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What order should you sit the ATPL exams in?

The EASA rules list the ATPL subjects but, in the text I checked, do not put them in an order. What they do set is a clock: 18 months from your first attempt at any paper. So the useful question is not which exam is first, but which subjects to learn first so that you are ready for every paper inside that window.

By Matthew Dowell, airline training captain and Chief Flight Instructor. A plain-language summary, not legal text and not approved by any regulator. Your training organisation and national authority set the exam rules that apply to you, and regulations always take precedence.

Last reviewed 27 October 2026. The rules come from EASA Part-FCL; the study advice is my own view as a training captain, not a regulation.

What the rules do and do not say

• The 13 subjects are listed in FCL.515(b), with no sitting order given.
• You sit when your approved training organisation recommends you, and that recommendation is valid for 12 months (FCL.025(a)).
• All papers must be passed within 18 months of the end of the calendar month of your first attempt, with at most four attempts per paper and six sittings (FCL.025(b)).

The full detail is on our ATPL exams explained page, with sources. Your organisation and authority decide what is offered at each sitting, so if they give you a timetable, follow it. For how sitting length and the other rules differ between countries, see ATPL exam rules by authority.

Study the foundations before the subjects that use them

Some subjects are built on others. Use these links when you plan your reading order:

• General Navigation is the foundation of finding your way. Settle it before Radio Navigation, which adds many systems on top.
• Mass and Balance and Performance come before Flight Planning, which puts the earlier subjects to work.
• Aircraft General Knowledge, Instrumentation and Principles of Flight all reward a clear mental picture of the aeroplane, so they support one another.
• Meteorology feeds flight planning, so it helps to know it before you plan flights.

Mix the kinds of paper

The series groups the papers by how they behave, and each kind needs a different kind of work:

Alternating a recall paper with a calculation paper stops one kind of effort from wearing you out, and it means you are rehearsing different skills in the weeks before each sitting. This is a suggestion rather than a rule; your organisation's course plan comes first.

Keep the 18-month clock in view

Because the window opens at your first attempt at any paper, sitting one subject early starts the clock for all thirteen. Before you book that first paper, check with your training organisation that you can reach the rest in time, allowing for resits. If you do need to retake papers, the rules require further training first.

Leave the mock exam for the end

Each Mastering ATPL book finishes with a mock examination weighted as the real one. Work through the revision guide a section at a time, test yourself as you go, and take the mock under timed conditions once you have covered the subject. The mock tells you where the marks are still being lost.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a required order for the ATPL theory exams?

The EASA text I checked (FCL.025 and FCL.515) lists the subjects and sets the pass mark and time limits, but does not set an order for the papers. Your training organisation recommends you to sit, and your authority schedules the sittings, so follow their timetable.

Do I have to sit all the ATPL exams in one go?

No rule I found requires that. The papers can be spread over sittings, but you must pass them all within 18 months of the end of the calendar month of your first attempt, with no more than four attempts at any paper and six sittings in total.

Which ATPL subjects should I study first?

Study the foundations before the subjects that use them: General Navigation before Radio Navigation, and Mass and Balance and Performance before Flight Planning, which puts the earlier subjects to work.