LAPL vs PPL: which licence do you need?

If you are starting your pilot training — or you are already flying and wondering whether to upgrade — you will encounter two licences: the LAPL (Light Aircraft Pilot Licence) and the PPL (Private Pilot Licence). Both let you fly for fun. Both are issued under the same EASA Part-FCL framework (and its UK equivalent). But they are not the same licence, and the differences matter more than most training schools make clear.

This article explains what each licence actually allows, what each one costs to maintain, and — crucially — which one makes sense for your situation.

The short version

	LAPL(A)	PPL(A)
Max aircraft MTOW	2,000 kg	No limit (within rating)
Passengers	Up to 3	Up to aircraft capacity
Medical	LAPL medical	Class 2 medical
Revalidation	12 hours in 24 months	Proficiency check every 24 months
Night flying	Night rating add-on	Night rating add-on
IFR flying	Not available	IR add-on
Counts toward CPL/ATPL	No	Yes
Issued by	UK CAA / national authority	UK CAA / national authority

If you want to fly a Cessna 172 to France with your family, the LAPL does the job. If you want to fly internationally in larger aircraft, add an instrument rating, or build hours toward a commercial licence, you need the PPL.

What the LAPL allows

The LAPL(A) is defined in EASA Part-FCL, Subpart B, FCL.100–FCL.135 and its UK equivalent. Key privileges:

Fly as pilot in command of single-engine piston aircraft or touring motor gliders with a maximum take-off weight of 2,000 kg or less
Carry a maximum of 3 passengers (you + 3, so 4 people total)
Fly day VFR only unless you hold an add-on night rating
Fly in controlled and uncontrolled airspace as per your licence endorsements

The 2,000 kg limit is the defining constraint. Most popular training aircraft — the Cessna 152, PA-28, DA20, Aquila AT01 — fall inside it. The Cessna 172 (MTOW ~1,111 kg) and the Diamond DA40 (MTOW ~1,280 kg) are both legal. But a Piper PA-34 Seneca (MTOW ~2,155 kg) is not, and neither is a Cessna 182 in some configurations.

LAPL medical

The LAPL requires a LAPL medical certificate, issued by an Aeromedical Examiner (AME) or, for the UK, by an Aeromedical Centre. The LAPL medical has lower standards than the Class 2 — it is closer to a thorough GP examination. Most people who are fit to drive a car will pass it.

Validity: 5 years for pilots under 40; 2 years for pilots 40 and over.

One important catch: unlike the Class 2 medical, the LAPL medical is not automatically recognised across all EASA states in the same way. It is generally valid for operations within the issuing state and states that have bilateral arrangements — which in practice means most EU countries and the UK, but worth checking if you plan to fly regularly in an unusual destination.

LAPL revalidation

To keep the LAPL(A) valid, you must complete within every 24-month period:

At least 12 hours of flight time as pilot in command
Of which at least 6 hours are as PIC
Of which at least 12 take-offs and 12 landings
And a refresher training flight of at least 1 hour with an instructor (FI or CRI)

This is a flying-hours based revalidation — not a formal test. The catch is the 12-hour minimum. If you only fly a handful of times per year, hitting 12 hours can be genuinely difficult, and the revalidation window creeps up faster than most people expect. A modern digital logbook will tell you exactly how many hours you have accumulated toward the requirement and when the 24-month window closes.

What the PPL allows

The PPL(A) is defined in EASA Part-FCL, Subpart E, FCL.200–FCL.235 and its UK equivalent. Key privileges:

Fly as pilot in command of single-engine piston aircraft with no MTOW limit (within your class rating)
Carry unlimited passengers (within aircraft certification)
Exercise privileges of all ratings and certificates attached to the licence (Night, IR, Multi-Engine Piston, etc.)
Counts toward CPL/ATPL hour requirements

The PPL has no aircraft weight ceiling. If you add a Multi-Engine Piston (MEP) rating, you can fly twins. If you add an Instrument Rating (IR), you can fly in cloud. If you accumulate hours, you can count them toward a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL). None of that is available with a LAPL.

PPL medical

The PPL requires a Class 2 medical certificate, issued by an Aeromedical Examiner (AME). The Class 2 is more comprehensive than the LAPL medical and includes an ECG after age 40.

Validity: 5 years for pilots under 40; 2 years for pilots 40 to 49; 1 year for pilots 50 and over.

The Class 2 can be downgraded to a LAPL medical if you develop a condition that disqualifies you from Class 2 but not from LAPL standards — allowing you to continue flying on the LAPL. This is worth knowing if health is a concern.

PPL revalidation

The PPL(A) is revalidated by completing a proficiency check (LPC/PC) with a Flight Examiner within the 3-month period before the licence expiry date. The check is conducted in the aircraft type or class you want to keep current on.

There is no minimum hours requirement to revalidate the PPL itself — only the proficiency check matters. However, currency requirements (FCL.060 — the 3 take-offs and 3 landings in 90 days) are separate from licence revalidation. You can have a valid PPL and still be non-current to carry passengers if you have not flown recently enough.

The core trade-off

The LAPL wins on cost and simplicity. The medical is cheaper and easier to obtain. The revalidation is hours-based rather than examiner-based. The licence is less expensive to train for (minimum 30 hours vs 45 hours for the PPL).

The PPL wins on flexibility and progression. No weight limit. Ratings available. Hours count commercially. If you ever want to fly something bigger, go IFR, or work toward a professional licence, you need the PPL.

The question most people get wrong is treating the LAPL as a "starter licence" you upgrade from. You do not upgrade a LAPL to a PPL — you fly additional training and take a skills test for the PPL as if starting from scratch (though your existing hours do count). If you have any ambition to fly beyond VFR day in light aircraft, start on the PPL.

Can you convert a LAPL to a PPL?

Not directly. You cannot "convert" a LAPL — you must meet the full PPL requirements. However, your LAPL hours do count toward the PPL's minimum 45 total hours. The practical path is:

Obtain your LAPL (typically ~30 hours minimum, often 35–50 in practice)
Build additional hours, take any required additional training
Pass the PPL theoretical knowledge exams (if not already done — UK/EASA PPL requires 9 ground exams vs LAPL's 4)
Complete a PPL skills test

In practice, pilots who want a PPL usually train for it directly rather than going LAPL first, because the ground exam difference alone makes the staged route more expensive overall.

Which should you choose?

Choose the LAPL if:

You want to fly light aircraft locally for leisure and have no plans to progress commercially
The 2,000 kg limit will never affect the aircraft you want to fly
You want the simplest, most cost-effective path to the flight deck
You are not interested in flying in cloud or flying multi-engine aircraft

Choose the PPL if:

You want to fly larger or heavier aircraft in the future
You want to add an instrument rating
You want to build hours that count toward a CPL
You might want to fly in other countries where LAPL recognition is uncertain
You expect to fly enough that a formal proficiency check is not a significant burden

Keeping track of both

Whether you hold a LAPL or a PPL, you need to keep an accurate logbook. For the LAPL, you need a running total of PIC hours, take-offs, and landings within the rolling 24-month revalidation window. For the PPL, you need to track passenger currency (FCL.060), night currency if you have a night rating, and proficiency check dates.

A good digital logbook calculates all of this automatically — not from a fixed hour or a manual count, but from the actual flights you have logged. If you are spending time manually counting take-offs, your logbook is not working hard enough.

The information in this article is intended as general guidance only. Licensing requirements change — always verify current requirements with the UK CAA at caa.co.uk or EASA at easa.europa.eu before making decisions about your licence.