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United Kingdom · Theory exams

UK PPL theory exams: the 9 papers and the rules

To get a private pilot licence (PPL) in the UK, you pass 9 theory exams set by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), one for each subject, from air law to principles of flight. You sit the UK PPL theory exams online at your training school, never from home, and you need 75% on every paper. All 9 have to be passed within 18 months, and a full set of passes then lasts 24 months while you finish your flying and apply for the licence.

  • 9Separate exam papers for the PPL(A)
  • 75%Pass mark on each paper
  • 18 monthsTo pass all 9 papers
  • 24 monthsHow long a complete set of passes lasts
Where to studyHow the test works

Updated November 2026 · Written from the CAA’s learning objectives for the PPL(A) e-Exams (CAP2090 series)

Key facts

At a glance

Set by
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), on its general aviation (GA) e-Exams system
Where you sit them
At your approved or declared training organisation (ATO or DTO), with a Ground Examiner
Who books
Your training organisation, once your head of training recommends you
Attempts
Up to 4 at each paper
Helicopters
The helicopter PPL, PPL(H), uses the same system, with a helicopter principles of flight paper

How it works

How the UK PPL theory exams work

Each of the 9 papers
75%
To pass you need at least 75%.
  1. Each subject is a separate paper. For the private pilot licence for aeroplanes, PPL(A), there are 9: air law, human performance, meteorology, communications, navigation, principles of flight, operational procedures, flight performance and planning, and aircraft general knowledge.
  2. You sit them on the CAA’s online GA e-Exams system, at your training school, with a CAA-authorised Ground Examiner supervising.
  3. Before each paper, the Ground Examiner checks your photo ID and confirms the time limit and number of questions for that paper.
  4. A pass needs at least 75% of the marks on that paper. There’s no penalty marking, so a wrong answer doesn’t lose you marks.
  5. You get an on-screen warning before time runs out. Your result slip is the official record of the exam.
  6. You can’t take a paper until the head of training at your school recommends you, and that recommendation lasts 12 months.

Topics

What’s on the test

01

Air law (010)

Paper 010 starts with international aviation law and the annexes of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), then moves on to air traffic services and UK national law.

Key points (3)
  • The syllabus covers the Chicago Convention and the ICAO annexes on personnel licensing (Annex 1), rules of the air (Annex 2), registration marks (Annex 7) and airworthiness (Annex 8).
  • It also takes in air traffic management (Annex 11 and Doc 4444), aeronautical information (Annex 15), search and rescue (Annex 12), security (Annex 17) and accident investigation (Annex 13).
  • The last section asks how national law differs from the ICAO annexes and the relevant regulations.
02

Human performance (040)

Paper 040 is about the pilot: how the body copes with flight, how you take in information and make decisions, and how errors happen.

Key points (4)
  • The syllabus starts with the atmosphere and the human body, including the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous systems.
  • Aviation psychology covers how you process information, including attention and vigilance.
  • Separate sections deal with human error and reliability, decision making, and safety awareness, including risk area awareness.
  • It ends with human behaviour: personality and attitudes, then overload, underload and arousal.
03

Meteorology (050)

Paper 050 runs from the make-up of the atmosphere to the weather reports and forecasts you read before a flight.

Key points (4)
  • The syllabus moves from the atmosphere and wind through thermodynamics, clouds and fog, and precipitation.
  • Air masses, fronts, pressure systems and climatology each have their own section.
  • Flight hazards include icing (when ice forms, its types and how to avoid it), turbulence and wind shear.
  • The last section covers observations, from surface reports to radar and reports made by aircraft.
04

Communications (090)

Paper 090 tests radio procedure for flights under visual flight rules (VFR). It also counts towards the radio licence, the Flight Radiotelephony Operator’s Licence (FRTOL), which has its own practical test.

Key points (4)
  • General operating procedures include how to transmit letters, numbers (including level information) and time, standard words and phrases, and read-back rules.
  • The syllabus covers what to do if your radio fails, and the distress and urgency signals, messages and frequencies.
  • It ends with the basics of how very high frequency (VHF) radio waves travel and how frequencies are allocated.
  • You have to pass this paper before the practical radio test for the FRTOL.
05

Navigation (060)

Paper 060 covers navigating by chart and dead reckoning, then the radio aids and satellite systems that back it up.

