Medical certificate validity
To fly with a PPL you need a valid Category 3 medical (CAR 404.10(3) requires a Category 1 or 3 certificate for a private pilot licence). How long it stays valid is set by your age at the exam date (CAR 404.04(6)):
- Under 40 at the exam: valid 60 months.
- 40 or older: valid 24 months.
Your age is fixed at the exam date, not the flight date, so the window never shifts partway through. It lapses at the end of a month: the count runs from the first day of the month after your exam, so the certificate expires that many months on from your exam month (CAR 404.04(7)). Examined in March at age 35: valid to the end of March, 60 months later.
Trap: do not confuse it with the shorter Category 1 windows for commercial licences (12 months, cut to 6 months at age 40 or older flying single-pilot with passengers, or at age 60 or older, CAR 404.04(6.1)-(6.2)).
References
- CARs 404.04(6)
- CARs 404.04(7)
- CARs 404.10(3)