How to Convert Your FAA CPL to an Indian CPL

So you’ve wrapped up your training in the U.S. with an FAA Commercial Pilot License. Congratulations! That’s a huge milestone. But if your dream is to fly for an Indian airline, you’ll need to convert that FAA license into a DGCA-issued CPL.

Converting your FAA Commercial Pilot License (CPL) to an Indian CPL is a structured but sometimes confusing process. Many student pilots who complete their training in the U.S. face difficulties when it comes to bringing that hard-earned license back home to India. Between exams, paperwork, and conversion flying, there are a lot of moving parts. Here’s a clear, step-by-step breakdown with references to official DGCA requirements and practical advice from pilots who’ve gone through it.

If you’re still on the fence about where to train, I’ve broken down the pros and cons here: Flight Training in the USA vs India: Which Skies Should Aspiring Pilots Choose?

⚠️ Note: All photos in this article are my own and must not be reproduced or used without permission.

Step 1: Clear the DGCA Written Exams

The first big hurdle is theory. DGCA requires you to clear four papers:

Air Navigation
Meteorology
Air Regulations

What about the Technical Specific exam?
That depends on whether the aircraft you flew for your FAA CPL checkride matches the one you’ll use for conversion in India. I’ve covered this in detail in Step 3: Aircraft Type & Technical Specific Compliance, don’t skip that part, because it can save you weeks of delay.

Your first checkpoint: the Pariksha portal, DGCA’s official platform for theory exams.

These exams can be attempted either before or after returning from the U.S., but they must be valid (DGCA validity is usually 5 years for theory papers) when you apply for conversion. The validity for Technical Specific is 2.5 years. Specific is the simplest exam out of the 4 and I would recommend sitting for it even if you plan to fly the same aircraft for your conversion flying. What looks like redundancy elsewhere is safety in aviation.

For those who didn’t complete their exams before going abroad, DGCA offers a composite paper combining Navigation and Meteorology, which can be attempted after returning to India. This allows you to clear both subjects in a single attempt alongwith Regulations which is a separate exam but simple enough to be taken in addition to the Composite.

You can apply for the exams through the Pariksha portal after you recieve your Computer Number.

A look at the Pariksha Portal exam application form; make sure your Computer Number is active before applying.

Speaking from experience, I would strongly suggest that you clear your exams before you start your training because aviation is an unpredictable field and it's always best to cover all your bases as perfectly as possible. Also, this way you can avoid any worries about your recency since you can go to the next steps directly once you finish your flight training.

Step 2: Get Your RTR(A) License

Next up is the Radio Telephony Restricted (Aeronautical) license. It’s mandatory for all Indian CPL holders and allows you to handle ATC communications with confidence.

Mastering good radio communication and etiquette is the foundation of becoming a strong aviator.

Traditionally administered by WPC, the RTR(A) exam has had its share of controversy; unreliable scheduling, questionable pattern and a reputation that made even some students consider flying abroad to take it. The good news is, starting December 1, 2025, DGCA will take full responsibility for the RTR(A), promising better transparency, fairness, and professionalism. You can read more about this shift in my breakdown here: DGCA Takes Over RTR Exam: A New Dawn for Aspiring Pilots.

The exam under the new syllabus consists of two parts:
- Part I: Written exam (radio procedures, regulations)
- Part II: Practical telephony test (like live ATC calls)
Under the old regulations, the exam was still conducted in two parts:
- Part I: Practical telephony test resembling live ATC calls (the student also has to write down both the Transmitted and the Recieved messages)
- Part II: Viva consisting of two parts again, one with a WPC Examiner and another with a DGCA Examiner. You will be questioned on various topics such as Regulations, Radio principles, Instruments, Navigational Aids etc.

Because the exam frequency and conducting authority are changing soon, this is the perfect time to plan your application strategically. Slots are limited, so apply early. Many students face delays here because RTR exams are conducted only a few times a year.

RTR(A) applications and updates are managed via SaralSanchar.

This is the SaralSanchar website currently in use (as on 28th August 2025) for applying for the exam and checking the status of your RTR Application.

Step 3: Aircraft Type & Technical Specific Compliance

Before you move ahead with document gathering, make sure your FAA checkride aircraft lines up with what you’ll use for conversion in India. This detail is often missed and can cause unnecessary delays later.

Here’s the breakdown as per DGCA CARs:

If your FAA CPL is current and your checkride was on the same type you’ll use for conversion (e.g., Cessna 172 → Cessna 172):
No Technical Specific exam, no endorsement training required.
If you want to convert on a different aircraft type than the one used for your FAA CPL checkride (e.g., Cessna 152 → Cessna 172):
You must meet one of these conditions:
- 10 hours PIC (Solo + P1/US) on the new type within the last 24 months (50% can be dual/co-pilot) OR
- A Skill test / Checkride / Flight Review on that type within the last 24 months.
If you don’t meet these conditions (or your FAA CPL is not current):
You’ll need to clear the Technical Specific exam (valid for 2.5 years) in India for that aircraft type and undergo endorsement training at a DGCA-approved FTO.

