Medical certifications for aircraft pilots are specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
ICAO sets standards and recommended practices (SARPS), which are specified in Annex 1 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
[3] Member states of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) share medical requirements.
[4] In 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority announced that pilots with HIV would no longer be subject to medical restrictions.
[8] Each certificate must be issued by a doctor approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to a person of stable physical and mental health.
Military pilots go to a flight surgeon, an armed forces physician qualified to perform such medical evaluations.
Pilot medical assessment by way of the flight physical is an important public health function.
Class 1 certificates are good for airline pilot-in-command duties for 1 year for applicants under age 40 and 6 months for those 40 and over.
Detailed medical requirements for each class of pilot exam are described in Code of Federal Regulations Part 67.
Pilots with neither a driver's license nor an Airmen Medical Certificate can still fly, but aviation duties are restricted to non-commercial activities in a glider or a balloon.