Key points (3)
  • General navigation covers the basics, magnetism and compasses, charts, dead reckoning (DR) navigation and the flight log.
  • Radio navigation starts with basic radio propagation theory and goes on to radio aids, radar and GNSS (satellite navigation).
  • Where an e-Exam needs a paper chart, it’s the edition in use of the 1:500,000 Southern England and Wales VFR chart.
06

Principles of flight (081)

Paper 081, for aeroplanes, explains lift, drag and the stall, then stability, control, limits and propellers.

Key points (4)
  • It starts with the laws behind lift: Newton’s laws, Bernoulli’s equation, static, dynamic and total pressure, density, and indicated and true airspeed.
  • The stall section covers flow separation at high angles of attack, the stall speed and what changes it, such as the centre of gravity and power setting, and stall warning.
  • Later sections deal with stability, control, limitations, propellers and flight mechanics.
  • Helicopter candidates sit a different paper, 082 Principles of Flight (Helicopter).
07

Operational procedures (070)

Paper 070 is about handling special situations safely, from wake turbulence and noise abatement to fire and emergency landings.

Key points (3)
  • Wake turbulence covers its cause, the factors that affect it and what to do when crossing traffic, taking off and landing.
  • Emergency and precautionary landings take in the causes, briefing passengers, evacuation and what to do after landing.
  • Other sections cover contaminated runways, flying in different weather and emergency procedures.
08

Flight performance and planning (030)

Paper 030 covers loading the aircraft within its limits, working out its performance and planning a VFR flight.

Key points (3)
  • Mass and balance covers why it matters, loading, the aircraft’s mass and balance details and how to find the centre of gravity (CG).
  • Flight planning covers VFR planning, pre-flight preparation, the ICAO flight plan and monitoring and replanning in flight.
  • Aeroplane and helicopter performance are separate sections of the same paper.
09

Aircraft general knowledge (020)

Paper 020 covers how the aircraft is built and how its systems, engines and instruments work.

Key points (3)
  • Airframe and systems run from system design and loads to landing gear, wheels, tyres and brakes, flight controls, fuel and electrics.
  • Engines cover piston and turbine engines, with protection and detection systems.
  • Instrumentation covers measuring aerodynamic values, the Earth’s magnetic field, gyroscopic instruments, communication and alerting systems, and electronic displays.

Test day

What to take to each exam

  • Photo ID: the same driving licence, passport or national identity card you registered on the e-Exams system. Only registered ID is accepted
  • Only the materials your booking confirmation allows. Each paper has its own list of permitted, supplied and banned items
  • No phone or other personal electronic devices: the Ground Examiner keeps them out of reach during the exam

Before you go

  1. Start a training course at an approved training organisation (ATO) or declared training organisation (DTO). You can’t get a PPL without completing a course at one.
  2. Register for the CAA customer portal and the GA e-Exams service, and choose your training organisation. The CAA says registration can take up to 10 working days and costs nothing.
  3. Wait until your training organisation approves your membership on the system. It can’t book you in until then.
  4. Finish the theory training for a subject and get your head of training’s recommendation.
  5. Ask your training organisation to book the paper. You can’t book GA exams yourself, and a booking can be sat within 90 days.
  6. Don’t go to your school to sit a paper until it’s been booked.
CAA: GA theoretical knowledge e-ExamsYour training organisation books every paper for you on the CAA’s e-Exams system. You register on the CAA portal first.

Study options

Where to study

The CAA publishes a learning objectives document for every PPL paper, and those are the syllabus your exams are written from. Pooleys, Bristol Groundschool and Easy PPL Ground School sell manuals, question banks and online courses built around them.

