Apply for a medical certificate

 You will require a medical examination by a doctor specialising in aviation medicine. If you are aware of any personal or family medical history it would be prudent to mention this at the time of booking your medical and they can then advise whether you will need to bring along additional information/reports to the examination.
The first step in the process is to contact an Aeromedical Centre (see below), which will be able to provide you with personal updates as the process goes on.
What to take with you
If you wear glasses or contact lenses you must bring your most recent optician’s report along to the examination.
Your AeMC will be able to help you with any additional individual preparations you need to make before your appointment.
What to expect at your examination
You will need to complete the medical certificate application form. This is a signed declaration containing the following:
• Facts about your medical history
• Whether you have had a medical examination before, by whom and the result
• Whether you have ever been assessed as unfit or had a medical certificate suspended or revoked
A medical examination at an AeMC may take from 6-8 hours. The examination will include the following:
• Medical history (These are a series of questions about medical history and any previous illness.  You will be asked about them by your AME, and if there is any major illness in your past, it is important to bring reports about it from your family doctor or treating specialist.  Appendicitis or a broken arm are not regarded as major illnesses).Further details of the regulatory requirements can be found on our Medical Examination Standards page. You may find it helpful to print off the requirements and discuss them with your GP or Specialist. Guidance on the information your AME will require in medical reports, together with flow charts on the assessment process for a number of medical conditions can be found on our Documents for Download page.
• Eyesight (MED 162). Eyesight requirements are listed in the Class 1 Visual Standards guidance material.  If you wear glasses or contact lenses it is important to take your last optician's report along to the examination. An applicant may be assessed as fit with hypermetropia not exceeding +5.0 dioptres, myopia not exceeding -6.0 dioptres, astigmatism not exceeding 2.0 dioptres, and anisometropia not exceeding 2.0 dioptres, provided that optimal correction has been considered and no significant pathology is demonstrated.  Monocular visual acuities should be 6/6 or better).
• Color vision (You will need to pass an Ishihara test for the initial issue of a medical certificate).
• Physical examination (A general check that all is functioning correctly.  It will cover lungs, heart, blood pressure, stomach, limbs and nervous system).
• Electrocardiogram (ECG):This measures the electrical impulses passing through your heart.  It can show disorders of the heart rhythm or of the conduction of the impulses, and sometimes it can show a lack of blood supplying the heart muscle.  Changes on an ECG require further investigation.  A report from a cardiologist and further tests (for example an exercise ECG) may need to be done.
•  Hearing with audiometry (A pure tone audiometry test will evaluate your hearing.  Applicants may not have a hearing loss of more than 35dB at any of the frequencies 500Hz, 1000Hz or 2000Hz, or more than 50dB at 3000Hz, in either ear separately).
• Lung function test: This tests your ability to expel air rapidly from your lungs.  Abnormal lung function or respiratory problems, e.g. asthma will require reports by a specialist in respiratory disease (UK CAA Asthma guidance and Guidance for  Respiratory Reports).

• Haemoglobin blood test: This is a finger prick blood test which measures the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.  A low haemoglobin is called anaemia and will need further investigation.
• Lipid Profile blood test: A finger prick blood test which is used in part to determine your risk of future heart and blood vessel disease.
• Urine test: You will be asked to provide a sample of urine, so remember to attend for examination with a full bladder.  This tests for sugar (diabetes), protein or blood in the urine.
•  Clinical examination for each specialty (8 medical doctors)