How to get your A&P license

What is an A&P license?

An A&P license is the FAA mechanic certificate with two ratings: Airframe and Powerplant. Airframe covers the aircraft body and its systems. Powerplant covers the engine and propeller. With both, you can do most maintenance on most aircraft and sign it off. People say "A&P license." The FAA says "mechanic certificate." Same thing. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.81]

You can get one rating without the other. Most people go for both, because most jobs ask for both.

Technical details: what the certificate lets you doShowHide

14 CFR § 65.81 says a certificated mechanic "may perform or supervise the maintenance, preventive maintenance or alteration of an aircraft or appliance, or a part thereof, for which that person is rated." Major repairs and major alterations of propellers, and any work on instruments, are excluded. The Airframe rating (§ 65.85) and Powerplant rating (§ 65.87) each add the right to approve work for return to service and to perform the 100-hour inspection on that part of the aircraft.

Who can get an A&P license?

You can apply if you are at least 18 and can read, write, speak and understand English. You also need proof of school or work experience. Then you have to pass every test within 24 months of passing the first one. That is the whole eligibility rule. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.71]

The rule does not ask for a college degree. The FAA cares about one thing: can you prove you have done the work, or learned it at a school it certificates?

Technical details: § 65.71 in fullShowHide

To be eligible for a mechanic certificate and associated ratings, a person must: (1) be at least 18 years of age; (2) be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language (with a "Valid only outside the United States" endorsement possible for some people employed abroad by a U.S. air carrier); (3) have passed all of the prescribed tests within a period of 24 months; and (4) comply with the sections of subpart D that apply to the rating sought. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.71(a)]

What are the three ways to qualify?

You qualify with a Part 147 school certificate, with 18 months of hands-on work for one rating (30 months for both), or with military experience that covers the same work. All three routes end at the same tests. The route only changes what proof you bring. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.77]

Route 1: Part 147 school

A Part 147 school is a maintenance school the FAA certificates. When you finish, the school gives you an authenticated document. It shows your graduation date and the curriculum you completed. That document is your proof. [14 CFR Part 147, § 147.21]

School students get two head starts. Once you finish the General part of the course, the school can clear you to take the General written early. Near the end, the school can clear you to take the oral and practical tests before you pass all the writtens. [14 CFR Part 147, § 147.31] [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.80]

Route 2: Work experience

This is the route for people already turning wrenches. You need "documentary evidence, satisfactory to the Administrator" of at least 18 months of hands-on work for one rating. For both ratings, you need 30 months doing airframe and powerplant work at the same time. The FAA wants to see real work with the tools, materials and methods used to build, fix or change airframes or powerplants. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.77(b)]

You list that history on FAA Form 8610-2, Section III, with dates for each job. An FAA inspector at your local FSDO reviews it. Read the full guide: experience requirements and the 8610-2. Or check which route fits you in two minutes.

Route 3: Military experience

Military aircraft maintenance counts. The rule is the same 18 or 30 months. On the 8610-2 you mark "Mechanic, Military Experience." Then you enter your branch, highest rank and your military specialty code, and list your work in Section III. If some of your time was civil and some military, mark both boxes. [FAA Form 8610-2, Instructions, Section II.B, p. 5]

Some service members finish a JSAMTCC program instead. The certificate it gives you lets you go straight to the tests it lists. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 3, p. 12] Read the full guide: the military route to an A&P.

What tests do you have to pass?

Each rating has a written test, an oral test and a practical test. The writtens are multiple choice with three answers each. The General has 60 questions. Airframe and Powerplant have 100 each. You get 2 hours per test and need 70 percent to pass. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 3, p. 12] [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.17(b)]

You pass the written before you take the oral and practical for that rating. School students near the end of their course are the exception. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.75(b)]

The oral and practical are usually given by a Designated Mechanic Examiner, called a DME. The DME asks questions and has you do real tasks on the same subjects as the written. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.79] [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 6, p. 20]

Every question maps to an ACS code. The ACS is the Airman Certification Standards, the FAA's list of what you must know and do. The General section has 12 subjects, from electricity to human factors. [FAA-S-ACS-1, Section I, p. 4]

Technical details: the 12 General subjects and ACS codesShowHide

Section I of FAA-S-ACS-1 lists: A. Fundamentals of Electricity and Electronics; B. Aircraft Drawings; C. Weight and Balance; D. Fluid Lines and Fittings; E. Aircraft Materials, Hardware, and Processes; F. Ground Operations and Servicing; G. Cleaning and Corrosion Control; H. Mathematics; I. Regulations, Maintenance Forms, Records, and Publications; J. Physics for Aviation; K. Inspection Concepts and Techniques; L. Human Factors. [FAA-S-ACS-1, Table of contents, p. 4]

Each knowledge element has a code like AM.I.A.K24. AM is mechanic, I is General, A is the subject, K24 is the 24th knowledge item. Your test report lists the codes you missed, and the oral test will retest those subjects. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 5, p. 19]

What changed in the 2026 practical test?