Example:

FAA checkride on a Cessna 172 → Indian conversion on Cessna 172 → No Technical Specific needed.
FAA checkride on a Cessna 152 → Indian conversion on Cessna 172 → Either 10 hrs PIC/Skill test on 172, or else Technical Specific + endorsement training required.

⚠️ Warning: Don’t overlook this. Many students miss this detail and face avoidable delays. Make sure you plan your FAA training and recency flights with this in mind.

Even if you’re sure you’ll fly the same type, many pilots (myself included) choose to clear the Technical Specific exam anyway. It’s straightforward, and having it in hand gives you flexibility when choosing an FTO for conversion flying.

Step 4: Gather Your FAA Training Documents

When you return from the U.S., you’ll need a complete set of training records for conversion. DGCA is strict here. If you’re just starting out with U.S. paperwork, check out my detailed guide here: Navigating Documentation and Formalities for Flight Training in the USA. Bring back:

Original FAA CPL + Instrument Rating certificate and all other licenses issued to you by the FAA (Student Pilot's License, Private Pilot's License etc.)
Valid FAA Class I medical certificate
SEVIS/visa history
TSA approval letters (including Temporary Airman Certificates)
Original logbooks (signed by instructors, with DPE endorsements and accurate entries for all your flights including Dual, Solo, Checkrides and Cross Countries)
Course completion certificates from your flight school (included in the documents that you will prepare post completion of your training)
License verification letter from FAA: Obtain your letter from this site, all you need is your Last name and Certificate (License) Number.

Essential FAA training documents and logbooks you’ll need for conversion.

These are the Statements and Documents you need from the Flight school in the USA. They should be properly stamped and signed to prevent any discrepancies.

100 Hrs PIC Statement
50 Hrs Cross Country PIC (Solo)
40 Hours Instrument time (Actual+Simulated) for IR Endorsement.
300 NM Cross Country Statement
5 Hrs Night PIC in last 6 months
5 Hrs Instrument time in last 6 months (Actual+Simulated) for IR endorsement
Statement of Instrument time in Last 5 years
Statement of Instrument time on Single Engine Flight Simulator
Statement of Total Flight Time on Multi-Engine Airplane (if applicable)
Statement of Instrument Time on Multi-Engine Flight Simulator (if applicable)
All Skill Tests Reports: GFT Day, GFT Night, IR Test (if IR Endorsement requested), Certificates for PPL,IR,CPL and Multi Engine checkrides. (These will be combined with the Skill tests undertaken in Indian FTO later and then uploaded)
No Instrument time as PIC without Instrument Rating
Signal Reception Test Report (If IR issued from Foreign FTO)
Logbook Correction Report (Statement)
Certificate for Verification of FAA License and FAA Medical Certificate
Certificate of Authentication of training at the FTO
Certificate of Airworthiness of Aircraft(s) used for Training and Proficiency Checks
Certificate of ground training recieved towards issue of FAA Pilot Licenses
Certificate of No Blood Relation
No Accident/Incident Certificate

Cross-check every logbook entry against DGCA requirements. Missing or poorly-endorsed entries are the #1 reason for delays.

Pro Tip:
Have both scanned and hard copies ready. DGCA generally ask for only soft copies but it's always a good idea to have printed ones on hand, just in case.

Step 5: Enter Your Flight Details in eGCA

This is the part that makes or breaks your application. Once you have all your documents from the U.S., you’ll need to digitally enter every flight hour into the eGCA system.

Entering every flight detail into the DGCA’s eGCA portal. Accuracy is of utmost importance here.

Here’s what to keep in mind:

Match your logbook: Every entry you submit on eGCA must exactly match your physical logbook and the flight school’s training records. Discrepancies (like night hours, instrument time, or cross-country PIC) will trigger queries and possibly Shortfalls.
Cross-check against DGCA requirements: For example, DGCA requires 100 hrs Solo PIC and 50 hrs Solo PIC cross-country, while FAA requires only 50 hrs PIC XC. Make sure your entries reflect both correctly. Do not confuse FAA PIC with DGCA PIC(Solo + Checkrides/GFTs {P1/US} ONLY).
Upload Simulator time: All the simulator time undertaken, both in Single engine and Multi Engine simulators must be added separately in eGCA.
Keep totals consistent: The sum of your categories (PIC, dual, night, instrument) should match your final logbook total. Even a 0.1-hour mismatch can delay your file.

