DLR Exam TrainerWhat Does a DLR Test Day Look Like?
For the Lufthansa/EFA screening, experience reports put the test day at roughly 7:45am to 6pm; for the self-funded DLR Pilot Certificate in Hamburg, roughly 8am to 5pm – both in person, combining performance and knowledge tests.
What exactly happens on test day depends on which procedure you're going through. For the Lufthansa Group/EFA screening (BU), experience reports put the day at roughly 7:45am to 6pm in Hamburg; for the self-funded DLR Pilot Certificate, it's roughly 8am to 5pm, also in person. Either way, the day alternates between computer-based performance tests and knowledge tests, usually rounded off with a personality questionnaire.
The Lufthansa/EFA screening day
The BU ("Stage 1" — more on the stages in our question on Stage 1 and Stage 2) is a one-day appointment in Hamburg combining computer-based performance tests (concentration, memory, spatial reasoning, and so on) with knowledge tests in English, technical subjects and sometimes physics/maths. Parents or companions typically aren't part of the process. Candidates who pass the BU are invited to the two-day company qualification (FQ, "Stage 2"), which covers group exercises, an interview, and simulator/psychomotor tasks. According to experience reports, the invitation to the BU usually arrives 6–8 weeks before the appointment, and results tend to follow within around 2 weeks (sometimes 2–10 days).
The DLR certificate assessment day
The self-funded DLR Pilot Certificate follows a similar single-day format, but without a second stage — there's only the one assessment day, held in person at Cologne, Hamburg, or (from October 2026) Vienna. Instead of a pass/fail result, it produces an evaluation against EASA criteria across four areas: basic cognitive abilities, operational competencies, personality, and social competencies. More detail in our question on the DLR certificate.
And on the SWISS/EFA Switzerland route?
Candidates on the SWISS/EFA Switzerland pathway first complete a DLR or SPHAIR certificate as step 1 (locations per EFA: Hamburg, Zurich, or Milan), followed by a separate airline assessment centre with interviews, group exercises and psychomotor tasks in Hamburg or Zurich. The actual DLR test day itself follows the same format described above for the certificate assessment.
TipGet a good night's sleep before test day, and take deliberate breaks between modules whenever the schedule allows it.
The exact timetable, module order and break arrangements can vary and change over time. Always check the current information from the DLR or the relevant airline/flight school.