In 2026 the FAA rebuilt the practical test questions. They now line up with the project in front of you, the aircraft maintenance manual and the advisory circulars. The General changes went live April 20, 2026. Airframe was set for July 20, 2026. Powerplant was still in final review. This is the practical test only. The written tests did not change. [ATCA-2026-09-SPECIAL, Practical Test Banks Updates, p. 2]

What it means for you: practice finding the answer in approved data, not just memorizing it. Our guide to AC 43.13-1B and approved data is a good place to start.

How does the process go, step by step?

Pick your route and gather proof. Get your test paperwork, then pass the writtens. Finish with the oral and practical. The whole set must be done within 24 months of your first pass. Here is the order most people follow.

1. Pick your route. School, civil work or military. Not sure? Run the eligibility checker.
2. Gather your proof. Logbooks, letters from supervisors, pay records, or your school's document.
3. Get an FAA Tracking Number. You make it in IACRA, the FAA's online application system. You need it before any test. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 4, p. 15]
4. Fill out FAA Form 8610-2. Section I is you. Section II is your route. Section III is your work history, job by job.
5. Get permission to test. Experience applicants take the form and proof to the FSDO, and an inspector signs Section V. School graduates bring the school's document. JSAMTCC graduates bring their certificate. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 3, p. 12]
6. Schedule the writtens. The FAA's testing company is PSI. You pick a test center and a date. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 4, p. 15]
7. Pass the General written. Then Airframe and Powerplant.
8. Take the oral and practical with a DME. You contact the DME to book it. A list of DMEs is on faa.gov or at your FSDO. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 6, p. 20]
9. Get your certificate. Once you pass everything, you get a temporary certificate. The FAA sends the permanent one later. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 7, p. 24]

How hard are the A&P writtens?

They have the lowest pass rates among FAA tests with over 1,000 takers. In 2025, 69.6 percent of General test takers passed. Airframe was 74.0 percent. Powerplant was only 63.0 percent. Those are the FAA's own numbers. [FAA-AKT-VOL-CY2025, CY2025, p. 1]

The FAA also publishes which codes people miss most. For the year ending June 30, 2025, three mechanic codes were missed more than 70 percent of the time. Special inspections is an Airframe code. Corrosion identification and electrostatic discharge are both on the General test. [FAA-FMC-CY2025-Q2, CY25 Q2, p. 1]

That is why our free General diagnostic leans on corrosion and static discharge. If you are going to miss something, better to find out now.

Technical details: the most-missed codesShowHide

From the FAA report for the 2nd quarter of CY25 (July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025): AM.II.D.K5 Special inspections, 79.53 percent missed (Airframe test); AM.I.G.K6 Corrosion identification and inspection, 78.49 percent missed (General test); AM.I.A.K24 Electrostatic discharge, 74.91 percent missed (General test). [FAA-FMC-CY2025-Q2, CY25 Q2, p. 1]

How long does it take?

Plan on 18 to 30 months of work experience or a full school program. Then add a few months for testing. The clock that matters most is the 24-month window. Once you pass your first test, every other test has to be done within 24 months, or you start over. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.71(a)(3)] [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 5, p. 19]

Read the full guide: how long an A&P takes on each route.

How much does it cost?

Your costs are the written tests, the oral and practical with a DME, any school, and study tools. The FAA documents we build from do not list those prices, so we don't print a number here. The cost guide breaks down each cost and how to get a current quote.

Can you get an A&P license online?

You can study online. You cannot test online. Online study also does not count as your experience or schooling. The writtens are taken at a PSI test center. The oral and practical are done with a DME, working on real projects. Any course that says otherwise is wrong. [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 4 and Ch. 6, p. 15]

Read the full guide: what you can and can't do online.

What happens if you fail a test?

You can retest after 30 days. To retest sooner, you need a signed note from a mechanic who holds the rating you want. It must say they gave you more training in each subject you failed, and that you are ready. [14 CFR Part 65, § 65.19] [FAA-G-ACS-1, Ch. 1, p. 10]

Your test report shows the ACS codes you missed. Study those first.

Where to start

Still picking a route? Run the eligibility checker. Ready to study? Take the free 20-question General diagnostic. It shows your score by subject and which most-missed areas need work.