The written exam credit and its two deadlines
Why the Exams page shows two separate three-year dates, what starts each one, and what happens when one runs out.
Passing your theory exams earns a written examination credit. Under NZ rules there are two separate three-year periods attached to it, and they are easy to mix up. The Exams page (Profile settings > Exams) shows each one on its own line, with the rule it comes from, so you can see both at a glance.
This page explains what each line means. The rules themselves are in CAR Part 61, rule 61.17, and in advisory circular AC61-1.
Deadline one: finishing your exams
Every written exam for the licence must be passed within 36 months (CAR 61.17(c)).
- The clock starts on the date of your first exam passed. A failed first attempt does not start it. This follows AC61-1 3.2.1, which counts from the first confirmed pass.
- Until you have passed an exam there is no date to show, and Pilot Lab shows none.
- The line reads "All written exams due by date", with the time left.
- It turns amber in the last 90 days, and red if the date passes before you have finished: "The 36-month window to finish your exams closed on date".
- Once every written exam is passed, it changes to a quiet confirmation: "All written exams passed inside the 36-month qualifying period." It is finished with, not lapsed.
An exam that is Pending sign-off (passed, with open knowledge deficiencies) counts as a pass for starting this clock. It does not count as passed for earning the credit until its deficiencies are signed off.
Deadline two: how long the credit lasts
Once every written exam is passed, the credit is valid for 36 months from the date of the last one (CAR 61.17(d)(1), for a PPL, CPL or instrument rating).
- This line only appears once the credit exists. Before then there is nothing to expire, and Pilot Lab will not invent a date.
- It reads "Written examination credit valid until date", turns amber in the last 180 days, and red once it has passed: "Your written examination credit expired on date. The exams have to be sat again."
This is the deadline that matters for your flight test. To sit the test you have to produce a valid credit (CAR 61.21(a)(4)).
The solo cross-country line
For a PPL student there is a third line. An instructor can only authorise a solo cross-country flight for a student who holds a valid PPL written examination credit (CAR 61.105(a)(9)(ii)). Most students meet this long before the flight test, so the Exams page tells you where you stand:
- "An instructor cannot authorise a solo cross-country for you yet." while any written exam is still outstanding, or once the credit has expired.
- "Your credit covers a solo cross-country authorisation." while it is valid.
The line disappears once you record a PPL or higher licence in Profile settings > Licences, because the rule no longer applies to you. It also only appears when the workspace's logbook is set to the NZ rules, because this is an NZ rule. Elsewhere, whether a solo cross-country can be authorised is your instructor's call.
The flight test has its own expiry
The flight test is in the exams table but is not part of the credit. A pass is valid for three months (CAR 61.21(b)). The row shows "valid to date" and then Expired, and an expired flight test stops counting toward your syllabus.
Resits and stand-downs
If you fail a subject three times within 90 days, you cannot sit it again for 90 days after the last failure (CAR 61.17(e)). The row shows "can sit again date" so you know when to book.
What Pilot Lab does not cover
- The ATPL air law condition. On an ATPL syllabus the credit line runs for 120 months, the ten years in CAR 61.17(d)(2). The extra condition that your ATPL air law pass is no more than five years old when you apply is not checked.
- The helicopter flight test. On the PPL(H) and CPL(H) syllabi the flight test is set up as a written exam. It is listed with the written exams, its pass never shows as expired, and the credit line waits for it like any other exam.
- Anything outside your records. The dates are worked out from the results you have entered. A missing or wrong date gives a wrong deadline.
The CAA's records and your result slips are what count. These dates are there to help you plan, and you remain responsible for keeping your credit valid. If a date here does not match what your training organisation tells you, go with the CAA and your instructor, and correct the result in Pilot Lab.