A&P License Without School: The 18 and 30 Month Experience Route

Last updated October 19, 2026

You can earn an A&P without going to a Part 147 school. Under 14 CFR 65.77(b) you present documentary evidence, satisfactory to the FAA, of at least 18 months of practical experience for one rating (Airframe or Powerplant), or at least 30 months of practical experience concurrently performing the duties of both. If an FAA inspector accepts your evidence, you are authorized to take the written tests. This guide goes deeper on that route, as of October 2026. For the full picture of all routes, read How to Get Your A&P License first.

What the rule says

The experience rule is short. Each applicant must present either an authenticated school document under 14 CFR 147.21, or documentary evidence, satisfactory to the Administrator, of one of two things (14 CFR 65.77, eCFR):

Goal	Experience you must document	Rule
One rating (Airframe or Powerplant)	At least 18 months of practical experience with the procedures, practices, materials, tools, machine tools, and equipment generally used in constructing, maintaining, or altering airframes or powerplants, appropriate to the rating sought	65.77(b)(1)
Both ratings	At least 30 months of practical experience concurrently performing the duties appropriate to both the airframe and powerplant ratings	65.77(b)(2)

Two words matter here. “Concurrently” means the 30 months must cover both kinds of work at the same time. The rule asks for work on both ratings over the same period, so plan your work to cover both kinds. And “satisfactory to the Administrator” means a person at the FAA decides whether your evidence is good enough. The regulation does not list the documents, so your job is to make the decision easy.

The experience also comes first. The regulation says an applicant takes the written test “after meeting the applicable experience requirements” (14 CFR 65.75(a)). The one exception is a school student taking the General test early (14 CFR 65.75(c)).

How the FAA counts the time

The FAA describes how it counts months on its page about experience requirements (FAA, Experience Requirements to Become an Aircraft Mechanic, updated July 16, 2026):

A month is based on a typical full-time 40-hour week. Working longer weeks does not shorten the calendar. In its FAQs the FAA says a year of 60-hour weeks (3,120 hours) does not meet the 18-month requirement (FAA, Become an Aviation Mechanic, FAQs, updated July 16, 2026).
Time in training does not count. Only time actually doing maintenance work counts.
The more documentary evidence you provide, the better.

So a part-time job needs more calendar time than a full-time one, and a long apprenticeship that is mostly classroom time may count for less than you expect. Add up honest full-time-equivalent months before you book anything.

Documenting your experience

The FAA says the usual evidence is a log of the work you did, with your supervising mechanic’s validation, supported by other records such as an employer statement and training records (FAA, Experience Requirements). Build the log as you go, not from memory two years later.

The FAA does not prescribe a log format. This is our advice, not an FAA requirement. A task log that makes an inspector’s job easy has:

The date and the aircraft or engine (type, and registration if you have it).
What you did, in a sentence or two: “Removed and inspected main landing gear actuator” beats “gear work”.
The time spent.
The name, certificate number and signature of the certificated mechanic who supervised you.
A tag for Airframe, Powerplant or both, so you can show the 30 months of concurrent work if you want both ratings.

Keep copies of everything. Keep your original documents safe: the Companion Guide says to retain the originals, and testing centers scan documents and return the original to you (Companion Guide, ch. 3, p. 12; Testing Matrix, p. 6).

If you are leaving the military

The FAA’s experience page says military applicants should bring (FAA, Experience Requirements):

your DD Form 214;
training and qualification records;
a letter from your Executive, Maintenance or Classification Officer describing your duties.

Only time in an aviation maintenance specialty counts. The specialties the FAA may credit are listed in FAA Order 8900.1, volume 5, chapter 5, section 2, and the FAA says plainly that “You will not be authorized to test just because you served in the military.” Training time still does not count, so separate your schooling from your hands-on months.

There is also a second military path. The Joint Services Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification Council (JSAMTCC) issues a Military Certificate of Eligibility. Testing centers accept it as authorization for the tests it lists (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, revised September 25, 2026, p. 6; Companion Guide FAA-G-ACS-1, ch. 3, p. 12). Ask your education office whether you qualify for one.

Getting authorized: Form 8610-2

For a civilian or a veteran without a Certificate of Eligibility, the document that unlocks the written tests is FAA Form 8610-2, Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application. The Companion Guide says Block V of the form must be signed and completed by an FAA Flight Standards inspector (Companion Guide FAA-G-ACS-1, Change 2, ch. 3, p. 12). The usual steps, using the FAA’s own process (FAA, Become an Aviation Mechanic, FAQs):

Complete two copies of Form 8610-2.
Make an appointment at your local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) and bring both forms, photo ID and all your evidence of experience.
The inspector reviews your evidence. If it is satisfactory, they sign Block V.
Keep both originals. The testing matrix tells test centers to scan the form and return the original to you, and says you must retain both original forms issued by the FSDO (Testing Matrix, p. 6).

