The short answer: three levels, three intervals
Per ICAO Annex 1 (icao.int could not be fetched this week), Level 4, Operational, is the minimum for pilots and air traffic controllers on international operations and is re-evaluated at least every three years; Level 5, Extended, is re-evaluated at least every six years; Level 6, Expert, is not re-evaluated. Each of the six skills (pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, interactions) is rated from 1 to 6 and your overall level is the lowest of the six, a rule the ELPAC site states as "no compensatory marking" and the TEA notes call "a mandatory ICAO requirement". EUROCONTROL's ELPAC FAQ gives the same 3 and 6 years for controllers and flight crew, and says the decision on validity "is at the discretion of the competent authority": in EASA member states Level 4 for flight crew is extended to 4 years and Level 6 for controllers is capped at 9 years. The expiry that binds you is the one endorsed on your licence. That is the whole rule set. The rest of this page shows what the three levels sound like in each skill, a real published TEA result that shows the lowest-score rule at work, why some sites quote different numbers, and how the same radio call reads at Level 3, 4 and 5.
- Six levels on the ICAO scale: 1 Pre-elementary, 2 Elementary, 3 Pre-operational, 4 Operational, 5 Extended, 6 Expert.
- Level 4 is the operational minimum per ICAO Annex 1 as widely published; Levels 1 to 3 do not meet the licence requirement.
- Re-evaluation per Annex 1 as widely published, and per the ELPAC FAQ: Level 4 every 3 years, Level 5 every 6 years, Level 6 not re-evaluated. EASA states vary this (4 years at Level 4 for pilots, a 9-year cap at Level 6 for controllers).
- Your level is your lowest skill score, not the average. TEA prints all six scores on the certificate.
- No test has national dates: you sit at a test centre or through your employer, and the expiry on the licence is what you plan around.
| Level | Name | Meets the licence requirement? | Re-evaluation (ICAO Annex 1, widely published) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pre-elementary | No | Not applicable |
| 2 | Elementary | No | Not applicable |
| 3 | Pre-operational | No | Not applicable; re-test to reach 4 |
| 4 | Operational | Yes, the minimum | At least every 3 years |
| 5 | Extended | Yes | At least every 6 years |
| 6 | Expert | Yes | Not re-evaluated |
What Levels 4, 5 and 6 sound like, skill by skill
The Level 4 column below quotes the ICAO rating scale as reproduced on Mayflower College's "What is ICAO Level 4?" page (read 21 October 2026). The Level 5 and Level 6 columns are our plain-English reading of the scale as it appears in provider handbooks; we could not re-check the ICAO original this week because icao.int blocked our fetchers, so treat the wording in those two columns as TalkDrill's paraphrase, not ICAO's text. The question a rater is answering in every row is the same: how much effort does the listener have to make?
| Skill | Level 4, Operational (ICAO wording, via Mayflower) | Level 5, Extended (TalkDrill paraphrase) | Level 6, Expert (TalkDrill paraphrase) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | "Pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation are influenced by the first language or regional variation but only sometimes interfere with ease of understanding." | Still influenced by the first language, but rarely interferes with understanding. | May still carry an accent, but almost never interferes; the listener forgets to notice it. |
| Structure | "Basic grammatical structures and sentence patterns are used creatively and are usually well controlled. Errors may occur, particularly in unusual or unexpected circumstances, but rarely interfere with meaning." | Basic structures consistently controlled; complex structures attempted, with errors that sometimes affect meaning. | Both basic and complex structures consistently well controlled. |
| Vocabulary | "Vocabulary range and accuracy are usually sufficient to communicate effectively on common, concrete, and work-related topics. Can often paraphrase successfully when lacking vocabulary in unusual or unexpected circumstances." | Sufficient on common, concrete and work-related topics; paraphrases consistently and successfully; some idiomatic language. | Sufficient on a wide range of familiar and unfamiliar topics; idiomatic, nuanced and sensitive to register. |
| Fluency | "Produces stretches of language at an appropriate tempo. There may be occasional loss of fluency on transition from rehearsed or formulaic speech to spontaneous interaction, but this does not prevent effective communication. Can make limited use of discourse markers or connectors. Fillers are not distracting." | Speaks at length with relative ease on familiar topics; may not vary the flow for effect; uses discourse markers. | Speaks at length with a natural, effortless flow; varies the flow for effect, for example to stress a point. |
