Someone books a trial lesson and asks about the LAPL, because a friend learnt on one a few years back. It's a fair question, and the answer has changed. The UK CAA stopped issuing the LAPL(A) on 1 October 2025. New aeroplane students now train for the PPL(A) or the National Private Pilot's Licence, the NPPL(A), which is the only sub-ICAO aeroplane licence the CAA issues.
Your existing LAPL(A) holders haven't gone anywhere, though. They still hire your aircraft, on ratings that moved to a fixed two-year cycle on 1 October 2026. And the LAPL for helicopters is still issued. So the office now has a real mix of licences to keep straight. Here's what each one asks of you, under UK rules as they stand in November 2026.
What changed, and when#
Five dates did most of the work:
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 1 October 2025 | The CAA stops issuing the LAPL(A). New aeroplane students train for the PPL(A) or the NPPL(A). |
| 1 October 2025 | The PPL(A) minimum drops from 45 hours to 40 hours of flight time as a pilot, or 35 on an ATO course approved for that purpose (FCL.210.A). |
| 1 October 2025 | SEP and TMG revalidation by experience is aligned for the PPL(A) and the NPPL(A). |
| 1 October 2026 | A LAPL(A) holder may only use a class rating that has been issued or renewed under FCL.740, or revalidated under FCL.740.A(b) (FCL.140.A(c), which applies "after 30th September 2026"). |
| 1 November 2026 | The "5 in 13" arrangement ends. UK PPL(A) holders with microlight or SLMG ratings revalidate under Schedule 8 of the Air Navigation Order 2016. |
There's one group caught in the middle. If a student trained for the LAPL(A) but didn't have it issued before 1 October 2025, they get an NPPL instead. The good news, according to the CAA's September 2025 webinar slides, is that the LAPL(A) training they did counts towards it.
PPL(A), NPPL(A) and LAPL(A) compared#
Side by side, the three aeroplane licences look like this.
| PPL(A) | NPPL(A) | LAPL(A), existing holders | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New licences | Yes | Yes | No, closed 1 October 2025 |
| Minimum flying | 40 hours, or 35 on an approved ATO course | 32 hours | Not applicable |
| Theory | 9 papers inside 18 months, 4 attempts at each | 5 NPPL papers or the 9 PPL papers, passed within 24 months of applying | Not applicable |
| Medical | Class 2, or a Pilot Medical Declaration with LAPL-level privileges only | Pilot Medical Declaration, or a Class 1, Class 2 or LAPL certificate | LAPL certificate or higher, or a Pilot Medical Declaration |
| SEP rating | Valid 2 years | Valid 24 months from the end of the month of the skill test | Fixed 2 years since 1 October 2026 |
Three PPL(A) dates to watch for each student#
A PPL(A) course runs at an ATO or a DTO. Its 40 hours include 10 hours of supervised solo, with at least 5 hours of solo cross-country. One of those cross-countries has to be at least 270 km (150 NM), with full-stop landings at two aerodromes other than the one the student left from. And nobody flies solo before 16, or without an instructor's authorisation and supervision (FCL.020).
That's the flying. The paperwork hangs on three dates, and they're the ones that catch people out.
The medical. A PPL needs a Part-MED Class 2 certificate, and how long it lasts depends on age (MED.A.045). It's 60 months under 40 (ending at 42 if issued before 40), 24 months between 40 and 50 (ending at 51 if issued before 50) and 12 months over 50. So a 52-year-old training over two summers can need a new one before the skill test. We'd look at their certificate before booking the test, not after.
The exam window. Each of the nine theory papers has a 75% pass mark. All nine must be passed within 18 months, counted from the end of the month of the first attempt, with four attempts at each paper. Miss either limit and the student sits all nine again (FCL.025).
The exam validity. From the last pass, the student has 24 months to apply for the licence. The flying and the skill test both have to fit inside that.
Worked example: the PPL exam window#
Say a student sits air law on 10 March 2026. The 18-month window runs from the end of March 2026, so all nine papers must be passed by 30 September 2027. If they pass the last paper on 14 August 2026, they must apply for the licence by 14 August 2028.
The one we'd worry about is the student who sits two papers, stops for the winter and comes back the next summer. They can miss the window, and nobody notices until the skill test is booked. That's a horrible thing to tell someone who's done all the flying. So put 30 September 2027 on their record the day they sit air law.
The NPPL(A) course#
A student who would once have trained for a LAPL(A) now trains for the NPPL(A) with an SEP rating. CAP 3181 (version 2, August 2026) sets out the course:
- 32 hours, not counting the skill test. They include 10 hours of supervised solo, with at least 4 hours of solo cross-country and one flight of 150 km (80 NM) with a full-stop landing away.
- Training can be at an ATO, a DTO or with an independent flight instructor.
- On top of the five NPPL papers (air law, human performance, meteorology, navigation and aircraft technical), anyone who'll use the radio, which means everyone, also needs the Communications exam and the FRTOL practical test.
- The skill test is valid for 9 months for licence issue, and the class rating is dated from the test, so a slow application eats into the student's rating.
