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ATPL theory exams · ECQB versions

Which ECQB Version Is Your Exam?

In an August 2026 community sample, two students described their upcoming exams as "ECQB 2020" — an edition that is six years superseded. The confusion is understandable: EASA versions its central bank, each member state migrates on its own timetable, there is no central register of who is on what, and commercial question banks attach version labels of their own. This page separates those three things, so you know which version you will actually be examined from.

Last updated

Current release

ECQB 2026

The current full release of EASA’s European Central Question Bank.

Bank size

~10,000 MCQs

EASA’s central bank, used by all EASA member states.

Annual churn

1,500 + 2,000

Per the IAA: EASA aims to add some 1,500 new questions and review at least 2,000 existing ones each year.

Central register of versions

None

No EASA register lists each state’s current version — you have to ask your authority.

What the ECQB actually is

The European Central Question Bank is EASA’s central bank of roughly 10,000 multiple-choice questions, used by all EASA member states and described by EASA as “an important standardisation and safety tool”. ECQB 2026 is the current full release.

The version chain since the post-2020 syllabus began: 2020 → 2021 → 2022 → 2024 → 2026. ECQB 2020 was the first edition of that era, following ECQB8 — so a label of “ECQB 2020” today refers to an edition several revisions behind the current one.

The bank is not static. Per the IAA (their statement, not EASA’s): EASA “aims to add some 1,500 new questions and review at least 2,000 existing questions on an annual basis”.

So which version will you be examined from? Ask your authority

Here is the part that actually matters: member states migrate to new ECQB editions on their own timetables, and there is no central EASA register of per-state versions. The only reliable way to know which edition you will face is to ask your national aviation authority. What the tracked authorities have published so far:

StateAuthorityPublished positionSource
IrelandIAAImplemented ECQB 2026 on 1 August 2026; examined from ECQB 2024 until 31 July 2026.IAA — ECQB information
ItalyENACMoves to ECQB 2026 EM 2 on 1 October 2026.⚠️ Announced by the authority; we have not yet linked a primary source.
LuxembourgDACAnnounced implementation of ECQB 2026 in February 2026.⚠️ Announced by the authority; we have not yet linked a primary source.
All other states—No published migration date that we track. This is not unusual — many authorities publish nothing. Ask them directly before booking.—

This table is updated whenever a tracked authority announces a migration — see the last updated date at the top of the page. Your choice of authority also fixes your costs and sitting structure: how to choose an authority.

Why the version label on a question bank is a different thing

The ECQB is not in the public domain. EASA does not publish its questions, which means every commercial question bank — ours included — is reconstructed from what students report after their exams. A “version” label on a commercial product is therefore that vendor’s own labelling, not EASA nomenclature, and it cannot be independently checked against the real bank.

That is not an accusation aimed at anyone — it is simply what a non-public source bank implies for the whole market. The practical consequences for you as a buyer:

  • Judge a bank by its maintenance cadence and how it handles recency — questions confirmed by students recently are worth more than a big headline count. Per the IAA, EASA reviews at least 2,000 existing questions a year, so unmaintained content ages fast.
  • Treat third-party “what changed in ECQB 2026” analyses as indicative: one such analysis found roughly 10% new questions, concentrated in Fuel Management, All-Weather Operations, NAT HLA, loss of radio communications, pavement strength and WAFC charts.
  • Whatever bank you use, the authoritative source for your syllabus and exam content is your authority and its current ECQB edition — not any product’s label.

Important: Migration dates are set by each authority and can change at short notice. The table above reflects what the named authorities had published as of the last-updated date at the top of this page — always confirm with your own authority before relying on a date here.

Frequently asked questions

Is ECQB 2020 still used?

ECQB 2020 was the first edition of the post-2020 syllabus era (following ECQB8), and the version chain has since run 2020 → 2021 → 2022 → 2024 → 2026. ECQB 2026 is the current full release. Which edition a given state examines from depends on that state’s own migration timetable — so if you have seen "ECQB 2020" attached to an exam or a product recently, treat it as a prompt to check with your authority, not as EASA nomenclature.

How do I find out which ECQB version my authority uses?

Ask your national aviation authority directly — there is no central EASA register of per-state versions. Some authorities publish migration dates (the IAA implemented ECQB 2026 on 1 August 2026; ENAC moves to ECQB 2026 EM 2 on 1 October 2026; DAC Luxembourg announced implementation in February 2026), but many publish nothing, in which case only the authority itself can tell you.

Does a bigger question bank mean a better question bank?

Not by itself. The ECQB is not in the public domain, so every commercial question bank is reverse-engineered from student reports — size says nothing about how current or well-maintained the content is. Per the IAA, EASA aims to add some 1,500 new questions and review at least 2,000 existing questions annually, so a bank’s maintenance cadence matters more than its headline count.

What changed in ECQB 2026?

Third-party analysis of the 2026 release found roughly 10% new questions, concentrated in Fuel Management, All-Weather Operations, NAT HLA, loss of radio communications, pavement strength and WAFC charts. As with any third-party analysis of a non-public bank, treat the details as indicative rather than official.

More in this series

Which EASA authority should you sit your ATPL exams with?Comparing the national aviation authorities EASA candidates commonly sit with — costs, sitting definitions, and what FCL.025 keeps identical everywhere.Converting an ICAO ATPL to an EASA ATPLThe Article 3(c) theory-course credit, why it does not waive the exams, the Article 9 trap, and the practical logistics of converting a third-country ATPL.ATPL exam sittings, attempts and time limits (FCL.025)The FCL.025 rules quoted exactly: 75% pass mark, 4 attempts, 6 sittings, the 18-month window — and why "sitting" itself is defined by your authority, not by Part-FCL.The recommended order to study the EASA ATPL subjectsWhich subject to start with, which subjects to group into a sitting, and the prerequisite trap that makes Flight Planning an expensive early pick.Why “the last 500”? ATPL recency rings, explained honestlyThe L800/L500/L300/L100 ritual nobody explains: what a recency ring is, the decay maths behind ours, why reporter reliability has to be weighted — and the three cases where studying by ring will let you down.All ATPL theory exam guidesThe full series — authorities, ECQB versions, sittings, study order and all 13 subjects.

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