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. Since the closure of the AeMC in Geneva, there are no centres left in French-speaking Switzerland. The two remaining AeMCs are in German-speaking Switzerland: the FAI (Fliegerärztliches Institut) of the Air Force in Dübendorf, and Swiss (Swiss Medical Services) in Kloten. None of them publish their rates online. It is generally necessary to budget around CHF 500 for the basic examination, but additional examinations (ophthalmology, cardiology, etc.) are billed extra and easily double this amount: ask for a detailed quote when making an appointment.

🇱🇺 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.