Passed the DLR Test: What Comes Next?

Test day is behind you, the certificate has landed in your inbox, and after weeks of triangles, digit sequences and dials a new question appears: now what? The DLR test is only the first of several steps. If you are aiming for the Lufthansa Group, the certificate is your entry ticket, but it is not yet a training place.

This article explains how to read your DLR certificate, which steps follow at the European Flight Academy (EFA) in Germany and in Switzerland, how to prepare honestly for the assessment centre, and how to plan time and financing alongside it. The information comes from the official pages of the DLR, the EFA and the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA/BAZL), as of September 2026. Procedures change, so each organisation's current information takes precedence.

What does the DLR certificate say and how do you read it?

The DLR pilot certificate contains no selection decision. Instead it gives an assessment in four areas, which according to the EFA is expressed as a rating from A to D. Every participant receives a certificate. Whether yours is "good enough" is not decided by the DLR but by the airline or flight school you apply to.

Following EASA requirements, the DLR divides the certificate into four sections:

The DLR website does not spell out which individual tests feed into which section. The EFA describes the content of the procedure as memory retention, spatial awareness, English, engineering, mathematics, attentiveness, psychomotor skills, multitasking, plus teamwork and personality traits.

• No pass, no fail. The DLR states explicitly that the certificate contains no selection decision. Strictly speaking, you cannot "pass" it at all.
• Validity. According to the DLR, the certificate is valid for 2 years.
• Delivery. You receive it by email once your payment has arrived.
• English. For the EFA, a DLR rating of A or B in English counts as proof of fluency. Alternatively, the EFA accepts a B2 certificate such as Cambridge, IELTS, TOEFL or TOEIC.

The ratings the EFA requires in each area are set out in the EFA's application documents. The FAQ only states that you need to achieve a certain rating to apply and that applications without it are rejected. Compare those requirements with your certificate, area by area. For more background, see What is the DLR certificate? and DLR test results: when and how long valid?.

TipPut the certificate's expiry date in your calendar. Every further step has to fit inside that two-year window.

What happens after the DLR certificate in the Lufthansa Group?

After the certificate, four more steps follow at the EFA: the application, the Lufthansa Group assessment centre, aero-medical fitness and, after training, the airline fit. In Switzerland there is an additional pre-airline fit if you want financing through SWISS or Edelweiss.

According to the EFA FAQ you can apply at any time, but you must be available to start a course within the next 12 months. The formal requirements (age, school qualifications, citizenship, languages) are covered in our articles on how to become a Lufthansa pilot via the EFA and how to become a SWISS pilot.

What happens at the Lufthansa Group assessment centre?

The assessment centre is no longer about computer test performance but about you as a person: according to the EFA it consists of interviews, group exercises and an evaluation of your psychomotor skills. It is run by Interpersonal GmbH in Hamburg or by the SWISS Flight Crew Assessment in Zurich, and you also meet Lufthansa Group pilots there.

The EFA FAQ lists what is assessed: your ability to work in a team in dynamic situations, your behaviour in group and individual situations, your psychomotor abilities and your career motivation. The process, tests and decision rules are identical at both locations, the EFA says.

The DLR certificate can be rebooked at any time, the EFA says. With the assessment, two years lie between attempts, so treat the appointment accordingly.

How do you prepare honestly for interviews and group exercises?

Honest preparation here means knowing yourself well, not rehearsing a character. The exact tasks are not public. The points below are general recommendations for selection interviews, not inside information about the actual procedure.

Clarify your motivation. Why do you want to be in the cockpit, why this airline, and what do you know about daily life in the job, with shift work, seniority and recurrent checks? If you have answered that honestly for yourself, you will be calmer in the room. Memorised sentences sound memorised.

Know your own CV. You should be able to explain every stage: why that change, what did you learn from the degree you dropped, what from the part-time job? Gaps are not a problem if you are open about them. Prepare two or three concrete situations in which you took responsibility, resolved a conflict or corrected a mistake.

Team behaviour over self-promotion. In group exercises, what counts is whether the group works better with you in it. That includes listening, structuring suggestions, keeping an eye on the time, bringing in quieter people and being able to change your mind when a better argument comes along.

