Where to take your initial class 1 medical: centres, wait times and costs by country

Where to start, concretely

This page will tell you several times to see an AME before committing. So let's say right away how to go about it, in order, and before paying anything:

1. Find an AME near you (an aeromedical examiner, approved for pilot examinations). Each authority publishes its list (links are below). The shortcut that works everywhere: ask the nearest flying club, there is almost always an AME holding a surgery at the airfield.
2. Book an appointment for a preliminary check. This is not the official examination: it is a consultation where you explain your medical history and where they tell you if anything needs to be investigated beforehand. Fees are not regulated, ask for the rate when booking. And be aware: these examinations are not reimbursed, it is a cost to anticipate.
3. Only then, book your initial class 1 in an AeMC, and book early, this is the whole subject of the section on wait times.

The basic rule: initial = AeMC, subsequent visits = AME

Two words to know, because they do not mean the same thing: revalidation is the routine examination you take before your certificate expires; renewal is when it is already expired. On this page, "subsequent visits" covers both.

This is the point that many applicants discover late. The first class 1 (the "initial") can only be taken in an approved aeromedical centre (AeMC, Aeromedical Centre), a complete technical platform. An aeromedical examiner (AME) alone cannot issue it. However, once you have your class 1 in hand, subsequent visits are done with a class 1 approved AME: closer to home, and easier to organise. A caveat if you resume after a break: beyond five years without a valid certificate, the examination requirements of the initial apply again; this is point MED.A.045(c)(2) of the European regulation. A heavier examination, therefore. But beware of the shortcut: the regulation provides that a class 1 certificate can be renewed by an AeMC or by an AME (MED.A.040(c)(1)). It nowhere states that after five years you must return to a centre. It is your authority that will tell you where to take that specific examination: ask them before booking an appointment. Each authority publishes the official list of its AeMCs and AMEs, and you should always check there, as it evolves.

Where to take the initial class 1, country by country

🇧🇪 Belgium

The initial is taken in an approved aeromedical centre. Belgium has three, all three class 1 approved: according to the official BCAA list, updated on 01/07/2026: Attentia Aviation Medical (BE.MED.AeMC.001), CEMA-ECLG (002) and the CMA of the Military Hospital (003). Two of them publish their pricing grid: the CEMA, the aeromedical expertise centre of Medex (FPS Public Health), place Victor Horta 40/10 in 1060 Brussels, and the CMA, the aeromedical centre of the Military Hospital, rue Bruyn 1, 1120 Brussels, in the Neder-over-Heembeek district. ⚠️ CEMA and Medex are not two different centres: CEMA is the aeromedical centre of Medex, the confusion is common. The third, Attentia Aviation Medical (Brussels Airport, building 26, 1930 Zaventem, formerly Brussels Aviation Medical Center, renamed on October 1, 2025), is indeed approved under the number BE.MED.AeMC.001 and covers classes 1, 2, 3, LAPL and CC. It does not publish its rates: ask for them when booking an appointment. Before booking there, check it on the BCAA list, which is authoritative.

In Belgium, a psychological test is mandatory for the initial class 1 since 1 July 2019, and it is invoiced on a separate line, at a different price from one centre to another. What is specific to Belgium here is this separate invoicing; do not deduce that elsewhere there is nothing equivalent: simply, no other country on this page publishes a dedicated line. Regarding costs, what the two grids publish:

⚠️ Two centres, two grids, this table is read column by column, never across. The psychological test is €400 at CEMA and €300 at CMA. On a phone, scroll the table to the right to see the CMA column.

🇫🇷 France

The AeMCs are the CEMPNs (Aeromedical Examination Centres). Their list and contact details are published by the DGAC (PDF updated on 17/04/2024, still the online version on 26/07/2026). Five centres: Percy (Clamart), Roissy, Toulouse-Blagnac, Toulon (HIA Sainte-Anne) and Bordeaux (HIA Robert Picqué). Some publish a pricing grid, others do not. On this page, I only list what the centres publish, not what candidates declare on forums. See the table below.

🇨🇭 Switzerland

The initial must be taken in an AeMC listed by the FOCA. There are only two AeMCs, both in German-speaking Switzerland, according to the official FOCA list of 01/03/2026: the FAI (Fliegerärztliches Institut) in Dübendorf, and Swiss Int. Air Lines AG Medical Services in Kloten (Zurich Airport). There are no AeMCs left in French-speaking Switzerland for the initial: Geneva and Nyon lost their AeMC accreditation. Older lists are still circulating on flying-club sites, including one from 2023 mentioning a third centre in Geneva: that is out of date, rely on the current FOCA list. For everything else, class 2, LAPL and class 1 renewals, you stay in French-speaking Switzerland: 19 AMEs practise there, a count made on 16/09/2026 on the FOCA's public list.

