FAA til EASA-konvertering: Ruter, eksamener og omkostninger for 2026

An FAA pilot certificate does not convert to an EASA licence in a single step. What you hold determines the route. FAA private pilot holders can use a bilateral shortcut to an EASA PPL, while FAA commercial and ATP holders who want an EASA ATPL must pass the full European theory examinations, meet the medical and language requirements, and complete a skill test with an EASA examiner. The application itself goes to the national aviation authority of the EU member state where you live or intend to work, not to EASA directly.

This guide sets out both routes in the order you will meet them, the documents each authority asks for, where the money goes, and how to sequence the work so that no hour of training is wasted.

TL; DR

• Conversion is handled by national authorities under Delegeret forordning (EU) 2020/723, så du ansøger i den medlemsstat, hvor du bor eller planlægger at arbejde.
• The FAA-EASA bilateral (BASA, Annex 3) converts FAA PPL, CPL and ATP holders only to an EASA PPL with matching ratings. It does not produce a commercial or airline licence.
• An EASA ATPL requires 14 theory subjects, an EASA Class 1 medical, English proficiency of at least Level 4 and an ATPL skill test.
• Costs are made up of a theory course, examination fees, medical, skill test and an authority fee; a typical authority fee is 50 euro.
• Start teorien og lægeundersøgelsen tidligt. De er de ting, der har længst relevans, og du kan have EASA-licensen sammen med dit FAA-certifikat.

Indholdsfortegnelse

• Who actually needs to convert
• The BASA route: FAA PPL, CPL or ATP to an EASA PPL
• ATPL-ruten: fra FAA ATP eller CPL til et EASA ATPL
• Medicin og sprog: den stille deadline
• Hvad konvertering koster
• En fornuftig rækkefølge
• Vores perspektiv
• Build the FAA foundation and the EASA pathway together
• Ofte stillede spørgsmål
• Kilder

Who actually needs to convert

Tre slags piloter stiller dette spørgsmål, og hver ender på en forskellig vej.

1. FAA-privatpiloten, der bor i Europa og ønsker at flyve EASA-registrerede luftfartøjer på baggrund af et amerikansk certifikat. Dette er BASA-konverteringsruten.
2. FAA-kommercielle eller ATP-indehavere, der sigter mod et europæisk flyselskab. Airlines hiring under EASA rules look for a Part-FCL licence, and for this goal the full ATPL route applies.
3. The student pilot who has not yet started and wants to be employable on both sides of the Atlantic. This pilot does not need a conversion at all, only a sensible training sequence, which we cover below.

One point on the first group: a Pilot-Hub-artikel fra 2025 explains that residents of Europe who want to fly N-registered aircraft within EASA airspace have, since 2023, been expected to convert under the bilateral agreement and its TIP-L procedures. If that describes you, the next section is where to start.

The BASA route: FAA PPL, CPL or ATP to an EASA PPL

The Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between the United States and the European Union gained its pilot licensing annex on 18 May 2021. According to the Svensk TransportstyrelsenBilag 3 giver indehavere af FAA-certifikater mulighed for at ansøge om konvertering af privatpilotcertifikater til luftfartøjer, herunder SEP, MEP, natfly og instrumentfly. Kortlægningen er ligetil:

To begrænsninger er afgørende. For det første kan IR(A) kun udstedes sammen med eller for et PPL(A). Det kan ikke opgraderes til et højere certifikat i henhold til bilag 3. For det andet Fransk DGAC-formular fastslår, at indehavere af FAA CPL- og ATP-certifikater modtager EASA-certifikater og -beviser på privat niveau, at sports- og fritidscertifikater ikke kan konverteres, og at FAA-typebeviser og klassebeviser såsom TMG eller SET ikke konverteres til del-FCL-typebeviser. Et professionelt EASA-certifikat kræver en anden rute.

Conditions for the PPL conversion

The authorities publish similar conditions with local variations:

• Valuta. Slovakiske myndigheder states that you must be current under FAA rules when the process starts. Surrendered, suspended or revoked certificates are not accepted.
• Bopæl. Du kan fremvise bevis for bopæl i en EU-medlemsstat og en kopi af dit FAA-certifikat. TIP-L-dokument giver piloter, der allerede var bosiddende før bilag 3 ansøgte, mulighed for at bevise gyldighed ved egenerklæring i ansøgningsskemaet.
• Medical. Du skal have en gyldig EU-helbredsgodkendelse, der opfylder EASA-kravene for PPL(A), sammen med en gyldig FAA-helbredsgodkendelse. Irish Aviation Authority bekræfter, at du ikke afleverer FAA-certifikatet og kan være i besiddelse af begge.
• Sprog. IAA's licensing FAQ says you must pass an acceptable EASA English Language Proficiency assessment, and that an ICAO endorsement on your licence cannot simply be recognised.
• Erfaring. Ifølge Svensk Transportstyrelsen, a PPL holder with 100 hours or more must meet the class or type rating requirements, pass EASA theory in Air Law and Human Performance, hold at least a Class 2 medical, show language proficiency of Level 4 and pass an EASA skill test. With fewer than 100 hours the licence cannot be converted. Instead you apply to a training organisation for reduced training and sit theory in all nine subjects.

