What are the requirements for an SPL in India?

Under Schedule II, Section B of the Aircraft Rules: at least 16 years old on the date of application, a Class 10 pass, a medical assessment meeting DGCA's requirements, and an oral exam in Air Regulations, Air Navigation, Aviation Meteorology, and Aircraft and Engines. The application runs through your flying training organisation on eGCA.

What can I do with a Student Pilot Licence?

Fly within India as pilot-in-command of the aircraft types on your licence, always under the authority and supervision of a flight instructor or approved examiner, under VFR only, with no passengers or goods and nothing for hire. Cross-country flights need at least 10 hours of solo time and passes in Air Navigation and Aviation Meteorology.

SPL validity in India: the Student Pilot Licence is valid for 10 years, not 2

Q: What is the validity of a Student Pilot Licence (SPL) in India?

Ten years from the date of issue. Rule 39C of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 sets the SPL's licence validity, and the Aircraft (First Amendment) Rules, 2022 (G.S.R. 289(E), 8 April 2022) changed it from five years to ten. Many sites still say two years, which mixes up the licence with the medical.

Q: Does my medical have to stay valid to use my SPL?

Yes. The SPL's privileges are subject to Rules 39B and 39C, so you can only fly on it while your medical assessment is current. The medical runs on its own, shorter cycle, so in practice the medical expiry, not the licence expiry, is the date that stops student pilots.

Q: How do I renew an SPL?

Through eGCA, via your flying training organisation. Since 15 September 2026 the fee for SPL issue, renewal and aircraft rating extension is paid through Bharatkosh inside eGCA. Under Rule 39C, applying within one month before expiry keeps the new validity running on from the old expiry date; a later renewal runs from the date of renewal.

Q: Can I fly solo before my SPL is issued?

Only on a flight instructor's certificate. Rule 6 lets a trainee who has passed the technical exam and meets the medical standard exercise SPL privileges on a certificate from the instructor, valid for two months or until the SPL is issued, whichever comes first.

Validity of DGCA Student Pilot License (SPL) in India

A Student Pilot Licence (SPL) in India is valid for 10 years from the date of issue. Rule 39C of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 sets that period, and it has been ten years since the Aircraft (First Amendment) Rules, 2022 (G.S.R. 289(E), 8 April 2022) replaced the old five-year figure. The “SPL is valid for 2 years” line that still circulates, including in an earlier version of this post, confuses the licence with the medical: your medical assessment runs on its own shorter cycle, and the SPL’s privileges lapse the day the medical does.

So the date that actually grounds student pilots is almost always the medical expiry, not the licence expiry. Here is what the rules say, what the SPL lets you do, and how issue and renewal work on eGCA in 2026.

SPL validity at a glance

Item	What the rules say	Source
Licence validity	10 years from date of issue	Aircraft Rules, Rule 39C table, serial (iii), as amended by G.S.R. 289(E), 2022
When validity starts	Date the licence is issued	Rule 39C(6)
Medical	Must be current to use the licence; renewed on its own cycle	Rule 39C table and Schedule II, Section B, para 5
Renewal start date	From old expiry if you apply within 1 month before it; otherwise from renewal date	Rule 39C(7) and (8)
Minimum age	16 on the date of application	Schedule II, Section B, para 1(a)
Fee payment	Bharatkosh, inside eGCA, from 15 Sep 2026	DGCA public notice, 1 Sep 2026

Why so many sites say “2 years”

Rule 39C has a table with two columns for each licence: how long the medical assessment is valid, and how long the licence is valid. For the SPL row (which also covers student flight navigator and flight engineer licences), the medical column says twenty-four months. The licence column said five years until the 2022 amendment changed it to ten.

Older articles read the twenty-four months as the licence validity. Schedule II, Section B adds to the confusion: its validity paragraph points to Rule 39C, but its renewal paragraph still carries older wording about renewals of up to twelve months and a total of twenty-four months from issue. The governing period is the one in Rule 39C, which the Section B validity paragraph defers to. If your FTO or DGCA tells you something different for your specific licence, go by what eGCA shows.

The medical side has its own rules too. DGCA sets the medical standards under Rule 39B and revises the renewal periodicity through its medical circulars, so read the expiry printed on your medical assessment in eGCA rather than working it out from the Rule 39C table. For the medical process itself, see our guide to the Class 2 medical assessment on eGCA.

Who can get an SPL: the requirements

Schedule II, Section B of the Aircraft Rules lists four requirements for an SPL (aeroplanes, helicopters, gliders, light sport aircraft or gyroplanes):

Age: at least 16 on the date of application
Education: a Class 10 pass from a recognised board
Medical: a certificate of physical fitness from an approved medical practitioner, meeting the standards DGCA notifies under Rule 39B
Knowledge: an oral exam in Air Regulations, Air Navigation, Aviation Meteorology, and Aircraft and Engines, unless you already hold a higher licence. This is the “SPL exam” your flying school conducts

The licence is issued through a flying training organisation authorised for it, on DGCA’s conditions. It lists the class and types of aircraft you may fly, and only types whose Aircraft and Engines exam you have passed can go on it.

