Book the medical before you need it.
About half of all students reach the circuit stage still waiting on one. By then there is nothing anyone can do but wait.
- 4–6 weeks
- for an appointment
- 3 months
- to process, at worst
- Day one
- when to start
Which one to get
Three categories. They unlock different things.
A Category 4 is quick, and it is enough to fly solo. If you are waiting on a Category 3 and your circuits are ready, this is how people get airborne alone instead of sitting on the ground.
Find an examiner
Transport Canada keeps the list and it is always current, so we link it rather than copying it. Search by city.
Civil Aviation Medical Examiner search →Take your history with you
Your examiner wants to endorse the certificate there and then. Anything they cannot resolve in the room goes to Transport Canada for review, and that turns weeks into months.
- Your medical history — conditions, diagnoses, treatments, dates
- Any past medical tests relevant to it
- Previous audiograms or electrocardiograms submitted for licensing
- Glasses or contacts you fly with, and the prescription
- A list of any medication you take
Two things that add time
- You wear glasses
- You may be asked for an optometrist's report. Get one before the appointment rather than after it.
- You take any medication
- You will need to say what and why. The examiner decides whether it is compatible with a licence — bring the details, not a guess.
Nobody will chase it for you
Follow up with the examiner's office — they will know if Transport Canada has asked for anything.
For the status of an application, pacific region civil aviation medicine, for the status of an application. tc.paccivilaviationmedicine-medecineaviationcivile.tc@tc.gc.ca
Student Pilot Permit
The medical and the PSTAR get you this, and nobody flies solo without it. Take all four to the authorised person in one go.
- Passport or birth certificate — proof of identity
- Your PSTAR result
- Your medical certificate
- Your PTR, to show the experience you have
Now find out where you would be flying.
Every school in the Lower Mainland