Free ROC-A Practice Exam (25 Questions)

If you’re preparing for the ROC-A (Restricted Operator Certificate – Aeronautical) exam, this free ROC-A practice exam will help you get exam-ready fast — without guessing what’s actually tested.

As an online school which administers ROC-A exams for Canadian aviation candidates, we built this practice exam to reflect what students typically struggle with most: distress/urgency procedures, standard phraseology, phonetics, and radio discipline.

✅ 25 multiple-choice questions (exam-style)
✅ Covers the topics most often asked during real ROC-A exams
✅ Designed for student pilots, flight school applicants, and anyone needing ROC-A in Canada
✅ Instant confidence boost before you write

Start the practice exam below (and come back to the guide anytime).

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What is the ROC-A exam?

ROC-A stands for Restricted Operator Certificate – Aeronautical. In Canada, it’s the radio certificate used in aviation that shows you understand the basic rules and procedures for communicating on aeronautical frequencies, including:

• Proper phraseology and readbacks
• Distress and urgency communications
• Phonetic alphabet and numbers
• Radio equipment basics and operating procedures
• Good radio discipline and common errors to avoid

The goal isn’t to make you sound “fancy.” It’s to ensure you can communicate clearly, correctly, and safely — especially when the workload is high.

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Who should use this ROC-A practice exam?

This page is for you if you’re:

• A student pilot preparing for flight training in Canada
• Getting your ROC-A to support aviation training or club flying
• Re-learning the essentials after time away from training
• Looking for ROC-A practice questions that feel like the real exam

If you’re already booked to write soon, this practice exam is one of the fastest ways to identify weak areas and tighten them up.

What’s covered on this ROC-A practice exam?

This practice exam focuses on the ROC-A topics that most commonly separate “almost ready” from “confident pass”:

1) Distress vs Urgency (and what to say)

• MAYDAY vs PAN PAN
• Correct order of information
• What to repeat, and what not to clutter the frequency with

2) Standard phraseology and radio discipline

• Who you call first
• What a proper transmission sounds like
• Common errors that cost marks (and credibility)

3) Phonetic alphabet, numbers, and time

• Readable, unambiguous transmissions
• Numbers, altitudes, headings, runway designators
• Avoiding “gotchas” that appear in practice exams

4) Operating procedures and expectations

• When to read back
• When to acknowledge vs repeat
• Listening discipline and frequency etiquette

If you want a deeper explanation of ROC-A requirements, what the certificate is for, and how the exam works in Canada, see:
ROC-A Restricted Operator Certificate (Guide).

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How to use this practice exam (examiner tip)

Here’s the fastest way to get real benefit from practice questions:

1. Write it once without notes (treat it like the real exam)
2. Review every incorrect answer and write why it was wrong in one sentence
3. Write it again 24 hours later and aim for a clean pass
4. If you miss the same topic twice, fix that topic before doing more questions

It’s not about doing 500 questions. It’s about eliminating the few mistakes you’re likely to make under time pressure.

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Quick study plan (15 / 30 / 60 minutes)

If you have 15 minutes:

• Do the practice exam once
• Review only the incorrect answers
• Re-read distress/urgency procedures

If you have 30 minutes:

• Do the practice exam
• Review incorrect answers
• Drill phonetics/numbers/time format

If you have 60 minutes:

• Practice exam + review
• Re-write missed questions
• Do a second attempt aiming for near-perfect

Ready for the full ROC-A practice exam?

The full 25-question ROC-A practice exam is below. Take it once clean, review your misses, then re-write until you can pass comfortably.

Student pilots who are preparing for the solo phase of the flight training should register for our FREE PSTAR preparation course.