The eye examination, and it is the point to take away from this page. For an initial class 1 in Switzerland, the eye examination is carried out by an expert approved by the FOCA, and it is not done at the centre: it is a separate consultation, to be booked in addition to the AeMC appointment. It may take place before or after the visit to the centre, but it is necessary for the initial class 1 to be established. For revalidations and renewals it is not systematic: the expert is consulted only if your AME refers you. Ask the centre how to arrange it when you book.

Language, if you travel up to Dübendorf or Kloten. All the doctors there speak English, some speak French. It depends on who sees you. The simplest thing is to ask when you book.

Fees. No fee schedule is published in Switzerland, and prices are unregulated. In practice, reckon on the order of CHF 350 to CHF 400 for an initial examination and CHF 250 to CHF 300 for a renewal. These consultations fall outside compulsory health insurance: they are not reimbursed. Ask the centre for a quote.

Wait times. Switzerland publishes no official wait time. With an AME, an appointment for a class 2 takes a matter of weeks, and it varies a great deal from one practitioner to another. For an initial class 1, call the two centres: they will give you their wait times.

🇱🇺 Luxembourg

The DAC (Direction de l'Aviation Civile) publishes its list of centres and approved examiners. There is a single AeMC for the initial class 1 in Luxembourg: the Centre Aéromédical de la DAC, rue de Strasbourg in Luxembourg City. The price is not published.

🇪🇸 Spain

The Spanish authority: AESA (Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea; note, in French this acronym also designates the European agency, it is not the same thing), publishes the list of its approved aeromedical centres. Many candidates mention Spain for the speed of appointments: let's be clear, this is a reputation, not a data point. This list, dated June 11, 2026, is grouped by autonomous community and specifies that these centres cover all classes, including initial. It provides the contact details of each centre, but no rates and no wait times, and I have not found any elsewhere on the Spanish side. Before buying a ticket, call two or three centres on the list and get a date confirmed in writing.

Cost of the initial class 1, what is actually published

A precaution before reading this table: these amounts cannot be compared with each other. The Belgian totals include the psychological test; the French amounts do not say exactly what they cover. None of them include additional expert assessments, triggered on a case-by-case basis. Read each line as "what this particular centre publishes", not as "what a class 1 costs in this country".

Private practices and non-grid centres set their fees freely. These amounts concern the examination; they do not include any additional expert assessments, triggered on a case-by-case basis and billed extra. The Toulouse CEMPN grid prices 245 € for ophthalmology, ENT or colour vision expertise; it publishes nothing for cardiology, do not assume it is the same order of magnitude. Public data, subject to change, always check with the centre.

"Can I just go take it in Spain?"

Yes, it is legally possible. Medical certificates delivered according to the Part-MED (the medical section of the European regulation) are recognised by all EASA member states, as stated in Article MED.A.005. So taking an initial class 1 in Spain (or elsewhere in Europe) to avoid a six-month wait is an option. However, before doing so, two points are rarely explained on forums:

1. The SOLI transfer: Your medical file and your pilot licence must be managed by the same authority (State of Licence Issue, SOLI). If you take your medical examination in Spain, your medical file is opened in Spain (AESA). But if you are training in France, your licence will be issued in France (DGAC). You will therefore have to request a transfer of your medical file from Spain to France. This is the SOLI procedure. It takes time, several months, and some authorities charge for it. Until this transfer is finalised, the DGAC will not issue your licence. This is written in black and white by the DGAC (Guide to aircrew medical-administrative practices, November 2025, page 55, section 8.1.1): "the AeMC that declares an initial fitness must be able to link this fitness to a state of licence issue (SOLI) [...]. It acts on behalf of a competent authority and submits the medical file to the Medical Assessor of this competent authority." Then (page 56, section 8.2), they confirm the SOLI procedure for the transfer. You have been warned.
2. Unfitness abroad: The authority that issues the refusal is the one that manages your file. If you are deemed unfit in Spain, you will have to manage your appeal with the Spanish authority, in Spanish (or English if they accept it), with their own deadlines. See the page on medical appeals. You cannot just come back to France and act as if nothing happened: the refusal is recorded, and the DGAC will see it.

If you decide to do it anyway, the first rule of this page remains: see a local AME for a preliminary check before booking a flight to Madrid.

Where to find official centre lists

Never rely on a copied list: always go to the authority, because approvals change. The official entry points, clickable: DGAC, directory of AeMCs, version of 07/07/2026 (PDF) for France · BCAA, medical centres (AeMC) for Belgium · FOCA for Switzerland · DAC, list of aeromedical centres and approved examiners for Luxembourg · AESA, centros médicos aeronáuticos for Spain. Each publishes the up-to-date list of its AeMCs and AMEs.

Frequently asked questions

To go further

This page tells you where and how much. For the rest: the medical examination guide (classes, validity, age limits), preparing for your examination: the checklist, the psychological side, and if you get stuck, unfitness and appeals.