Don't play a role. A selection day is long, and a facade rarely lasts that long. Honest answers, including to uncomfortable questions, come across as more stable than perfect ones.

Psychomotor skills. The same applies as for multitasking in the DLR test: understand the instruments and the control logic, stay calm, make small corrections. Our article on the MIC multitasking test covers the basics.

ImportantBe wary of offers that sell you "the solution" to group exercises or interviews. Selection procedures are designed to tell rehearsed behaviour from the real thing.

What are the pre-airline fit, the Class 1 medical and the airline fit?

They are three hurdles at three different points in time: the pre-airline fit is an additional conversation in Switzerland before training, the Class 1 medical is your aero-medical fitness, and the airline fit is the hiring interview with an airline after training.

Pre-airline fit (Switzerland)

If you want your training financed through SWISS or Edelweiss, EFA Switzerland says you have a supplementary conversation with airline-specific content directly with that airline after the assessment. A positive pre-airline fit is the condition for the framework and loan agreement, which at SWISS means the training loan of CHF 90,000 (as of September 2026). According to the EFA page, the Edelweiss terms were still being finalised at that time. Prepare as you would for a job interview.

EASA Class 1 medical

You obtain the Class 1 medical certificate at an aero-medical centre of your choice. According to the EFA, it includes a drug screening and an eye test, and impaired vision that can be corrected is not automatically a reason for exclusion. That is for the aero-medical examiner to decide. In Switzerland, a height of 160 to 198 cm also applies.

There are two recommendations on timing. The EFA recommends in its FAQ that you take the medical only after passing the assessment, partly because it is generally valid for just one year and then has to be renewed annually. FOCA, on the other hand, recommends clarifying your medical fitness before applying for federal training funding. If you have doubts, for example about your eyesight, an early check can save money and time. You pay for the medical yourself.

Airline fit

According to the EFA, a Lufthansa Group airline has to hold an interview with you before an employment contract can be signed. That is roughly two years away: according to the EFA, training usually takes about 24 months (excluding the type rating).

How do you plan time and financing after the certificate?

According to the EFA FAQ, allow at least 6 months from your first application to a possible training start, and sort out financing in parallel rather than after you have an offer. Four time limits shape your schedule.

In practice: apply soon after receiving the certificate, but leave room to prepare for the assessment. If school, national service or a degree still lie ahead, plan backwards from your preferred training start.

The key financing figures, as of September 2026: in Germany the EFA training package costs €130,000. The model foresees a personal contribution of €10,000, and the education fund Brain Capital covers €120,000 with income-dependent repayment. In Switzerland the training costs CHF 150,000. For Swiss citizens, the federal contribution of CHF 60,000 and the SWISS loan of CHF 90,000 cover the amount; for EU/EFTA citizens a personal contribution of CHF 24,000 remains. Among other conditions, FOCA ties its funding to you starting a job with a Swiss air operator within one year of graduating. Terms change, and this is not financial advice. Details, repayment models and official contacts are in our article on pilot training costs and financing.

What if a single rating is not good enough?

Then the road is not over: you can repeat the certificate, and the DLR recommends a waiting period of 6 months. When you repeat, however, all areas have to be taken again, not only the weak one.

Three things ease the pressure. First, according to the DLR the repeat is not noted on the certificate. Second, you can keep using your first certificate if it turns out better than the second. Third, the EFA itself imposes no blocking period: the FAQ says you can rebook at any time, though it advises planning enough preparation time.

Train specifically in the area where the rating fell short. For the computer-based performance tests, the DLR's official preparation software is the most important resource. In addition, an app such as the DLR Test Trainer lets you practise ten test types in short daily sessions. The app is an independent project and is not affiliated with the DLR.

The alternatives to a second attempt, such as private flight schools that do not require a DLR certificate or other careers in aviation, are covered in DLR test not good enough: plan B. The rules on repeating are summarised on the page Can you repeat the DLR test?.

Sources

• DLR: DLR-Zertifikat Cockpit (pilot certificate)
• European Flight Academy: Selection process
• European Flight Academy: FAQ
• European Flight Academy: Requirements and selection process, training in Switzerland
• European Flight Academy: Financing, training in Switzerland
• FOCA/BAZL: Ausbildungsfinanzierung Luftfahrt (training funding)