Two details help you avoid a wasted trip to the test center. First, the testing matrix says a Form 8610-2 with the Airframe or Powerplant box checked and the Original Issuance box marked also serves as authorization for the General test, and that a center will not accept an original issuance application for the General test only (Testing Matrix, p. 6). Second, a letter alone will not do: the accepted forms of authorization are the school document, the signed 8610-2 and the military Certificate of Eligibility (Testing Matrix, p. 6).

You also need an FAA Tracking Number (FTN) from IACRA, the FAA’s online system, to book the tests (FAA, Become an Aviation Mechanic, FAQs). The test fee is paid to the testing provider, so check the current fee when you book.

Self-study planning for the three written tests

Without a school curriculum, you set your own order. Here is a plan that fits the way the tests are built.

Know what you face. All three tests have a 70 percent passing score and a 2 hour limit (14 CFR 65.17; Testing Matrix, p. 6):

Test	Questions	FAA 2025 pass rate
General (AMG)	60	69.59%
Airframe (AMA)	100	74.01%
Powerplant (AMP)	100	63.04%

Pass rates are from the FAA CY2025 Airman Knowledge Test Volume Report. Treat them as a reminder that many first-time candidates need a second attempt, not as a prediction for you.

Take General first. The FAA’s test requirements page advises General first (FAA, Aircraft Mechanic Oral, Practical, & Written Tests, updated June 3, 2026). It also makes sense for self-study: General covers shared subjects such as math, drawings, weight and balance, regulations, electricity and materials (Companion Guide, ch. 3, p. 13).

Use the ACS as your syllabus. The Aviation Mechanic Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-1) list every subject, and each element has a code such as AM.I.A.K1 (Companion Guide, ch. 2, p. 11). The ACS is the testing standard for each test after July 31, 2023 (Companion Guide, ch. 1). The Companion Guide gives the share of questions per subject. For General, for example, electricity and ground operations can each be 5 to 15 percent, and every other subject 5 to 10 percent (Companion Guide, ch. 3, p. 13). Spend time in proportion.

Use the free handbooks as your textbooks. General is FAA-H-8083-30B, Airframe is FAA-H-8083-31B and Powerplant is FAA-H-8083-32B. They are free from the FAA, and your daily work on aircraft fills in the practical side.

A simple weekly rhythm:

Pick two ACS subjects per week.
Read the matching handbook chapter.
Do practice questions on just those subjects, like our mathematics or weight and balance pages.
Write down every wrong answer and the reference that explains it.
Every fourth week, do a mixed set across everything covered so far.

Practice with figures. Some questions rely on charts and diagrams. The printed testing supplement, FAA-CT-8080-4G, is still available at test centers until the FAA sets a removal date, and the FAA is embedding images directly in test questions (FAA Airman Testing Community Advisory, September 2026 Special Edition, p. 5). Learn to read the figures, not just recall the answers.

Take the test while the knowledge is fresh, then plan the next one. Each written test report is good for 24 calendar months, and you must pass all the tests within 24 months (14 CFR 65.71(a)(3); Companion Guide, ch. 1). Do not let the first pass sit while you put off the rest. The test report also lists ACS codes for what you missed, and those subjects return in your oral test, so keep that list.

After the written tests

The oral and practical tests come next, with a Designated Mechanic Examiner or an FAA inspector. You will need two identically prepared Forms 8610-2, your passing test reports and government photo ID (Companion Guide, ch. 6). Keep your originals together for that visit.

Common mistakes

Counting hours, not months. The FAA counts full-time months, not total hours.
Counting training time. Classroom and course time do not count toward the 18 or 30 months.
Trying for 30 months with one-sided work. The rule asks for work on both ratings concurrently, so check that your log shows both.
Going in with thin evidence. A signed, detailed log and a letter from an employer carry far more weight than a general statement.
Skipping the ACS. Studying a whole handbook cover to cover, without the ACS as a checklist, makes it hard to see what the tests can cover.

Common questions

Can I get an A&P license without school?

Yes. Document at least 18 months of practical experience for one rating, or 30 months for both ratings concurrently, and have it accepted by the FAA (14 CFR 65.77(b)). You then pass the written, oral and practical tests.

Does military experience automatically qualify me?

No. The FAA says you will not be authorized to test just because you served, and only time in an aviation maintenance specialty counts (FAA, Experience Requirements). Bring your DD Form 214, records and officer letter, or use a JSAMTCC Certificate of Eligibility if you have one.

Which written test should I take first?

General. The FAA’s test requirements page advises it, and General holds the shared base for Airframe and Powerplant (FAA, Aircraft Mechanic Oral, Practical, & Written Tests).

What if I fail a written test?

You can retest after 30 days, or sooner with a signed statement from a certificated mechanic holding the rating you seek, certifying that they gave you more instruction in each subject you failed (14 CFR 65.19). Bring the failed test report to the test center (Testing Matrix, p. 6).

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