CPL Application on eGCA: The Six Things That Must Be Ready First

A student finishes the last flying hour and the last written paper, opens the licence application, and finds a field that cannot be filled: the e-logbook has not been validated, or the radio certificate is not yet on file. The weeks that follow are spent chasing one office after another. This post sets out the eGCA CPL application prerequisites in the order you meet them, so you can work backwards from the licence while you are still training.

What must be ready before the eGCA CPL application?

Six things must be in place before the Commercial Pilot Licence application on eGCA will go through. They come from DGCA’s own user manual for submitting a CPL application, which also says the flying experience on the form has to read Qualified for the service you apply for.

1. Be registered on the eGCA portal with your own eGCA ID.
2. Hold a valid Class 1 medical certificate and the medical assessment sheet.
3. Hold a valid FRTOL or FRTOL(R) with the RTR certificate.
4. Have the e-logbook updated and e-validated by your flying training organisation for flying hours and skill tests.
5. Have cleared the English Language Proficiency examination at Level 4 or above.
6. Have passed the written examinations conducted by the Central Examination Organisation.

The flying behind item four is measured against the 200-hour total in Section J, para 1(e) of Schedule II. The eligibility rules themselves, including class 10+2 with Physics and Mathematics from a recognised Board or University, are set out on our CPL eligibility page.

Who supplies each of the six?

Each gate belongs to a different office, which is why the application stalls. You hold the eGCA ID, a medical examiner issues the medical, your flying training organisation validates the logbook, and the Central Examination Organisation holds your written results. The table shows where to read about each.

The written papers are the 5 subjects: Air Navigation, Aviation Meteorology, Air Regulations, Technical General, Technical Specific. RTR (A) is not among them: examined separately from the DGCA written papers, and required for CPL issue under Section J paragraph 1(g).

In what order should you collect them?

Start with the gate that can end the journey, the medical, and finish with the one that depends on everything else, the logbook. Book the medical before committing money to a flying school. Finding a disqualifying condition after paying a deposit is an expensive way to learn it. The order below follows how long each item usually blocks the next.

1. Book the medical first. Read our medical guide for the standards behind it.
2. Get the computer number and book the papers. The Pariksha portal handles both, and the number is a field on the eGCA form. See how the computer number works.
3. Register on eGCA early, so the ID exists before your flying school starts validating entries.
4. Plan the dates. A passed paper has its own window: for the issue of a CPL or an ATPL, that period is five years.

Our CPL course page shows how ground training fits around flying with a partner school.

We teach the DGCA ground subjects and arrange flight training with partner flying schools. We do not own aircraft or simulators, we do not employ pilots, and we do not place students into airline jobs — hiring decisions rest with the operator.

Which portal does which job: Pariksha or eGCA?

Pariksha handles everything to do with the written papers, and eGCA handles the licence itself. Students mix them up because both ask for the same identity details, and both appear in the same conversation with a flying school. The Pariksha portal and eGCA are separate systems with separate logins.

The two meet in one field: the computer number Pariksha allots appears in the basic details section of the eGCA licence application. Neither portal replaces the other. In practice that means the computer number you receive from Pariksha is typed into the eGCA form, so keep the confirmation email where you can find it. Our computer number rejection guide lists what holds that number up, and the pass marks and retakes post covers what happens when a paper is missed, since the written-examinations gate stays closed until all 5 are cleared.

How does the application itself work?

The application is a service on eGCA, reached by Services then Issuance of Commercial Pilot Licence, and it has 5 sections that you complete in order. After you submit, the portal sends you to Bharatkosh to pay.

• For a first issue, select Aircraft Rating and add the type on which the tests were flown. An Instrument Rating or an extension of rating is selected separately.
• Every flying experience parameter has to read Qualified for the service applied for. Anything reading Dis-qualified needs a supporting statement uploaded.
• Submission redirects to the Bharatkosh payment gateway, and the fee is payable within 48 hours by Indian credit card, debit card other than Diners Club, or internet banking.
• Progress is followed through Track Status, with the receipt number sent by SMS and email.

What goes wrong at submission?

Most failures at submission are about timing or a wrong field, and neither can be fixed by editing the form. Where a detail on the form is wrong, it is corrected by raising a support request rather than by editing the form. The date counted as the date of submission is the one on which the whole process finishes: the date of submission to DGCA is the date the whole process including payment is completed, not the date the form was filled.

• A wrong computer number or name in the basic details cannot be edited on the form; it goes through a support request.
• A flying parameter that reads Dis-qualified needs a supporting statement uploaded before it can proceed.
• Payment left beyond the 48 hours the manual allows leaves the application incomplete.

The licence fee amount is not stated in the manual we cite, so we do not quote one. Read it on the eGCA portal when you reach the payment step.

What do you receive afterwards?

An electronic licence. DGCA has issued the Electronic Personnel Licence (EPL) for the CPL since February 2025, and it is accessed through the eGCA mobile application. A secure digital licence carrying security features aligned with ICAO standards, meant to establish authenticity, prevent tampering and allow verification in real time. The change is recorded in a PIB release on the ATPL extension. Our eGCA login guide covers the app.

What to do this week

Copy the six prerequisites into a note and write beside each one the date it is done, or the name of the office that owns it. Anything without a date is where to start. Then open the DGCA exam guide and book the next paper, because the written results are the gate you control most.