Pro tip: Many students find it helpful to prepare a digital spreadsheet of all flights first, reconcile totals with their FAA logbook, and then copy that into eGCA. That way, you can catch mistakes before uploading.

If you’re still preparing for U.S. training itself, don’t miss this step-by-step: From Arrival to Final Checkride: What Flight Training in the USA Looks Like.

Step 6: Complete DGCA Conversion Flying Requirements

DGCA mandates certain recency and skill tests in India, even if you already did them abroad:

General Flying Tests (Day + Night)
250 NM cross-country (day)
120 NM cross-country (night)
Instrument Rating Test (NOTE: You do not need to do this in India if you've done this at your foreign FTO within preceeding 6 months from the date of application. Your IRT will be valid for the issue of IR on your Indian CPL).

These must be done at a DGCA-approved FTO in India. Your FAA hours count toward total time and you must ensure they meet the recency requirements.

If any of the hours counted towards your recency requirements from your FAA Flight time have lapsed, i.e., more than 6 months have passed since those flights, you will have to satisfy those requirements again by flying for the number of hours required to complete the total number indicated. The statement for the recency flights undertaken will have to be made separately and merged with the original documents and then uploaded to the portal while applying for the License.

Carrying out mandatory conversion flying tests at a DGCA-approved Flight Training Organization (FTO).

Documents to be obtained from the Indian FTO:

GFT Day Performa
GFT Night Performa
250 NM Cross Country Performa
120 NM Cross Country Performa
Statement of PIC Hours
Statement of total flying (Day+Night) on Aircraft
Statement of Night PIC
Statement of Instrument time on Aircraft (if applicable)
Certificate of Airworthiness of Aircraft(s) used for Training and Proficiency Checks
Certificate of No Blood Relation/ Certificate of Restriction on Carrying out Proficiency Checks of Pilots by Their Close Relatives
Certificate of No BA Positive Report
No Objection Certificate
No Accident/Incident Certificate
Form CA-39 indicating all flight hours within the last 5 years including those carried out in Foreign FTO and Indian FTO. (This is a heavy one so make sure you carve out a chunk of time to properly and accurately fill out your CA-39)

Once you're done with your Conversion flying, make sure you get all the necessary documents from the Indian FTO as those need to be uploaded in addition to the ones from the Foreign FTO.

⚠️ Important:
Before scheduling your conversion flying in India, double-check your aircraft type eligibility. If your FAA checkride aircraft doesn’t match the type you’ll fly here, DGCA may require a Technical Specific exam + endorsement training. Don’t wait until you’re back in India to find this out, it’s much easier to cover these requirements while still flying in the U.S.

Step 7: Re-check all the requirements

Before you submit your conversion application, take one last look at the DGCA’s flying requirements. Many students get stuck here because they miss a small detail like a night landing endorsement or an instrument recency statement.

Total Flying Requirements to be fulfilled on the date of the application:-

Total- 200 hrs.
PIC- 100 hrs.
Statement of 300 NM PIC Cross Country (Must be supported by a signed statement. If completed abroad, this falls under your foreign FTO documents).
PIC Cross Country- 20 hrs.(without IR issue)
Statement of 10 hrs. Instrument time (without IR issue)

For Instrument Rating:-

PIC Cross Country- 50 hrs
Instrument Time: 40 hrs (At least 20 hrs actual/simulated in the aircraft; Up to 20 hrs allowed in an approved simulator)
5 hrs. instrument time Actual/simulated in preceding 6 months
IR test in preceding 6 months
Pass Signal Reception test (6 to 8 words per minute)

Flying experience required in preceding 6 months (Counted as Recency) :-

PIC- 15 hrs.
PIC in Night- 5 hrs. with 10 take offs & 10 landings
GFT by Day (Foreign FTO + Indian FTO)
GFT by Night (Foreign FTO + Indian FTO)
250 NM PIC Day Cross Country test (Indian FTO)
120 NM PIC Night Cross Country test (Indian FTO)

Flying teaches you one thing early on: never skip the checklist because whether it’s a mid-air engine restart or your license conversion paperwork, every step begins with it.

Step 8: Submit Application via eGCA

Once you’ve ticked all the boxes, DGCA exams, RTR(A), conversion flying in India and collecting documents from both your FAA and DGCA-approved FTOs, it’s time to put it all together and submit your application on eGCA.