OptionPriceFree to useLinks
Official
CAA learning objectives for the PPL e-ExamsThe UK Civil Aviation Authority’s syllabus for each PPL paper, as PDFs (the CAP2090 series)One document per paper, listing every learning objective the exam can test. The reference numbers match the ones printed on your results slip if you score more than 50%, so you can see what to revise. Separate documents cover the bridging exams from the national private pilot licence (NPPL) to the PPL(A).
No charge to download from caa.co.ukDownloadable from the CAA’s general aviation (GA) e-Exams page
CAA: GA theoretical knowledge e-Exams ↗
CAA lists of PPL training organisationsThe CAA’s lists of declared training organisations (DTOs) and approved training organisations (ATOs) that teach the PPL, by UK regionEach entry gives the school’s address and the courses it offers. Schools marked TK (theoretical knowledge) teach the theory only, with no flight training. The CAA says being on the list isn’t a recommendation, and it doesn’t include prices.
Training prices are set by each schoolThe lists are on caa.co.uk
CAA: PPL flying schools and organisations ↗
Books
Pooleys: Air Pilot’s Manual and Q&A booksPPL manuals by subject, plus question and answer books for the 9 PPL(A) papersPooleys calls the manual set the UK CAA and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) edition. It says the Q&A books, updated for 2022/2023, reflect the style of the exam questions without copying any real paper, and are best used after you’ve studied. Single Q&A books for each subject are £8.95 on its Q&A books page.
£135 for Air Pilot’s Manual volumes 1 to 4, 6 and 7 for PPL(A); £69.95 for Q&A Examination Preparation Books 1-9 for PPL(A); £25 each for single volumes 1 to 4Pooleys offers a free PPL e-Exam learning objectives guide that cross-references the manuals
Pooleys: Air Pilot’s Manual volumes for PPL(A) ↗Pooleys: Q&A Examination Preparation Books 1-9 for PPL(A) ↗Pooleys: Question and answer books ↗Pooleys: Air Pilot’s Manuals ↗
Online courses
Bristol Groundschool PPL(A) CourseComputer-based PPL theory course with subject videos and a question bank, in a UK CAA versionThe course includes 12 months of the BGS Question Bank. There’s no classroom teaching, and the exam fees aren’t included: Bristol Groundschool says the 9 exams are sat with your flight training provider. Pick the UK CAA version, not the EASA one.
£276 for the course; PPL question bank on its own from £13 for 30 days to £75 for a yearNo
Bristol Groundschool: PPL(A) Course ↗Bristol Groundschool: BGS Question Bank ↗
Easy PPL Ground SchoolOnline PPL theory courses with tests and exams in the CAA formatStarter kits last for the time you have to pass all the theory exams. Single-subject courses give one month of access, either the full course with instructor support or the question bank only. It also sells courses for the Flight Radiotelephony Operator’s Licence (FRTOL) and the NPPL to PPL bridging exams.
PPL(A) starter kits from £194.99 to £699.99; single subjects from £15.49 for a month (£13.99 for tests and exams only)3 days of its Air Law course
Easy PPL Ground School: Private pilot courses ↗Easy PPL Ground School: Free Air Law course ↗

Prices and ratings checked November 2026.

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FAQ

Common questions

Can you take the UK PPL theory exams online?

Yes and no. Every paper is an online exam on the CAA’s GA e-Exams system, and the CAA says PPL exams must be taken on that system to count for the licence. But you sit them in person at your training organisation, with a Ground Examiner supervising. The CAA doesn’t allow remote exams, such as one taken at home over a video call.

What happens if you fail a PPL theory exam?

You can sit the paper again, up to 4 attempts in all. Before a fourth attempt, your training organisation decides what extra training you need. If you fail a paper 4 times, or don’t pass all 9 within 18 months, every pass in the set is cancelled. You then do more training and start the whole set again.

How long do PPL exam passes last?

Two time limits apply. You have 18 months to pass all the papers, counted from the end of the calendar month you first sat one. Once you’ve passed the last one, the set is valid for 24 months, and in that time you finish your flying training, pass the skill test and apply for the licence. If the 24 months run out, the passes expire and you retake them.

Do I need the theory exams before the skill test?

Yes. You must pass the theory exams, and finish the theory training, before you take the skill test for the licence. Your head of training recommends you for the test once your training is complete, and your school books it with an examiner.

Can I ask the CAA to review a PPL e-Exam?

Yes, if you scored more than 50% on it. You raise the review from your results page within 14 calendar days of the exam and pay a fee, which is refunded if the CAA finds an error. A CAA expert checks the questions you flagged. The CAA doesn’t release the questions or your answers.

Do my exam passes move with me if I change school?

Yes. Switch your training organisation on the e-Exams portal, and once the new school approves it, it can see your results.

Are the PPL exam rules changing in 2026 or 2027?

A change is planned, with no start date. In January 2026 the CAA said it would recommend to the Department for Transport that each PPL exam pass should count for 36 months, with only expired passes retaken. It also said the change needs funding for the e-Exams system and that the timing isn’t confirmed. Until the law changes, the 18-month, 24-month and 4-attempt rules apply.

What does a UK PPL let you fly?

A UK Part-FCL PPL for aeroplanes lets you fly as pilot in command or co-pilot of aeroplanes or touring motor gliders on non-commercial flights. You can’t be paid for flying, except as an instructor or examiner teaching or testing for private licences.

Sources: UK Civil Aviation Authority · legislation.gov.uk and 5 more. Checked November 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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