Getting your Pilot License Requirements

USA

As dictated by sec 61.103, Eligibility Requirements: General, for pilot’s licensing with the FAA…
Candidate must be at least seventeen years of age. A private pilot’s certificate for a hot air balloon or glider may be issued to applicants as young as sixteen years old.
Applicant must be able to read, speak and understand the English language, or else have operating limitations placed on his or her pilot certificate as necessary for safe operation of their aircraft. The limitations will be removed if the applicant can prove that they have a thorough grasp of the English language at a later date.
Applicant must hold a current, third class medical certificate. In the case of a certificate for a balloon or glider, the applicant must simply prove that they have no known medical defect which would hinder or prevent the applicant from safely operating the aircraft.

UK

In the UK, there are a few different levels of aviation licensing, these are…
NPPL - the National Private Pilot License PPL - the Private Pilot License
CPL - the Commercial Pilot License, and… ATPL - the Airline Transport Pilot License
The NPPL has less strict medical requirements than the others. A medical form for application is available at the NPPL website, www.nppl.uk.com.

GETTING YOUR MEDICAL CERTIFICATE

Being medically certified may require different qualifications in different countries, however, the general rule applies that you need to find a qualified AME, or Aviation Medical Examiner.
You can quickly find an examiner within driving distance by simply referring to the following website:
www.faa.gov/pilots/amelocator/
The above website is hosted by the FAA, which is strictly the American Aviation Administration. However, the directory lists AMEs throughout the entire world, even in countries where English is not considered a primary language, so it shouldn’t take too long to be certified as medically fit using the above site as a starting point.

Under the new EASA body there is also a new type of PPL style licence in the UK, known as LAPL, the restrictions for this are even less stringent NPPL. I believe when it comes to the medical certificate for the LAPL, it may simply be able to be signed off by your GP not an AME.

Also note, for ATPL you are required to obtain your CPL first (with ATPL theory exam passes) and an Instrument rating (collectively known as ATPL(F)), then fly 1500 hours with some criteria to meet.

For CPL and ATPL you require a Class 1 medical which under the CAA must initially be done at Aviation House, Gatwick.

If anyone wants any info on gaining PPL, CPL or ATPL feel free to PM me, I can’t speak from experience with regards to LAPL or NPPL though.

edit: also wd11 I see from another post you’ve made you’re from Australia, why not include CASA licences in this list? An Australian licence with the current state of the aviation industry is almost certainly one of the best to hold.

AUSTRALIA

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) provide comprehensive safety education and training programmes, cooperate with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and administer certain features of Part IVA of the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959.

CASA requires medical qualification, but a clean driving record may also be helpful in terms of receiving licensing in Australia. CASA may give minor penalties to their licensed pilot’s for traffic violations, accidents, etcetera, and penalties may be more severe if the pilot does not record the incident directly to CASA.

Classes of Medical Certificates

CASA issues Class 1, 2 and 3 Medical Certificates to persons who seek them. Certain holders of civil aviation authorisations are required to hold a medical certificate when exercising the privileges of the authorisation. Each class of medical certificate also has a medical standard.

Class 1
This medical standard applies to holders of an Air Transport Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot Licence (other than balloons), Multi-crew Pilot (aeroplane) Licence, Flight Engineer Licence or Student Flight Engineer Licence. (valid for 1 year)

Class 2
This medical applies to holders of a Student Pilot Licence, Private Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot (Balloon) Licence and Flight Radio Operator Licence. (valid for 4 years, for applicants less than 40 years of age on the day of issue, and in all other cases for 2 years.)

Class 3
This medical standard applies to holders of an Air Traffic Control Licence or and Flight Service Officers. (valid for 2 years)

Exemption from holding CASA medical certificate

In 2012, the Acting Director of Aviation Safety granted an exemption against the holding of a medical certificate.
This exemption is available to the holder of a CASA issued Student Pilot Licence, Private Pilot Licence, Commercial Pilot Licence and Air Transport Pilot Licence when a pilot is conducting private operations and agreed to comply with the limitations and conditions in the exemption, which includes being subject to a modified Drivers Licence Medical examination.

This type of medical examination can be undertaken by any general practitioner and is similar in form to the Austroads Inc. Drivers Licence Medical examination.

To qualify for the exemption, pilots must register online with CASA (which must be acknowledged by CASA), and renew, a modified form of unconditional private motor vehicle driver licence medical certificate known as a driver licence medical certificate (aviation) issued by a medical practitioner.

Medical examination

You will need a driver licence medical certificate (aviation) confirming your fitness to fly, issued in accordance with the conditions in Instrument CASA. When applying for this medical, you must tell the doctor of any condition that may adversely affect your ability to fly safely. Examples include but are not limited to diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions, stroke, eye problems (such as cataracts), psychiatric disorders, blackouts or fainting.
The certificate issued by a medical practitioner uses the uniform Australian private motor vehicle unconditional driving licence medical standards contained in the Austroads Inc. publication Assessing Fitness to Drive for Commercial and Private Vehicle Drivers, but modified by additional CASA-designed medical standards. This type of medical examination can be undertaken by any general practitioner and is similar in form to the Austroads Inc. driver licence medical examination.

more information can be found at HERE!