What is the validity of a CPL in India?

Ten years. The Ministry of Civil Aviation amended Rule 39C of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 (notified in the Gazette on 10 October 2023) to raise CPL and ATPL validity from five years to ten. The clock runs from the date of issue, or from the date of renewal.

Is a DGCA CPL valid for 5 years or 10 years?

Ten years for licences issued or renewed under the amended Rule 39C. Older copies of the Aircraft Rules, and many websites, still show the pre-October 2023 figure of five years. If your licence was printed with a five-year expiry before the amendment, that printed date is the one you renew against.

What do I need to renew a DGCA CPL?

Under Schedule II of the Aircraft Rules, a current medical, at least 10 hours as pilot-in-command in the six months before you apply (50% of co-pilot time counts towards it), or day and night general flying tests in that same window instead, and a current Flight Radio Telephone Operator's Licence. The application itself is made on eGCA.

What happens if my CPL expires?

Under Rule 42, if the licence has been expired for more than two years but not more than three, DGCA can require a skill test and the Air Regulations exam before renewing. Beyond three years, you can be required to pass all the examinations and tests needed for a fresh issue.

How long is a Class 1 medical valid for a CPL holder?

Twelve months, halved to six months once you turn 60 (Rule 39C). DGCA also applies six-month validity to pilots over 40 in single-crew commercial operations or on instructional duties. Without a current medical you cannot exercise CPL privileges, even though the licence itself remains valid.

How long is an Instrument Rating valid in India?

Twelve months from the date of the instrument rating flying test. If you take the renewal test within two months before expiry, the new 12 months run from the old expiry date, so you lose nothing by renewing early.

How long is a type rating or proficiency check valid for a co-pilot?

To act as co-pilot of a transport aeroplane over 5,700 kg, you need a proficiency check on type that is valid for six months, renewed six months at a time. A check done within two months before expiry keeps the original cycle.

CPL validity in India: 10 years since 2023, and the shorter clocks that actually ground pilots

Validity of DGCA CPL (Commercial pilot license) in India

A DGCA Commercial Pilot Licence is valid for 10 years from the date of issue or renewal. That has been the rule since the Ministry of Civil Aviation amended Rule 39C of the Aircraft Rules, 1937, notified in the Gazette on 10 October 2023, which raised CPL and ATPL validity from five years to ten (PIB release, 16 Oct 2023). The licence rarely grounds anyone, though. The clocks that do are much shorter: a 12-month Class 1 medical, a 12-month Instrument Rating, a 6-month proficiency check on type, and the 90-day take-off and landing recency your operator rosters against.

This page covers what “valid” means for the CPL itself and for each of those items. For the eGCA steps of an actual renewal, see our CPL renewal on eGCA guide.

CPL validity at a glance

Item	Validity	When it restarts	Source
CPL (aeroplanes or helicopters)	10 years	From the day after old expiry, if you apply within 1 month before it; otherwise from the renewal date	Rule 39C, as amended 10 Oct 2023
Class 1 medical assessment	12 months; 6 months from age 60	See the renewal window in our Class 1 guide	Rule 39C(5)
Class 1 medical, over 40 in single-crew commercial or instructional flying	6 months	As above	CAR Section 7, Series C, Part I
Instrument Rating	12 months from the IR flying test	From old expiry, if tested within 2 months before it	Schedule II, Section O
Proficiency check on type (co-pilot, over 5,700 kg)	6 months	From old expiry, if checked within 2 months before it	Schedule II, CPL para 5A
Recency on type (multi-pilot or 5,700 kg and above)	3 take-offs and landings in the preceding 90 days	Rolling	CAR Section 8, Series F, Part I

The rule text referred to throughout is the Aircraft Rules, 1937 (Indian Kanoon copy). Note that copy still shows the pre-2023 five-year figure in the Rule 39C table; the ten-year change comes from the October 2023 amendment.

Why you still see “5 years” everywhere

Before October 2023, the Rule 39C table listed the CPL with a five-year licence validity, alongside the Flight Navigator’s and Flight Radio Telephone Operator’s licences. Many online copies of the Aircraft Rules, and plenty of articles (including older guides on this site), were written against that table and have not caught up.