| Comprehension | "Comprehension is mostly accurate on common, concrete, and work-related topics when the accent or variety used is sufficiently intelligible for an international community of users. When the speaker is confronted with a linguistic or situational complication or an unexpected turn of events, comprehension may be slower or require clarification strategies." | Accurate on common, concrete and work-related topics and mostly accurate on a linguistic or situational complication or an unexpected turn of events. | Consistently accurate in nearly all contexts, including linguistic and cultural subtleties. |
| Interactions | "Responses are usually immediate, appropriate, and informative. Initiates and maintains exchanges even when dealing with an unexpected turn of events. Deals adequately with apparent misunderstandings by checking, confirming, or clarifying." | Responses immediate, appropriate and informative; manages the speaker-listener relationship effectively. | Interacts with ease in nearly all situations; picks up verbal and non-verbal cues and responds appropriately. |
What the columns have in common
Read down the Level 4 column and one word repeats: usually. Level 4 English usually works. It carries an accent that sometimes gets in the way, grammar that is usually controlled, vocabulary that often survives a gap through paraphrase, and comprehension that is mostly accurate when the other speaker is clear. Read down the Level 5 column and the word is rarely: the same habits exist but they rarely cost anything, and the speaker can handle "an unexpected turn of events" without the flow breaking. Level 6 is the English of someone for whom the language is simply a tool: the rater stops noticing it. The rating scale page goes one level further down and shows the Level 3 line for each skill, which is where a licence is lost.
One more line matters for every level. The holistic descriptors that sit above the scale, as quoted on the same Mayflower page, ask proficient speakers to "use a dialect or accent which is intelligible to the aeronautical community". An accent is expected at Levels 4, 5 and 6. What separates them is how often it, or anything else, makes the listener work.
The lowest-score rule, with a real TEA example
The ELPAC site puts the rule in one sentence: "The ICAO level awarded is determined by the lowest rating across the six criteria from both assessors; there is no compensatory marking." The TEA Notes for Candidates (version 5.0, read 21 October 2026) say the same in their own words: you get "a score from 1 to 6" for each of the six skills, "the Overall Score (the ICAO Level) will be the lowest of these scores (which is a mandatory ICAO requirement)", and "all of the scores are recorded on the certificate".
Mayflower publishes an example Level 4 TEA candidate from its Plymouth centre, linked from the TEA page, with a performance summary that explains each score. The scores are pronunciation 5, structure 4, vocabulary 4, fluency 4, comprehension 4, interactions 5: overall 4. Two skills at 5 did not lift the result. The summary shows what held the other four at 4, for example "repeated loss of fluency when searching for vocabulary and structures" and comprehension that "misses the nuance of some of the more complex items". That page is worth reading in full before your test, because it is the only published rating with commentary we found from a test owner.
| Pronunciation | Structure | Vocabulary | Fluency | Comprehension | Interactions | Overall level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 (the published TEA example) |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 (illustration by TalkDrill) |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3, below the minimum (illustration) |
| 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 (illustration) |
The safety logic is simple. A pilot whose pronunciation, structure, vocabulary, fluency and interactions are all Level 5 but whose comprehension is Level 3 will, on the day a controller says something unexpected in an unfamiliar accent, misunderstand it. The five strong skills cannot repair that one failure, so the scale does not let them. Three consequences follow for your preparation:
- Find your weakest skill first. A baseline recording scored against the six lines tells you more than a month of general practice.
- Train comprehension and interactions through non-routine situations. Both Level 4 lines are about "an unexpected turn of events" or speech that is only "sufficiently intelligible", which is why our non-routine situations page is the core of this module.
- Read the six scores, not only the level. TEA prints all six on the certificate per its notes; on ELPAC the user organisation issues the official report. A Level 4 with five skills at 5 and one at 4 is one skill away from six years between tests.
