The UL licence in Germany

The German UL licence is formally called the Luftfahrerschein für Luftsportgeräteführer. It is not an EASA licence and follows national rules of its own – which is the single most important thing to know about it.

Applicability: Germany (national law). This licence is **not** an EASA licence and is not automatically valid in other States.
Rulemaking authority: Verordnung über Luftfahrtpersonal (LuftPersV — the German Regulation on Aviation Personnel), sections 42 to 45a; made possible by Article 2(8) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139
Reviewed by NorthTrack on: 2026-09-13

Why this licence exists at all

Article 2(8) of the EASA Basic Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 allows a Member State to exclude certain aircraft from EU law. For aeroplanes those are aircraft with no more than two seats, a measurable stall speed or minimum steady flight speed in landing configuration of not more than 45 kt CAS, and a maximum take-off mass as recorded by the Member State of not more than 600 kg – or 650 kg for aeroplanes intended for operation on water.

Germany has made use of that option. The result is a self-contained national category with its own licence, its own airworthiness assessment and its own oversight.

Cross-border recognition is not automatic
Because the licence is national, its recognition abroad is not guaranteed by EU law but depends on the State concerned. If you intend to fly abroad, settle that beforehand – not on the day of departure.

Who sets the training

The LuftPersV sets the framework, not every detail. § 42(2) expressly provides that the content and conduct of the theoretical and flight training are laid down by the Beauftragter under § 31c of the Luftverkehrsgesetz – the body delegated for the class of sport aviation equipment concerned.

That is why no theory hours are given here
The hour figures for UL theory that circulate widely are not in the LuftPersV. They come from the training and examination rules of the delegated bodies. If you need a figure you can rely on, get it from the relevant delegated body or from the training organisation – not from a website.

Abbreviations on this page

The German UL rules use German terms; the underlying EU exemption and the medical requirement, by contrast, are expressed in the European abbreviations.

MTOM — Maximum take-off mass
Limits, for example, LAPL(A) privileges to 2,000 kg and the German UL class.
IAS — Indicated air speed
What governs, for example, the 250 kt limit and the 140 kt visual rule in class G.
kt — Knot(s)
One nautical mile per hour.
LAPL — Light aircraft pilot licence
The European entry-level licence; refresher requirements instead of a class rating revalidation.
PPL — Private pilot licence
The basis for night flying, instrument flying and further classes.
TMG — Touring motor glider
Counts alongside aeroplanes for both LAPL and PPL.
SEP — Single-engine piston
The class rating most of general aviation flies on.

Theoretical training – the subjects

§ 42(3) LuftPersV lists the subjects exhaustively:

Air law, air traffic and air navigation service regulations, including the regulations of the aeronautical mobile service and the conduct of radiotelephony on flights under visual flight rules
Navigation
Meteorology
Aerodynamics
General aircraft knowledge, technology and pyrotechnic briefing
Action in abnormal situations
Human performance

Flight training – aerodynamically controlled ultralight aeroplanes

§ 42(4) LuftPersV gives the following for the most common category:

Total flight time on aerodynamically controlled ultralight aeroplanes — 30 flight hours
of which creditable from time as pilot in command of sailplanes or helicopters — up to 20 flight hours
or creditable from time as pilot of weight-shift-controlled ultralight aeroplanes — 5 flight hours
solo flight time included in that — at least 5 flight hours
Cross-country flights with an instructor — at least two, each of at least 200 km total distance, with an intermediate landing

In addition there are take-offs and landings at different aerodromes, off-airfield landing exercises with an instructor, and theoretical and practical briefing on controlling the aircraft in unusual attitudes and on action in emergencies. Anyone who already holds a licence as an aeroplane pilot, or as a sailplane pilot with a TMG class rating, completes training on aerodynamically controlled ultralight aeroplanes at an approved training organisation.

For weight-shift-controlled ultralight aeroplanes, § 42(5) requires 25 flight hours, of which at least 10 with an instructor and 5 solo, plus at least two cross-country flights with an instructor of at least 100 km each. For ultralight helicopters, § 42(5a) requires 40 flight hours, of which at least 10 solo, and at least one cross-country flight with an instructor of at least 150 km.

Scope of the licence

§ 44(2) LuftPersV: the Luftfahrerschein entitles the holder to operate sport aviation equipment of the class entered and by the launch methods entered, by day. It includes the exercise of the aeronautical radio service outside airspace classes B, C and D, where the corresponding training has been completed successfully.

Radio in controlled airspace
For radio in airspace classes B, C and D the scope included in the Luftfahrerschein is not sufficient. A separate radiotelephony certificate is required for that. In Germany this matters in practice, because Class D covers every control zone.

Validity, medical and recency

The Luftfahrerschein is issued without a time limit under § 45(1).
For sport aviation equipment with a maximum permitted empty mass of more than 120 kg including harness and rescue system, it is valid only in conjunction with a valid medical certificate under Annex IV MED.A.030(b) of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011. At this point the national system expressly reaches across to the EU medical standard.
Independently of that, privileges may not be exercised where a limitation of one's own fitness is identified from which doubts about safe exercise could arise.

For aerodynamically controlled ultralight aeroplanes, § 45(2) additionally requires recent experience:

Flight time on aerodynamically controlled ultralight aeroplanes, TMG or single-engine piston landplanes — at least 12 flight hours
of which as pilot in command — at least 6 hours
Take-offs and landings — 12 each
Training flight with an instructor on aerodynamically controlled ultralight aeroplanes — at least 1 hour of flight time

UL or LAPL/PPL?

There is no general answer, but the axes of the decision are clear: the UL licence is national and tied to sport aviation equipment; the LAPL and PPL are European and open the way to further ratings such as night flying and instrument flying. Conversely, the UL world is often cheaper to buy into and to operate. If you are weighing both, check the crediting rules in both directions – they exist, but they come with conditions.

What is not on this page
This page states the regulatory minimum requirements. What a course of training actually involves depends on the training organisation, the aircraft type, your previous licensing history and national implementation. In practice the number of hours actually needed is regularly above the minimum. The binding information is that given by the competent authority and by the training organisation you choose.

Official sources

Federal Ministry of Justice (juris) – official text: Regulation on Aviation Personnel (LuftPersV), sections 42 to 45a (German text only) – Consolidated version, retrieved 2026-09-13. Open source (retrieved 2026-09-13)
European Parliament and Council: Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 (the EASA Basic Regulation), Article 2(8) – Consolidated version 02018R1139-20260802. Open source (retrieved 2026-09-13)
European Commission / EASA: Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 (Annex I "Part-FCL", Annex IV "Part-MED") – Consolidated version 02011R1178-20260430. Open source (retrieved 2026-09-13)
Federal Ministry of Justice (juris) – official text: Air Traffic Licensing Regulation (LuftVZO), section 1 (German text only) – Consolidated version, retrieved 2026-09-13. Open source (retrieved 2026-09-13)
DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH: Aeronautical Information Publication Germany – AIP VFR, GEN 2-1 to GEN 2-7 "Abkürzungen / Abbreviations" (bilingual German/English) – Effective 20 AUG 2026. Open source (retrieved 2026-09-13)