Do You Need a License to Paraglide? Country-by-Country Guide 2026

Short answer: yes — for solo flying, almost every country in the world requires either a national pilot licence issued by the local aeronautical federation, or (in self-regulated systems like the US and Australia) an equivalent rating from the recognised national body plus third-party insurance. A tandem passenger flight with a certified pilot needs no licence, ever. Below is the concrete country-by-country picture as of 2026, with what the rating is called, what it takes to get, and how it translates internationally.

Country-by-country licence guide

The picture at a glance:

Country	Body	Beginner rating	Full pilot rating	IPPI equivalent
United States	USHPA	P2 (Novice)	P3 (Intermediate) / P4 (Advanced)	P2 → 3; P3 → 4; P4 → 5
United Kingdom	BHPA	Elementary Pilot	Club Pilot / Pilot / Advanced Pilot	CP → 3; Pilot → 4
France	FFVL	Brevet initial	Brevet de pilote / Brevet de pilote confirmé	Pilote → 3-4
Germany	DHV	(Grundschein)	A-Schein / B-Schein	A → 3; B → 4
Austria	ÖAeC	Passagierberechtigung	Sportpilotenschein / Ö-Paragleitschein	Sport → 3-4
Switzerland	SHV/FSVL	Grundausbildung	Brevet	Brevet → 3-4
Italy	AeCI / FIVL	Allievo pilota	Attestato di volo libero	Attestato → 3-4
Spain	RFAE / AEVL	(Alumno)	Título de piloto	Título → 3-4
Portugal	FPVL	(Aluno)	Licença de piloto	Licença → 3-4
Japan	JHF	A-shou	B-shou / NP-shou / P-shou	P-shou → 4
Australia	SAFA	PG1	PG2 (Intermediate) / PG3 (Advanced)	PG2 → 3-4
New Zealand	NZHGPA	Novice	Intermediate / Advanced	Intermediate → 3-4
Brazil	CBVL	Piloto Aluno	Piloto	Piloto → 3-4
South Africa	SAHPA	Basic	Sport / XC	Sport → 3-4

The self-regulated systems (US, Australia, NZ)

In the United States, paragliding is not licensed by the FAA. There is no federal law that requires a licence for foot-launched free flight. But every established flying site in the country is USHPA-managed, and site chapters require pilots to hold the appropriate USHPA rating plus current USHPA membership (which includes third-party insurance). In practice this means: no rating = no site access, and unfamiliar pilots showing up at a site without membership will be turned away.

USHPA uses a 5-level system: P1 supervised student, P2 novice (first solo rating), P3 intermediate (most sites), P4 advanced (demanding sites), P5 master. A P2 pilot in the US is roughly at the "just brevetted" level of European systems.

Australia and New Zealand work similarly: SAFA and NZHGPA are non-governmental federations with a de-facto monopoly on site access. Pilots need PG1/PG2/PG3 with current insurance to fly at any established site.

Europe — mostly government-recognised

The European systems are typically government-recognised through the national aeronautical authority (DGAC in France, LBA in Germany, ENAC in Italy, etc.), which delegates licensing to the free-flight federation. In practice:

France (FFVL) — three brevets: initial, pilote and pilote confirmé. The full brevet de pilote requires a theory QCM (60 questions, 15/20 minimum) and a practical evaluation. Third-party aeronautical insurance is mandatory and comes bundled with the annual FFVL licence (€75-95/year). See our FFVL brevet guide for the deep dive.

Germany / Austria (DHV / ÖAeC) — A-Schein for the first solo licence, B-Schein for the advanced Streckenflug licence. The A-Schein requires 40 documented Höhenflüge (mountain flights) with 18,000 m of total launch height, plus a theory exam. Membership plus insurance is around €90-110/year.

Switzerland (SHV/FSVL) — the Brevet is the standard licence. Course cost around 1,800-2,500 CHF; the licence and insurance are handled via SHV membership.

Italy (AeCI / FIVL) — the Attestato di volo libero issued through FIVL-affiliated schools is the legal requirement. Tessera FIVL (€90-110/year) includes mandatory RCT aeronautical insurance.