Validity and re-evaluation: ICAO, EASA, controllers, India
ICAO Annex 1 sets the intervals as a recommended practice, which is why you will see different numbers on different sites. The table below separates the sources. The ICAO column is the Annex 1 provision as widely published (icao.int could not be fetched this week). The other columns come from the ELPAC FAQ, EUROCONTROL's own page, read on 21 October 2026. It gives Level 4 "valid 3 years", Level 5 "valid 6 years" and Level 6 "not subject to re-assessment" for both controllers and flight crew, then the EASA variations, and it says that "ultimately, the decision about validity is at the discretion of the competent authority". We have not read an EASA, DGCA or AAI page stating these intervals this week.
| Level | ICAO Annex 1 (widely published) | Controllers and flight crew (ELPAC FAQ) | EASA pilots (ELPAC FAQ) | EASA controllers (ELPAC FAQ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Do not meet the requirement | Below the operational minimum | Below the operational minimum | Below the operational minimum |
| 4 Operational | At least every 3 years | 3 years | Extended to 4 years | 3 years |
| 5 Extended | At least every 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years |
| 6 Expert | Not re-evaluated | Not subject to re-assessment | Not subject to re-assessment | Capped at 9 years |
The Aero Language FAQ, a test provider's page (secondary), prints the same EASA figures: four years at Level 4 for EASA pilots and nine years at Level 6 for controllers.
Why some sites say five years at Level 5
The Aero Language FAQ also has a column headed for ICAO pilots, and it lists five years at Level 5. That does not match the six years of the Annex 1 provision as widely published, the six years in EUROCONTROL's ELPAC FAQ, or the Aero Language FAQ's own EASA and controller columns. We think this is the source of much of the "5 or 6 years?" confusion in search results, and we follow Annex 1. The practical answer is the same either way: read the expiry endorsed on your licence.
The expiry-month rule
The Aero Language FAQ says the binding date is the one endorsed on your licence and that it is "generally speaking" the end of the month in which you took the exam plus the number of years for your level and profession. As an illustration by TalkDrill: a Level 4 pilot tested on 12 March under a three-year rule would be endorsed to the end of March three years later, not to 12 March. Two practical points follow. Plan the re-evaluation well before the expiry month, so a weak skill can be re-tested without the endorsement lapsing; TEA, for example, says its certificate is posted to your test centre "within 10 working days of your test date", and a re-sit adds another cycle. And read the expiry off the licence or its ELP endorsement, never off the test certificate, because the certificate date and the endorsement date can differ.
India: the DGCA endorsement
In India licences are handled through eGCA, the DGCA's online licensing system, and the DGCA portal lists "ELP Training and Testing Service Provider" under Personnel, Training, Pilot (read on 21 October 2026). We did not read a DGCA page stating the Indian re-evaluation interval, a fee or the current provider names this week, so this page states none; the DGCA ELP page walks through what is and is not on the portal. For controllers, see the air traffic controllers page.
What a renewal is not
A renewal is not a shorter or easier test. It is the same six skills, the same lowest-score rule and the same possible outcome: a Level 3 result means you no longer hold the operational level until you pass again. The TEA notes add that examiners consider "only your test performance" and "cannot consider any aspect of previous experience or previous test scores", so a past Level 5 earns nothing on the day. The risk follows from how the test is built: standard phraseology keeps the radio working on a routine day, while the test rates plain English, which a routine line may rarely call for. The fees, booking and results page covers what each provider publishes about re-sits.
The same transmission at Level 3, 4 and 5
The three exchanges below were written by TalkDrill to show what the descriptor lines sound like in a cockpit. They are not real candidates and not real transcripts, and the call sign is invented. The controller's message is the same each time; only the pilot changes. The situation is deliberately non-routine, because that is where a rater hears the difference between the levels.
The controller's transmission (written by TalkDrill)
"Skyway two four five, be advised runway two seven is now closed, disabled aircraft on the runway. Expect approach runway zero nine, expect delay approximately two zero minutes. Say fuel endurance and intentions."
Level 3, Pre-operational
"Ah... Skyway two four five, say again runway? ... Runway zero nine... ah, we have fuel... we have fuel for... endurance is... one hour... intention? ... We want to land."
What a rater would hear: comprehension broke at the first unexpected item, the closed runway, and the pilot asked for a repeat of the wrong element. Fluency collapsed outside formulaic speech; the long pauses are the "transition from rehearsed or formulaic speech to spontaneous interaction" that the Level 4 line allows only occasionally. Vocabulary: "intentions" was not understood as a request. Interactions: the response was neither immediate nor informative, and the pilot did not confirm the delay or the new runway. On these lines this reads as a 3 in comprehension and interactions, so the overall level would be 3, whatever the pronunciation score.
Level 4, Operational
"Skyway two four five, roger, runway two seven closed, expect runway zero nine. Endurance is one hour ten minutes. We can accept the delay of two zero minutes. Request... confirm the delay is two zero minutes, and request the latest weather for runway zero nine."
