Pilot Ratings: Class, Type and Instrument
EASA class, type and instrument ratings under Part-FCL: when each is required, what it lets you fly, and how to get one, grounded in Reg (EU) No 1178/2011.
Dionysis Kefalas5 min readFor Air Ops and training organisation staff
Part 4 of 5 in EASA Flight Crew Licensing Show parts
- 1The Path to an EASA Flight Crew Licence
- 2EASA Pilot Licences: LAPL, PPL, CPL, MPL, ATPL
- 3EASA Pilot Exams: Theory and the Skill Test
- 4Pilot Ratings: Class, Type and Instrument
- 5Pilot Revalidation, Recency, Language, Medical
Quotes checked on against EASA Easy Access Rules for Aircrew (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011) — 25 Nov 2025 revision.
On this page
Why ratings exist
A pilot licence is not, by itself, permission to fly any particular aircraft. The licence is the category of pilot. The ratings entered on it are what FCL.705 and FCL.605 then tie to a class, a type, or IFR. For a roster, a pilot can hold an ATPL and still not hold a valid and appropriate class or type rating for the fleet aircraft. That difference is FCL.700, quoted next.
When you need a class or type rating
An earlier wording of paragraph (a) is also printed in the consolidation. The quote is the later wording. Point (1) in that wording is exercise of the privileges of an LAPL or a GPL.
(a)Holders of a pilot licence shall act as pilots of an aircraft only if they have a valid and appropriate class or type rating, unless any of the following applies:
(1)they exercise the privileges of an LAPL or a GPL;
(2)they take skill tests or proficiency checks for renewal of class or type ratings;
(3)they receive flight instruction;
(4)they hold a flight test rating issued in accordance with point FCL.820.
[…]
(b)Notwithstanding (a), in the case of flights related to the introduction or modification of aircraft types, pilots may hold a special certificate given by the competent authority, authorising them to perform the flights. This authorisation shall have its validity limited to the specific flights.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, Easy Access Rules for Aircrew, 25 Nov 2025 revision.
Line flying is not one of the cases in point (a).
What a class or type rating lets you do
The privileges of the holder of a class or type rating are to act as pilot on the class or type of aircraft specified in the rating.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, Easy Access Rules for Aircrew, 25 Nov 2025 revision.
If the rating does not specify that class or type, the sentence does not give the privilege.
FCL.010 defines class of aeroplane and type of aircraft. The definitions are not next to each other in the list.
"Class of aeroplane" means a categorisation of single-pilot aeroplanes not requiring a type rating.
[…]
"Type of aircraft" means a categorisation of aircraft requiring a type rating as determined in the operational suitability data established in accordance with Part-21, and which include all aircraft of the same basic design including all modifications thereto except those which result in a change in handling or flight characteristics.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, Easy Access Rules for Aircrew, 25 Nov 2025 revision.
(a)Training course. An applicant for a class or type rating shall complete a training course at an ATO. An applicant for a non-high-performance SEP aeroplane class rating, a TMG class rating or a single-engine type rating for helicopters referred to in point DTO.GEN.110(a)(2)(c) of Annex VIII (Part-DTO) to this Regulation may complete the training course at a DTO. The type rating training course shall include the mandatory training elements for the relevant type as defined in the operational suitability data established in accordance with Annex I (Part 21) to Regulation (EU) No 748/2012.
(b)Theoretical knowledge examination. The applicant for a class or type rating shall pass a theoretical knowledge examination organised by the ATO to demonstrate the level of theoretical knowledge required for the safe operation of the applicable aircraft class or type.
[…]
(c)Skill test. An applicant for a class or type rating shall pass a skill test in accordance with Appendix 9 to this Part to demonstrate the skill required for the safe operation of the applicable class or type of aircraft.
The applicant shall pass the skill test within a period of 6 months after commencement of the class or type rating training course and within a period of 6 months preceding the application for the issue of the class or type rating.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, Easy Access Rules for Aircrew, 25 Nov 2025 revision.
The DTO route is only the applicants named in point (a). It is not every class rating.
The instrument rating
FCL.605 is what holding an IR lets the holder do. FCL.600, after it, is who may conduct operations under IFR.
(a)Privileges
The privileges of holders of an IR are to fly aircraft under IFR, including PBN operations, with a minimum decision height of:
(1)no less than 200 ft (60 m);
(2)less than 200 ft (60 m), provided that they are authorised to do so in accordance with Annex V (Part-SPA) to Regulation (EU) No 965/2012.
(b)Conditions
(1)Holders of an IR shall exercise their privileges in accordance with the conditions established in Appendix 8 to this Annex.
[…]
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, Easy Access Rules for Aircrew, 25 Nov 2025 revision.
A decision height less than 200 ft (60 m) is not in the bare privilege. Point (a)(2) requires the Part-SPA authorisation.
Except as provided in point FCL.835, operations under IFR on an aeroplane, helicopter, airship or powered-lift aircraft shall be conducted only by holders of a PPL, CPL, MPL and ATPL with an IR appropriate to the category of aircraft or, if an IR appropriate to the category of aircraft is not available, only while undergoing skill testing or dual instruction.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011, Easy Access Rules for Aircrew, 25 Nov 2025 revision.
The sentence says holders of a PPL, CPL, MPL and ATPL. It does not put "or" between those licences.
In practice
Picture an ExampleAir first officer moving onto a fleet type. She completes the training course at an ExampleATO. She cannot act as pilot of that aircraft on a line flight until FCL.700 is met. An IR she already holds does not become the type rating.
Avioverse's aircraft type-rating lookup resolves manufacturer, model and variant identity against the EASA endorsement lists, so the name on the rating is the name the roster is using. What happens to the rating after it is issued is the next guide, Keeping Your Licence Valid: Revalidation, Recency, Language and Medical.
Educational content, not regulatory compliance advice. Verify against the current regulation text before relying on it.
In this series
Related
- How to Get an EASA Pilot Licence: The Complete PathGuide · 4 min
- EASA Pilot Licences Explained: LAPL, PPL, CPL, MPL and ATPLGuide · 5 min
- Theoretical Knowledge and the Skill Test: Passing the EASA Pilot ExamsGuide · 7 min
- Keeping Your Licence Valid: Revalidation, Recency, Language and MedicalGuide · 9 min
Written by Dionysis Kefalas. Retired Hellenic Air Force Captain and founder of Avioverse. About the author
Metis opens with Avioverse in October 2026 · request early access.