real for some conditions but far from automatic.
If you are deferred or declared unfit, get the specific reason in writing, get an independent aeromedical opinion, and understand your review options before assuming the worst. Fear-based agents will offer to "fix" it for a fee. The examiner and the medical board are who actually decide.
Common reasons people get deferred
Most healthy applicants pass. Of those who do not, the recurring reasons are worth pre-empting:
- Colour vision (check this first, see above)
- Uncorrected or over-limit refractive error
- High BMI or blood pressure (often a temporary, fixable deferral)
- Undisclosed history that surfaces in testing
- Borderline blood sugar or ECG findings that need follow-up
The theme: almost all of these are things you can check and address early, before they cost you time and money.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum age for a Class 1 medical?+
You can undergo the Class 1 initial medical from 17 years of age. You need a valid Class 2 first. The Commercial Pilot Licence itself is issued from 18.
Where can I do my Class 1 initial medical?+
Only at one of 13 DGCA-approved centres: the three IAF boarding centres (AFCME Delhi, IAM Bengaluru, MEC(East) Jorhat) and DGCA-approved civil hospitals in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Gurugram and Pune. Renewals can be done at many more centres.
How much does the Class 1 medical cost?+
At an IAF boarding centre the investigation charges for an initial are around ₹2,076, plus the DGCA medical licensing fee. At a private aeromedical centre the all-in usually lands around ₹8,000 to ₹15,000 plus the DGCA fee. Confirm current figures when you book.
Can I be a pilot if I wear glasses?+
Yes. Vision correctable to 6/6 with glasses or contact lenses is acceptable, within DGCA's refraction limits, and many airline pilots wear specs. Only very strong prescriptions trigger a detailed evaluation.
How long is a Class 1 medical valid?+
12 months if you are under 40 in multi-crew commercial operations, and 6 months once you are over 40 in single-pilot operations or on instructional duties. You can renew from about 45 days before expiry.
What happens if I am declared temporarily unfit?+
You are given time to treat or correct a fixable issue (like a high BMI or a borderline reading) and are then reassessed. Most temporarily-unfit cases are recoverable.
Key takeaways
- The Class 1 is the make-or-break medical: no Class 1, no commercial licence.
- The initial needs a valid Class 2, can be done from age 17, and only at one of 13 approved centres.
- Colour vision and eyesight catch the most people; DGCA is stricter on colour vision than the FAA or EASA, so check it first and cheaply.
- Book and pay through eGCA and Bharatkosh; your certificate is the CA-35.
- It is valid 12 months (6 months over 40 single-pilot); renew from 45 days before expiry so it never lapses.
Before you move on
For the conditions people most often worry about (colour vision, eyesight, height, diabetes and more), the next lesson separates the real disqualifiers from the myths: disqualifiers, myths and waivers.