What a rater would hear: the key facts were understood and read back, the endurance was given, and the pilot checked the one item that mattered with "confirm". There is a hesitation before "request" and a slightly awkward structure ("the delay of two zero minutes"), which is the occasional loss of fluency and the "usually well controlled" grammar of the Level 4 lines. An accent is audible, perhaps a "w" sound for "v" if the pilot's first language is Hindi or Punjabi, but nothing was lost. Comprehension mostly accurate, interactions immediate and informative: a 4.
Level 5, Extended
"Skyway two four five, copied, two seven closed with a disabled aircraft, expecting zero nine with about twenty minutes delay. Endurance one hour ten, so we can hold for twenty minutes, but if the delay goes beyond thirty we will need to divert to our alternate. Could you confirm whether the ILS on zero nine is serviceable, and give us the current wind?"
What a rater would hear: no hesitation across the switch from phraseology to plain English, a conditional structure handled cleanly ("if the delay goes beyond thirty we will need to"), a decision volunteered before it was asked for, and two precise questions. The pilot is managing the exchange, not surviving it, which is our reading of the Level 5 interactions line. Pronunciation may still carry the first language; it no longer interferes.
Notice what did not change between 4 and 5: the facts. Both pilots understood and read back. What changed was the margin: the Level 5 pilot had spare capacity to think ahead and ask the useful question. That spare capacity is what the six-year interval rewards.
Why a 4 tends to stay a 4, and what a 5 takes
No regulator or test owner we could read publishes how many candidates hold each level, so we make no claim about numbers. What we can explain is why the structure of the test makes a 4 easier to keep than a 5. The first test is often prepared for at a flying school, where the interview and the picture description can be rehearsed. The TEA Level 4 fluency line itself names the danger: loss of fluency "on transition from rehearsed or formulaic speech to spontaneous interaction". Years of standard phraseology then exercise exactly the formulaic speech and not the spontaneous kind. Two skills are built to expose that gap:
- Comprehension, because tests play recordings of speakers you do not hear at work. The TEA notes describe Part 2 as "recordings of international speakers of English" in non-routine situations, played once unless you ask, never a third time, and they warn that "regular repetition will suggest that your Comprehension is slower".
- Interactions, because the rater listens for immediate, appropriate responses and for questions. In TEA Part 2C you have 20 seconds after each recording "to ask the speaker questions", per the notes. Candidates who prepare by memorising complete answers are not practising this at all.
Moving from 4 to 5 is therefore less about grammar than about habits. Ten minutes a day of listening to unfamiliar accents and re-telling what was said; one non-routine role-play a day in which you must ask at least two clarifying questions; and a weekly recording scored against the six lines. If your first language is Hindi, Punjabi or Telugu, add a daily five minutes on the sounds that blur numbers and call signs, because pronunciation responds well to focused drills; our mistakes by first language page has the drills for Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Punjabi, Arabic, Tagalog, Bahasa, Vietnamese and Turkish speakers. The 30-day roadmap arranges all of this into four weeks.
A practice route from 4 to 5
- Read the published example first. The TEA example Level 4 candidate linked above shows six scores and a summary that explains each. Ten minutes with it teaches you what a rater writes down.
- Record a baseline. Describe a picture for two minutes and answer three "what would you do" questions, then score yourself against the Level 4 and Level 5 columns above. Be honest about the lowest line; that is your level.
- One non-routine role-play a day. In TalkDrill role-play practice the AI plays the controller or the captain and introduces something unexpected: a runway change, a medical case, a fuel question. Ten minutes, recorded. Your task is two clarifying questions and one read-back per exchange.
- Five minutes of numbers and call signs aloud. Use read-aloud practice on the sounds your first language merges: v and w, th, final consonants, word stress on "fifteen" against "fifty".
- Picture description twice a week from the practice bank, in the TEA Part 3 shape: two connected pictures, describe and compare, then discussion.
- A full mock in week four, scored on the six skills. A human mock with an ICAO-trained rater is not on TalkDrill yet; until it is, the AI mock and your own scoring sheet are what we offer, and we say so plainly.
- Book with margin. Sit the re-evaluation early enough before the expiry month endorsed on your licence that one weak skill can be re-tested without a lapse.
The aviation English hub links every page in this module, and the tests compared page explains which test your authority is likely to send you to.