Here’s what you need to upload:

All FAA training documents (licenses, logbook, TSA letters, completion certificates, FAA verification, medicals, etc.)
All DGCA-approved FTO documents (GFT Day/Night, 250 NM Day XC, 120 NM Night XC, CA-39, recency statements, NOCs, no accident/incident certificates, etc.)
Merge the common documents between Foreign and Indian FTOs such as PIC Time, Instrument time, Cross country times etc. and upload them in their respective sections. eGCA only allows one file per section so you'll have to merge the PDFs before you upload them.
Exam results (DGCA written exams + RTR(A)); These are automatically updated on eGCA since it pulls the data from your other applications but make sure to check the authenticity of the information and correct any errors.
Police Verification Certificate (mandatory for issuance)
No Relation / No BA Positive Certificates
Flight Hour Summaries (CA-39 and any supporting statements from both FTOs)
Add all the documents that remain after uploading the ones in the "Required" section in the "Any other Info" column to reduce the chances of shortfalls.

Pro Tips to Avoid Delays:

Check formats: Upload documents in the exact format DGCA specifies (usually scanned PDFs).
Combine where possible: Merge supporting documents like no-relation statements, recency statements, and NOCs into one PDF under the “Any Other Information” field. This reduces back-and-forth queries.
Cross-check totals: Ensure the numbers in your CA-39 exactly match your logbook entries and eGCA uploads. Even a small mismatch can trigger queries or rejections.
Keep backups: Have a clean, organized digital folder with all your scanned files. DGCA might request re-submission if any file is unclear or corrupted.

Once submitted, your application will undergo DGCA scrutiny. If all is in order, your Indian CPL with Instrument Rating will be issued electronically via eGCA. No more plastic cards, your license is now stored digitally, accessible anytime through the portal. The timeline varies depending on workload, but a well-prepared, error-free application can save you weeks of unnecessary delay.

The Indian CPL is no longer issued as a physical card. Instead, it comes as an Electronic Personnel License (EPL) within eGCA, which serves as the official license document and can be downloaded anytime.

As of August 2025, the expected duration from Application submission to Approval is roughly 1.5-2 months. You should expect to recieve your shortfalls (if any) within 1 to 1.5 month from the date of application. After your response to those, it should take about a week or 10 days to approval of your license, subject to government holidays and workload.

Bottom Line

Converting your FAA CPL into a DGCA-issued license isn’t complicated in principle, it’s just detail-heavy and patience-testing. Every endorsement, every logbook entry, and every PDF upload matters. Think of conversion like flying an approach in IMC: one wrong input can push you off the glide path, but steady focus, patience, and discipline will carry you right to minimums.

The truth is, most delays happen not because the DGCA is “slow,” but because student pilots submit incomplete or mismatched paperwork. If you keep your documents watertight, stay proactive with your eGCA uploads, and double-check every requirement, the process can move far smoother than the horror stories you may have heard.

And here’s where patience comes in: aviation is a marathon, not a sprint. Just as your first solo taught you the value of trust in the process, conversion teaches you resilience. You’ve already proven your flying skills in the U.S., the DGCA conversion proves your discipline and determination as a professional.

The journey from FAA to DGCA is a test of patience, paperwork, and persistence.

When your Indian CPL finally shows up on eGCA, it’s not just another PDF in your inbox. It’s the culmination of every hour flown, every exam cleared, and every ounce of persistence you poured into this journey.

I know this because I’ve lived it. I went through the same grind: FAA training, paperwork, conversion flying, the long wait and today I hold my Indian CPL. Writing for 6Pistons is my way of giving back to the community, creating the kind of resource I wish existed when I was starting out. If even one student finds this guide and avoids a delay, that’s a win.

If you’re walking this same road, remember, you’re not alone. Thousands of us have done it, and you will too. And when you finally hold that Indian license in your hand, it’ll be one of the most satisfying moments of your aviation journey.

Official DGCA References (For Deep Reading)

If you want to go straight to the source, here are the official DGCA documents that govern CPL conversion. These are detailed and a bit technical, but they’re worth bookmarking for verification:

📄 Civil Aviation Requirements Section 7 Flight Crew Standards Training and Licensing Series ‘G’ Part I Issue II, 01 July 2019
Lays out the requirements for converting a foreign CPL to an Indian CPL, including competency checks, logbook validation, aircraft endorsements, and eGCA compliance.
Open PDF

📄 Guidelines for Conversion of Foreign CPL to Indian CPL- FCL 01 of 2012, Revision 1 01 July 2019
A summarized version of the conversion rules covering written exams, flying hours, recency, and skill tests, with a step-by-step explanation of the documents needed from foreign and Indian FTOs and the exact flying requirements you must fulfill in India.
Open PDF

⚠️ These circulars can feel overwhelming at first glance, but don’t skip them entirely. Skim the headings and match them with your own documents and logbook entries, it’s a good way to double-check that your paperwork aligns with DGCA’s expectations.

At 6Pistons, we’re building India’s largest knowledge base for aspiring pilots. If you have questions about conversion or want to share your own journey, reach out, your story might help the next generation of aviators. Find us on Instagram, X and LinkedIn.