Spain (RFAE / AEVL) — Spain is unusual in Europe: there is no compulsory national licence issued by government, but every reputable club requires the Título de piloto from a homologated school plus the RFAE annual card (insurance included).

Portugal (FPVL) — Licença de piloto from an FPVL school, with the annual federation card as the insurance vehicle.

Nordics (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark) — each has its own federation with similar structures; norwegian NLF, swedish SPF etc. issue their national pilot licence.

Asia and Latin America

Japan (JHF) — a very structured 4-level system: A-shou (student), B-shou (novice), NP-shou (advanced novice), P-shou (pilot). A P-shou is required for solo flying at most sites. Tandem passenger flights (¥10,000-15,000) need no qualification.

Brazil (CBVL) — the Piloto rating from a CBVL-registered school, with annual federation membership.

Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina — most use the local federation rating (ACPUL in Colombia, FMV in Mexico, FEDA in Argentina). Some sites like Altos Las Tres Cruces work primarily on community trust and P2-equivalent ratings — visiting pilots always contact a local first.

Traveling with your licence — what actually works

The practical protocol for a visiting pilot:

1. Carry your national licence card and IPPI card. Both go in your wallet — the IPPI translates rank across systems and is the universal proof.
2. Check the local federation's visitor policy before travelling. Most European federations sell a short-term visitor licence (€10-30) that includes insurance for a few days or weeks. USHPA offers a temporary membership.
3. Check the specific site's rules. Even in Europe, individual sites can have local rules on top of national requirements — Mt Tamalpais in the US requires an MCHGA sticker on top of USHPA, Bassano in Italy requires a Fly Card, Interlaken in Switzerland has multiple club membership options. Our top 10 paragliding sites in the Alps mentions the local extras for the classic ones.
4. Book tandem flights via the federation's operator directory. This is the safest way to guarantee your pilot is currently certified — most federations publish an official list of licensed tandem operators.

What is NOT a paragliding licence

A few things worth clearing up:

• A driving licence is not enough. No country accepts a driver's licence or any general recreational permit as proof of paragliding qualification.
• A tandem flight does not qualify you to fly solo. A tandem passenger is exactly that — a passenger. To fly solo, you need the standard licence from a licensed school.
• A YouTube course is not a licence. No serious school will let you launch from their site without proof of formal training via a recognised federation.

What if you fly without a licence?

The consequences depend on the country:

• In France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, flying without a licence violates the national air-law and voids all insurance. In the event of an incident, the pilot faces criminal charges and personal liability for third-party damages.
• In the UK, flying without BHPA membership doesn't break a criminal law but voids insurance and results in being turned away from every BHPA-managed site (which is almost all of them).
• In the US, flying without USHPA rating doesn't break federal law but effectively locks you out of every established site — chapters actively enforce this because it's how they keep landowner insurance policies valid.
• In Italy and Spain, flying without the local attestato/título means no insurance recognises the incident, and clubs will refuse site access.

The universal answer: get the licence. It costs a few hundred euros, protects you legally and financially, and is the ticket to every proper site on Earth.

Where the app fits

Once you have the licence, the harder problem becomes: which sites within an hour's drive of my hotel accept my rating, on which wind direction, at what time of year? That's a research question that used to eat entire evenings of tab-flicking across federation databases and Google Translate. We built OutDare, a free app, around exactly this — 13,900+ documented sites in 249 countries with orientation, level, access rules and community-contributed local notes, plus per-site 7-day forecasts using local high-resolution weather models. It won't get you the licence — that's a school job. It just makes the licence you already have go further.

Bottom line

For solo flying: yes, you need a licence virtually everywhere. In Europe it's typically a government-recognised national brevet with mandatory insurance. In the US, Australia and NZ it's a de-facto requirement enforced by the national federation. In Latin America and Asia it varies but the local federation rating is the standard.

For a tandem passenger flight, no licence is needed anywhere. Just book with a federation-listed operator, wear closed shoes, and enjoy the view.

Whichever camp you're in, understanding the local rules before you travel is the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade a visiting pilot can make. Our beginner's guide to paragliding covers the full training pathway if you're still deciding, and the top French sites picks up where the licence ends and the flying begins.