If your CPL was issued or last renewed before the change, check the expiry printed on it. Whatever you read anywhere, the expiry on your licence and on your eGCA profile is the date you renew against.

When the 10-year clock starts

Rule 39C sets three cases:

Initial issue. Validity runs from the date the licence is issued.
On-time renewal. If you submit the renewal application not more than one month before the current expiry, the new period starts on the day after the old one ends. You lose nothing by applying in that window.
Any other renewal. Apply earlier than that, or after expiry, and the new period starts on the date of renewal.

What renewing a CPL requires

Schedule II of the Aircraft Rules (Section J, Commercial Pilot’s Licence (Aeroplanes), para 3) lists three things DGCA needs to see:

A current medical, from an examination under the CPL’s medical standards.
Recent flying: at least 10 hours as pilot-in-command in the six months immediately before the application. Fifty percent of your co-pilot time counts towards that PIC requirement. If you do not have the hours, satisfactorily completing the general flying tests by day and night within the same six months works instead.
A current Flight Radio Telephone Operator’s Licence issued by DGCA. Our RTR validity guide covers the radio side.

The application, uploads, and fee are handled on eGCA. The step-by-step is in the CPL renewal guide, and the CA-39 flying experience statement it needs can be generated straight from your logbook.

What happens if your CPL lapses

An expired CPL can still be renewed, but the longer it has lapsed, the more DGCA can ask of you. Under Rule 42:

How long it has been expired	What DGCA can require before renewal
Up to 2 years	The normal renewal requirements
More than 2 years, up to 3 years	A skill test and the Air Regulations exam
More than 3 years	All the examinations and tests required for a fresh issue

On top of that, DGCA can require any applicant to meet the full issue requirements if it judges their competency below standard, and it can delete an aircraft type from your rating at renewal if you lack reasonable recent experience on it.

Validity is not currency

The licence being valid means it legally exists. Being current means you can legally fly today. Each of these is separate, and any one of them lapsing stops you flying even with a valid CPL:

Medical. A Class 1 is valid for 12 months, six months once you turn 60, and six months for pilots over 40 in single-crew commercial or instructional flying. The renewal window, the NOC rules, and the approved centres are in our Class 1 medical guide.
Instrument Rating. Valid for 12 months from the IR flying test. Renewal needs the flight test and a valid FRTOL. More in IR validity in India.
Proficiency check on type. To act as co-pilot of a transport aeroplane over 5,700 kg, your proficiency check must be current. Each check is valid for six months.
Recency on type. On multi-pilot aeroplanes, and on aeroplanes of 5,700 kg and above, an operator cannot put you on the controls for take-off and landing unless you have done at least three take-offs and landings on that type in the preceding 90 days, in the aircraft or an approved simulator. Miss it and the CAR sets refresher training scaled to how long the gap has been.

A typical example: an A320 first officer with a valid CPL, a valid IR, and a current proficiency check, whose medical expired last week, is grounded until the medical is renewed. Nothing is wrong with the licence.

Which rules apply in 2026

The Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 replaced the Aircraft Act, 1934 from 1 January 2025. Section 43(2) of the new Act keeps rules made and licences granted under the old Act in force, as long as they are not inconsistent with it (Act text, Ministry of Civil Aviation). The replacement rules were published in draft as the Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2025 in July 2025. As of October 2026 we could not find a final notification, so the Aircraft Rules, 1937, including the amended Rule 39C, remain the rules your CPL is governed by. If the new rules are notified, we will update this page.

Keep every expiry in one place

With a 10-year licence, the CPL date is the one you are least likely to miss and the one with the slowest penalty. The medical, IR, proficiency check, and 90-day recency all run on their own clocks, and they rarely line up.

Monitor validity of all licences in Wingman Pilot Logbook

Wingman, the pilot logbook app, keeps your licence, medical, rating, and check expiries in one place with expiry tracking and reminders before each one is due, and its recency tracking works out your take-off and landing currency from the flights you log.