Before the SPL is issued, a trainee can still go solo in one narrow case. Under Rule 6, once you have passed the technical exam and meet the medical standard, your flight instructor can give you a certificate letting you exercise SPL privileges. That certificate is valid for two months or until your SPL is issued, whichever comes first.

What an SPL lets you do

Under Schedule II, Section B, para 5, an SPL holder may fly within India only, as pilot-in-command of the aircraft types on the licence, provided that:

you fly at all times under the authority and supervision of a flight instructor or approved examiner
you fly under Visual Flight Rules only
you carry no passengers, animals or goods, and fly for no hire or reward
you do no cross-country flights until you have at least 10 hours of solo flight time and have passed Air Navigation and Aviation Meteorology

Two more rules shape how you use it. Rule 38A says a private aircraft may not be flown by an SPL holder, while an aircraft owned or used by a duly constituted flying club may be, for receiving instruction or qualifying for a licence. And Rule 67A(7) says an SPL holder may log as pilot-in-command only the time when you are the sole occupant of the aircraft. That solo PIC time is what later counts toward the CPL flying requirements, so log it carefully from the first flight; our guide on how to fill out a pilot logbook covers the columns.

Issue, renewal and rating extension on eGCA

SPL applications run through eGCA, DGCA’s online licensing portal, with your FTO doing the endorsing. The latest change is about fees: under a DGCA public notice dated 1 September 2026, payments for SPL issue, renewal and aircraft rating extension are made through Bharatkosh inside eGCA for applications from 15 September 2026. The receipt is validated automatically, so an application with a missing or wrong payment can be rejected. DGCA has published an updated user manual on its portal for FTOs; ask yours to confirm they are on the current steps before you pay.

The fee amounts in Rule 48 of the Aircraft Rules are Rs 1,000 for issue of an SPL and Rs 500 for renewal. Pay whatever the Bharatkosh screen shows on the day, since that is what DGCA validates.

On timing, Rule 39C has a rule worth knowing:

Renew within the month before expiry and the new validity runs on from the old expiry date, so you lose nothing
Renew later and the new validity runs from the date of renewal

With a ten-year licence, very few students reach SPL renewal before moving on to a PPL or CPL. The renewal you will meet often is the medical, so put that date where you will see it.

Keeping the dates straight

During training you are tracking at least three clocks: the SPL itself, your medical, and your exam results. Adding the RTR(A) puts a fourth on top. When you move up, the CPL and later the ATPL bring their own validity and renewal rules.

Wingman, the pilot logbook app, lets you add every licence, medical and rating expiry and reminds you before each one lapses.

Wingman Pilot Logbook expiry tracking feature

Where these rules come from

Aircraft Rules, 1937: Rule 39C (validity), Rule 6 (instructor’s certificate), Rule 38A (private aircraft), Rule 48 (fees), Rule 67A (logging), and Schedule II, Section B (SPL requirements and privileges). The rules still apply under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 until replacement rules are notified; a draft set of new Aircraft Rules was published for public comment in 2025. Consolidated text: Aircraft Rules, 1937 on Indian Kanoon.
Aircraft (First Amendment) Rules, 2022, G.S.R. 289(E), 8 April 2022: changed the SPL licence validity in Rule 39C from five years to ten. Listed on the Ministry of Civil Aviation site.
DGCA public notice, 1 September 2026: Bharatkosh payments in eGCA for SPL applications, on the DGCA public notices page.

If you are still choosing where to train, our list of DGCA-approved flying schools in India is the next read.

Frequently asked questions

What is the validity of a Student Pilot Licence in India?

Ten years from the date of issue, under Rule 39C of the Aircraft Rules as amended in April 2022. The two-year figure you see elsewhere is the medical column of the same table, not the licence.

Does my medical have to stay valid to use my SPL?

Yes. The SPL’s privileges depend on a current medical, and the medical expires long before the licence does. Check its expiry in eGCA and renew it on time.

What are the requirements for an SPL?

At least 16 years old, a Class 10 pass, a medical meeting DGCA’s standards, and an oral exam in Air Regulations, Air Navigation, Aviation Meteorology, and Aircraft and Engines, applied for through your FTO on eGCA.

What can I do with an SPL?

Fly in India as pilot-in-command of the types on your licence, under an instructor’s supervision, VFR only, with no passengers or paid flying. Cross-country needs 10 hours solo and passes in Air Navigation and Meteorology.

How do I renew an SPL?

Through your FTO on eGCA, paying through Bharatkosh. Apply within the month before expiry and the new validity runs on from the old expiry date.

Can I fly solo before my SPL is issued?

Only on a flight instructor’s certificate under Rule 6, valid for two months or until your SPL is issued, after you have passed the technical exam and met the medical standard.