The licence covers UK-registered aircraft up to 2,000 kg with no more than four people on board (CAP 3181). It's valid only in UK airspace unless another country agrees to accept it. For flying a club PA-28 around the UK, it does the job the LAPL(A) used to do. But if a student talks about flying to France one day, we'd put them on the PPL(A) from the first lesson.
Existing LAPL(A) holders who hire your aircraft#
LAPL(A) holders keep their licence. They should have moved their class rating to a fixed 24-month validity, endorsed on the licence, before 1 October 2026, and they now revalidate the same way as a PPL(A) holder with an SEP rating (FCL.740.A(b)). That means either a proficiency check with an examiner in the 3 months before the rating expires, or 12 hours in the class within the rating's validity, including:
- 6 hours in the 12 months before expiry;
- 6 hours as pilot in command;
- 12 take-offs and 12 landings;
- a refresher flight of at least 1 hour with an FI or CRI, unless they have passed a proficiency check, skill test or assessment of competence in another class or type of aeroplane.
Take a rating expiring on 31 July 2027. The six hours fall between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027, and the check window opens on 1 May 2027.
Some won't have transitioned in time. They renew under FCL.740: an assessment at an ATO, a DTO or with an instructor, any refresher training it calls for, then a proficiency check. The instructor or examiner then emails form SRG1157 or SRG1107 to [email protected].
What the licence covers hasn't changed. Unlike a PPL, the LAPL(A) still covers only single-engine piston aeroplanes and TMGs up to 2,000 kg with at most three passengers (FCL.105.A).
The medical bar is lower too. They need a LAPL medical certificate, which a GP or an AME can issue, or a Pilot Medical Declaration for UK-registered aircraft in UK airspace. A LAPL certificate lasts 60 months under 40, ends at 42 at the latest if issued before 40, and lasts 24 months after that (MED.A.045).
So before you let a LAPL(A) holder take an aircraft solo, check the rating date on the licence as well as the medical. It's easy to see an in-date medical and stop there.
LAPL(H) or PPL(H) for helicopter students#
A helicopter school still offers both licences, so here a new student really does get to choose. For the PPL(H), see the PPL(H) course page.
| LAPL(H) | PPL(H) | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum training | 40 hours, 35 on the skill test type, including 20 dual and 10 supervised solo (FCL.110.H) | 45 hours, 35 on the skill test type, including 25 dual and 10 supervised solo (FCL.210.H) |
| Medical | LAPL certificate | Class 2 certificate |
| Aircraft | Single-engine helicopters up to 2,000 kg, up to three passengers (FCL.105.H) | Any helicopter type the pilot holds a type rating for, as PIC or co-pilot in non-commercial operations, without remuneration (FCL.205.H) |
| Rating validity | None; privileges limited to the skill test type and variant | Type rating valid one year: proficiency check in the 3 months before expiry plus 2 hours on type (FCL.740.H) |
| Recency to fly | Per type, rolling 12 months: 6 hours, 6 take-offs, approaches and landings and a 1-hour refresher, or a proficiency check (FCL.140.H) | 3 take-offs, approaches and landings in 90 days to carry passengers (FCL.060(b)) |
To fly a second type, a LAPL(H) holder needs 5 hours of instruction, including 15 dual and 15 supervised solo take-offs, approaches and landings, and a skill test on it (FCL.135.H). Recency runs per type over a rolling 12 months, not from a date on the licence. So only the logbook shows it.
Training records a school must keep#
If you're a DTO, Part-DTO sets the minimum. For each student, during the course and for three years after it, you keep their training, their progress, and their licences and ratings with the expiry dates of ratings and medicals (DTO.GEN.220).
Add it up and a school teaching both aeroplanes and helicopters now holds four kinds of record. There are PPL students, NPPL students, LAPL(A) hirers on fixed-validity ratings, and LAPL(H) pilots current on one type but not another. Each needs an expiry date on file and a check at booking. The check at booking tends to happen. It's the checks done between bookings that slip.
Carrying passengers adds one more check: 3 take-offs, approaches and landings in the preceding 90 days in the same type or class. That's FCL.060(b) for Part-FCL licences and the Air Navigation Order's recent experience condition for the NPPL (with a narrow exception for one passenger who is also a qualified pilot). It belongs before the flight, and booking rules for licences, medicals and recent flying covers how to set it up.
Checking licences and medicals at booking in Volanti#
In Volanti, your staff enter each pilot's licences, ratings and medical certificates on their member record with expiry dates, and booking rules check them. A lesson on a flight training course can be restricted to students enrolled on that course. Solo hire can require a licence or rating that is in date, an in-date medical, a graduated course or a minimum number of hours flown recently. A booking that fails a rule is refused before it reaches the diary.
There are limits, and you should know them. Volanti counts hours, not take-offs and landings, so the 90-day passenger rule and LAPL(H) type recency stay the instructor's check against the logbook. It checks expiry dates at booking, and it doesn't send expiry reminders.
It doesn't yet hold the training record itself, the lesson detail and progress DTO.GEN.220 asks for. Training records Coming soon are being built now. Until they ship, keep that record where you keep it today.
The PPL course page shows how a PPL(A) course runs in Volanti, and a helicopter school can set up the LAPL(H) the same way.