Procedures differ by member state. The Dutch authority, for example, requires an online form for converting an FAA licence to Part-FCL, and asks that your name and place of birth match your passport exactly. After submission you get an automatic confirmation and then a payment request, due within four weeks. That page notes that processing is currently slower than usual, so build time into your plan.

ATPL-ruten: fra FAA ATP eller CPL til et EASA ATPL

For an airline career in Europe, the bilateral shortcut is not enough. The Svensk Transportstyrelsen lists what an ATPL conversion requires:

1. Erfaring meeting the ATPL requirements of Part-FCL subpart F: 1,500 hours total, 500 hours in multi-pilot operations, 250 hours as PIC or PICUS, at least 200 hours cross-country (100 as PIC), 75 hours of instrument time and 100 hours of night flight.
2. The relevant class or type rating krav.
3. A full EASA theoretical ATPL examination.
4. An EASA Class 1 medical certificate.
5. English language proficiency of at least Level 4.
6. An EASA ATPL skill test.

The Irish authority adds specifics for pilots aiming at airline work: you pass the Part-FCL ATPL examinations in all 14 subjects after a theoretical knowledge course of at least 650 hours at an EASA Approved Training Organisation, with no reduction for a non-EASA ATPL theory course.

In plain terms: the theory is the center of this conversion. Your flying experience and practical competence are recognized, but the knowledge base is examined in full under European rules. That is why candidates who plan the theory early move through the process fastest.

Choosing the authority

Da nationale myndigheder håndterer konvertering, er det praktiske spørgsmål hvilken. Udgangspunktet er den medlemsstat, hvor du bor eller planlægger at arbejde, pr. EASA's ofte stillede spørgsmål om licensering. Some states process more third-country applications than others, and fees, forms and processing times vary, so read the specific authority’s page before you commit to an examiner or a training organisation.

Medicin og sprog: den stille deadline

Din FAA-lægeuddannelse erstatter ikke en EASA-lægeuddannelse. Til privat konvertering skal du have en EASA Klasse 2, og til ATPL-arbejde en Klasse 1, udstedt af en EASA-godkendt eksaminator eller et flyvemedicinsk center. Standarderne er ens, men ikke identiske, så hvis du har en historik, som FAA har givet en særlig udstedelse til, skal du drøfte det med en flyvemedicinsk eksaminator, før du betaler for teorikurser. FAA og EASA medicinsk sammenligning walks through how the two systems differ, and the FAA-vejledning til lægeerklæring dækker den amerikanske side.

Language proficiency is the other early item. Level 4 is the minimum for conversion, but the assessment must be one the receiving authority accepts, so confirm the arrangement with them rather than assuming your existing endorsement carries over.

Hvad konvertering koster

There is no single price, because the total is the sum of several separate items, each set by a different party:

• Authority fee. Gebyrerne fastsættes pr. medlemsstat. Den slovakiske myndighed offentliggør et løbende udstedelsesgebyr på 50 euro for a BASA conversion application. Other states charge their own amounts.
• Medical. An EASA medical examination, charged by the examiner.
• Theory. The largest item in an ATPL conversion: a course at an approved training organisation plus the examination sittings.
• Forskels- eller konverteringstræning. Flyvetid med en instruktør som forberedelse til færdighedsprøven, afhængigt af din seneste erfaring.
• Færdighedsprøve. The examiner’s fee, plus aircraft or simulator time.
• Type rating, if your goal requires one for a specific airline aircraft.

Den praktiske måde at kontrollere omkostningerne på er at fjerne gentagne opgaver. Hver mislykket eller manglende lægeundersøgelse tilføjer en ekstra betaling, så afstem lægeundersøgelsen, sprogvurderingen og teoriprøven, inden du booker færdighedsprøven.

En fornuftig rækkefølge

1. Beslut målet. EASA PPL for personal flying, or EASA ATPL for airline work.
2. Pick the authority where you reside or will work, and read its conversion page and fee schedule.
3. Book the EASA medical tidligt, fordi det giver adgang til alt andet.
4. Start theory. For the ATPL route this means the 14 subjects at an approved organisation, followed by the exams. We describe how candidates sit them on EASA ATPL exams in the USA, and the structure of our Online EASA ATPL teoriprogram er bygget op omkring modulært studie.
5. Complete any flight training nødvendige før færdighedsprøven.
6. Pass the skill test with an EASA examiner.
7. Indsend ansøgningen med dine pasoplysninger, kopi af FAA-certifikat, lægebevis og bevis for bopæl, og betal myndighedsgebyret til tiden.

