CPAER
Commercial Pilot Licence Exam (CPAER): Sectional Pass and Booking
The written exam for the Commercial Pilot Licence — Aeroplane.
| Questions | 100 |
|---|---|
| Time allowed | 3½ hours |
| Pass mark | 60% overall and 60% in each of four subject areas |
| Scored by subject area | Yes — 60% in each area as well as overall |
Source: Transport Canada TP 12881E — Seventh Edition, August 2026. Verified 19 September 2026.
How it is scored
The CPAER is sectionalized. Transport Canada requires 60% overall — and 60% in each of four subject areas. Both conditions have to be met: a strong overall mark does not rescue a weak area.
Partial pass. Reach 60% overall but fall below 60% in one or more areas and you rewrite only those areas, as supplementary exams — not the whole paper.
| Exam | Subject area | Questions | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| CALAW | Air Law | 20 | 1 hour |
| CANAV | Navigation | 25 | 2 hours |
| CAMET | Meteorology | 25 | 1½ hours |
| CAGEN | Aeronautics — General Knowledge | 35 | 1½ hours |
Where more than one supplementary exam is written in a sitting, the time allowed is the sum of the individual times, up to a maximum of 3½ hours.
The subject areas
- Air Law
- Navigation
- Meteorology
- Aeronautics — General Knowledge
Booking and exam day
- Booking
Ask an Authorized Examination Invigilator (AEI) near you whether they can give the exam. If none can, book it at a Transport Canada Centre with TC's online booking tool: have your pilot licence or file number ready (a file number begins 5802), choose the exam, location and date, attest that you meet the eligibility criteria, and pay. To be refunded, cancel at least 3 business days before the exam.
Transport Canada, How to book a flight crew exam- Fee
Transport Canada's fee table lists $131.54 to write or rewrite a licence exam from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, and $35 for a supplementary exam. Fees may change with inflation every 1 April, so confirm the amount when you book, and if an AEI gives your exam, ask them what you will pay. The fee is lost if you sit an exam without meeting its eligibility criteria.
Transport Canada, How to book a flight crew exam, Fees and service standards- Photo ID and medical
Photo identification "bearing the signature and photograph of the candidate" (a passport, aviation document booklet or driver's licence, for example) and proof of medical fitness: a Medical Certificate in the licence's category, which for the CPL is Category 1 (a temporary certificate also counts). Without them you will not be allowed to write, and the fee is not refunded.
Standard 421.13(1)–(2), 421.30(2)(a); Transport Canada, How to book a flight crew exam
- Letter of recommendation
From your flight training unit or the flight instructor responsible for your training, stating that you have completed the ground school instruction and "reached a sufficient level of knowledge to write the examination". It must be dated within 60 days before the exam and "may only be used once", so a rewrite or a supplementary exam needs a new one. TP 12881E prints model letters for the exam and for the supplementaries.
Standard 421.13(3)(a), (e); TP 12881E, pp. 36–37
- Flight experience
Your logbook or pilot training record, showing "twenty-five percent (25%) of the total flight experience" the licence requires: 50 of the 200 hours in aeroplanes the CPL calls for.
Standard 421.13(4)(f), 421.30(4)(a)(i); Transport Canada, How to book a flight crew exam
- In the exam room
Bring a pencil and navigation tools — ruler or scale, protractor and flight computer. A calculator's memory is cleared before and after the exam in front of the invigilator, and an electronic flight computer must be one the Minister has approved. Unless the invigilator allows it, any other aid, notes or help fails the exam, and you "may not take any other examination for a period of one year".
TP 12881E, Materials Required; CARs 400.02
- Results
The same day, with feedback on the areas that need improvement.
Transport Canada, How to book a flight crew exam- Rewriting
After a first failure you wait 14 days to rewrite; after a second, 30 days; after a third, 60 days, and 30 more for each failure after that, to a maximum of 180 days. Transport Canada shortens the wait on request once it has confirmation that you have reviewed your weak knowledge areas.
CARs 400.04(1), (6)
- Partial pass
Rewrite only the failed areas, all in one sitting, as the supplementary exams in the table above. A failed area counts as a failure under the waits above (14 days after a first failure), unless Transport Canada shortens the wait on request. Book the exam whose name ends in "Partial" and choose the areas.
CARs 400.04(1), (4), (6); Transport Canada, How to book a flight crew exam
- 24-month limit
Written exams, "including all sections of a sectionalized examination", must be completed "during the 24-month period preceding the date of the application" for the licence or rating. Every part your application relies on, supplementaries included, has to fall inside that window.
CARs 400.03(1)
Checked against the CARs, Standard 421 and Transport Canada on 4 October 2026.
Topics on the CPAER, explained
- VFR Weather Minima in CanadaCARs 602.114–602.117
- VFR Cruising Altitudes in CanadaCARs 602.34
- VFR Fuel Requirements in CanadaCARs 602.88
- How to Read a GFA (Graphic Area Forecast)TC AIM MET 4
- Joining the Circuit: Uncontrolled AerodromesCARs 602.96 and 602.97–602.102; TC AIM RAC 4.5.2
- Canadian Airspace Classes A to G ExplainedCARs 601.02–601.09; TC AIM RAC 2.8
Common questions
What is the CPAER pass mark?
60% overall and 60% in each of the four mandatory subject areas. The exam is sectionalized, so a strong overall mark does not rescue a weak area.
How long is the CPAER?
100 multiple-choice questions in 3½ hours — half an hour longer than the PPAER.
What are the CPAER supplementary exams?
CALAW (Air Law, 20 questions, 1 hour), CANAV (Navigation, 25 questions, 2 hours), CAMET (Meteorology, 25 questions, 1½ hours) and CAGEN (Aeronautics — General Knowledge, 35 questions, 1½ hours). Each carries the same 60% pass mark.
Is the CPAER harder than the PPAER?
It covers the same four areas in more depth and adds commercial operating rules. The supplementary splits show where the weight sits: General Knowledge is the largest area at 35 questions, and Navigation grows from 20 to 25 compared with the PPL paper.
How do I book the CPAER?
Ask an Authorized Examination Invigilator (AEI) near you first; if none can give it, book a Transport Canada Centre with TC's online booking tool, using your pilot licence or file number. Transport Canada's fee table lists $131.54 from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027; if an AEI gives the exam, ask them what you will pay.
Transport Canada: How to book a flight crew examWhat do I need to bring to the CPAER?
Photo identification, proof of medical fitness, a letter of recommendation from your flight training unit or instructor dated within 60 days of the exam, and your logbook showing a quarter of the licence's flight experience — 50 of the 200 hours (Standard 421.13). Without them you will not be allowed to write, and the fee is not refunded.
How soon can I rewrite the CPAER?
14 days after a first failure, 30 after a second, then 30 more for each further failure, up to 180 days (CARs 400.04(1)). A failed area counts as a failure too, so the same waits apply to a supplementary exam after a partial pass. Transport Canada shortens the wait on request once it has confirmation that you have reviewed your weak areas (CARs 400.04(6)).
Practise the CPAER the way it is scored
The Commercial Pilot Licence course ($99 CAD, one-time, for 3 months) has 6 chapters of notes cited to the CARs and TC AIM, and 4 full-length mock exams scored by subject area, so you see the partial pass before the examiner does.
Other exam guides
TC Exam Prep is independent and not affiliated with Transport Canada. Specifications are quoted from the study and reference guide linked above and were correct on 19 September 2026 — confirm current details with your flight training unit before booking.