DGCA Exam Pass Marks and Retakes: What Happens If You Fail a CPL Paper

A student comes out of the exam hall sure that four papers went well and one did not. A classmate says the marks get averaged. A coaching video says you must clear everything in a single sitting. Neither is what the rule says, and the difference decides whether one bad paper costs you a few weeks or a whole year. This post sets out the DGCA exam pass marks for CPL papers, how the rule is applied, and what a retake involves.

What is the pass mark in the DGCA CPL exams?

The DGCA pass mark for the CPL written papers is 70% in each subject. The rule sits in para 5.6 of the Civil Aviation Requirement, Section 7, Series ‘B’, Part I: a candidate who secures a minimum of 70% marks in the theoretical knowledge examination of a particular subject is declared PASS.

The five subjects are Air Navigation, Aviation Meteorology, Air Regulations, Technical General, Technical Specific. RTR (A) is a separate requirement, examined apart from these papers, so the 70% rule above is not the rule for it.

Is the 70% overall or in each paper?

The 70% applies to each paper on its own. The 70% applies to each subject on its own. There is no aggregate, and a strong paper does not carry a weak one. A student who averages 80% across five papers but scores 69% in one has still failed that one.

A worked example, with made-up scores, shows how the rule reads:

The scores are invented to show the rule; they are not anyone’s results and DGCA publishes no pass-rate data for us to cite. For how the five papers are divided and what each covers, read our DGCA exam guide.

What happens if you fail one paper?

You sit the failed subject again in a later session. The pass mark, the fee and the validity window are all set per paper, so a paper you cleared is not wiped by one you missed. A candidate may apply only once in a particular session. That means the retake waits for the next session you can book.

• Cleared papers keep their own validity clock. For the issue of a CPL or an ATPL, that period is five years.
• A new application and a new fee go with the retake: once the examination form is submitted successfully, no change is entertained and the fee is neither adjusted nor refunded — including where the application is rejected.
• In a given session a candidate is initially allowed only one specific-aircraft paper.
• The number of attempts allowed for one paper is not stated in the sources behind this post. Check the current rule on the Pariksha portal before you plan around a fixed count.

What does a retake cost, and when can you sit it?

A retake costs ₹2,500 per paper on a regular session and ₹5,000 per paper on an Online On-Demand session. The bank may add a nominal service charge or applicable taxes on top of the fee. The sessions DGCA lists for the rest of 2026 are below.

DGCA publishes these dates as tentative and subject to change for gazetted holidays, festivals and similar reasons. Confirm against the public notice on the Pariksha portal before planning travel. The full schedule is in the Programme of Examinations 2026. Which session type suits a retake is argued in regular versus on-demand sessions. Pay by the closing date: complete the payment by 2300 hrs on the closing date. A payment made later, whose success reaches CEO from Bharatkosh after 2359 hrs on the closing date, may not be treated as valid.

Do oral exams use the same pass mark?

No. Oral examinations carry their own thresholds, and they are lower for some licences. The CAR lists 50% for the Student Pilot Licence and the glider licence, and 70% for the ATPL and the flying instructor ratings. A CPL is not named in that list, so this post does not describe a CPL oral.

One retake rule is stated for the ATPL oral: a candidate who fails the first ATPL oral examination may take two further chances, within two years of the date of that result. A separate fee of ₹500 per oral paper applies. The oral paper fee applies to the second and third attempt only.

How should you plan so a failed paper costs little?

Plan the papers in an order that leaves one session free before your flying hours are done, and do not let the oldest pass drift out of its window. Clearing papers years before you finish your flying hours is not free. Count backwards from the licence application, not forwards from the first paper.

1. Book the paper you find hardest first, so a retake still fits inside the window.
2. Do not stack more papers in one session than you have revised for; each is paid for whether you pass or not.
3. Keep a note of the date each paper was passed. The five-year window counts back from your licence application.
4. Revise from DGCA’s own list. See which books DGCA recommends.

Teaching is the part we do: our DGCA ground classes and the CPL course cover these five subjects. We cannot promise a pass in any session.

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.

What to do this week

Write down your score in every paper you have attempted and mark each against 70%, one at a time. Then open the Programme of Examinations, pick the next session you can reach, and book only the paper you missed. Before that, check the validity post so no passed paper is closer to its window than you think.