If you are weighing a modular path against a fully integrated one, our comparison of modular ATPL versus integrated beskriver, hvordan hver især passer til en amerikansk pilot. For et bredere overblik over, hvordan de to licenssystemer adskiller sig for en karriere inden for flyselskaber, se FAA vs. EASA ATPL.

Vores perspektiv

Most pilots who ask us about converting are really asking a sequencing question. The conversion rules are published and fairly stable. What costs people money and months is learning them in the wrong order: a theory course started before the medical is confirmed, a skill test booked before the authority’s form is understood, or a second licence added to a career plan that never needed one.

Vi har bygget vores træning op omkring den virkelighed. Vores akademi har selvstændighedsautoritet, hvilket betyder, at FAA-kontrolflyvninger finder sted internt uden den lange ventetid på en ekstern eksaminator, og vores Part 141-programmer er designet til at tage en studerende fra privatpilot til ATP-minimum på så lidt som 111 timers flyvetræning. Det er en disciplin om færdigheder, og det er det stærkeste fundament for en senere EASA-licens, fordi ATPL-konverteringen hviler på en stærk flyvehistorik og et velfungerende teoriprogram.

For students who know from day one that Europe is part of the plan, we offer EASA ATPL Modular alongside our FAA programs, so the theory and the flight training can be planned as one pathway rather than two separate purchases. International students also have M1 visa support, which removes one more uncertainty from the early months. If you want a fixed, predictable route to the airline cockpit, start with the FAA training and let the EASA licence follow from it.

Rainer

Build the FAA foundation and the EASA pathway together

If your goal is an airline career that can cross the Atlantic, the least expensive conversion is the one you plan before your first lesson. Florida Flyers Flight Academy trains commercial pilots under FAA Part 141, with in-house checkrides through Self Examining Authority, M1 visa support for international students, financing options and job placement pathways. Our Flyveskoleprogram til faste priser er udgivet til $85,900, og vores US Airline Pilot Career Program ved $ 49,950.

For EASA theory, our EASA ATPL Modular offering is described on our vigtigste site, and our team can map the FAA and EASA steps into one timeline for your situation. For a closer look at the conversion process, read our EASA license conversion guide for FAA pilots.

Ofte stillede spørgsmål

Can I convert my FAA license to an EASA license without taking exams?

Only at private level. Under BASA Annex 3, an FAA private, commercial or ATP holder can obtain an EASA PPL with matching ratings, and a pilot with 100 hours or more sits theory in Air Law and Human Performance plus a skill test. For an EASA ATPL, the full theory examination is required.

Mister jeg mit FAA-certifikat, når jeg får EASA-licensen?

No. The Irish Aviation Authority states that the FAA licence does not have to be surrendered and that you may hold both. You do need to keep the FAA medical current to maintain FAA privileges, and the EASA licence requires its own medical.

Which country should I apply to?

Apply to the national authority of the EU member state where you live or plan to work, as EASA directs. Each authority has its own form, fee and processing time, so check its conversion page before you commit to an examiner or training organisation.

Hvor lang tid tager konverteringen?

The timeline depends on the route and on the authority. Application processing alone varies: the Dutch authority reports delays at present, and sends a payment request that must be settled within four weeks. For ATPL conversion, theory preparation and examination sittings are normally the longest part, so start there.

Konverterer en FAA-typebevis?

Not under BASA. The French authority’s form states that FAA type ratings and TMG or SET class ratings cannot be converted into Part-FCL type ratings. Where an EASA type rating is needed, it is obtained through the EASA route.

Kilder

• Ofte stillede spørgsmål om licenser, EASA
• FAA licence conversions under the BASA agreement, Swedish Transport Agency
• Licence conversions, Swedish Transport Agency
• Acceptance of pilot licence from FAA, Slovak Transport Authority
• Tekniske implementeringsprocedurer for licensering (TIP-L), EASA
• Licenskontorformular til BASA-licens og -ratingkonvertering, DGAC Frankrig
• Konvertering eller validering af et ICAO-pilotcertifikat, CAA NL
• Ofte stillede spørgsmål om pilotlicenser, Irsk luftfartsmyndighed
• Advisory memorandum on the end of the derogation period, Irish Aviation Authority
• N-registered aircraft in EASA space, Pilot-Hub

Anbefales

• EASA-licenskonverteringsvejledning til FAA-piloter
• EASA vs FAA Pilot License USA: The Ultimate Guide
• EASA vs. FAA Flyvetræning – Forstå forskellene
• EASA ATPL-eksamener i USA: Sådan tager kandidaterne dem