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FAA A&P · THE NUMBERS AND THEIR SOURCES

FAA A&P facts and figures, each with its source

Every number that decides the route to an A&P, on one page, with the regulation or document that sets it beside it. The pass mark is 70%. There are 3 knowledge tests with 260 questions in 6 hours between them, and everything has to fall inside a 24 month window. Eligibility is 30 months of documented experience for both ratings, or a Part 147 graduation. The rest sits below in six groups, one sentence per figure, with the page that explains each group linked under it, and the 4 claims we could not confirm listed last.

Checked against the current regulations on 19 August 2026.

01 THE CERTIFICATE§ 65.71 TO § 65.87

The A&P certificate in six figures

  • 1 + 2One mechanic certificate, and 2 ratings the FAA can put on it: Airframe and Powerplant. “A&P” is the shorthand for holding both; the FAA never prints it.§ 65.73
  • 18The minimum age for a mechanic certificate. It applies to the certificate, not to the tests, so a candidate can pass the writtens before it.§ 65.71
  • NeverWhen the certificate expires. It is effective until surrendered, suspended or revoked. There is no renewal and no fee.§ 65.15
  • 6 in 24Months of the preceding 24 you must have spent working as a mechanic, supervising mechanics, or supervising maintenance in an executive capacity, to use the certificate’s privileges. Fall short and it stays valid but cannot be used.§ 65.83
  • 120 daysHow long the temporary certificate the examiner issues on the day you pass is good for, while the permanent one is printed.FAA
  • Odd yearsExpires on 31 March of each odd year (§ 65.92). The Inspection Authorization, unlike the certificate it sits on, does expire, and a failed IA test carries a 90 day wait.§ 65.92

What the certificate lets you sign, and what it does not, is on the route page.

02 THE KNOWLEDGE TESTS§ 65.75 · § 65.17 · § 65.19

The A&P written tests in nine figures

  • 3Knowledge tests for a full A&P: General (AMG), Airframe (AMA), Powerplant (AMP). General is tested on its own even though it is not a rating anyone holds.§ 65.75
  • 60 in 2 hScored questions and time allowed on the A&P General test (AMG). Unscored validation questions are added on top, inside the same time.TESTING MATRIX
  • 100 in 2 hScored questions and time allowed on the A&P Airframe test (AMA). Unscored validation questions are added on top, inside the same time.TESTING MATRIX
  • 100 in 2 hScored questions and time allowed on the A&P Powerplant test (AMP). Unscored validation questions are added on top, inside the same time.TESTING MATRIX
  • 260 in 6 hAll three A&P written tests together: 260 scored questions in 6 hours. Arithmetic over the three rows above.DERIVED
  • 70%The passing score on each A&P written test, one threshold for the whole test rather than a minimum per subject area.§ 65.17(c)
  • 24 monthsThe window, from the end of the month of your first written pass, inside which every A&P test, written and practical, must be passed.§ 65.71(a)(3)
  • 30 daysThe wait before retaking a failed A&P written test, or sooner with a signed statement from someone holding the certificate and rating you are after. The same wait applies to retaking a passed test for a higher score, and the later score stands.§ 65.19
  • 40Subject areas in the ACS the questions are written to: 12 General, 15 Airframe, 13 Powerplant. Every question you miss is reported against its subject area’s code.FAA-S-ACS-1

The rules around the tests are explained on the knowledge tests page, and what is on each is on its own page: FAA A&P General, FAA A&P Airframe, FAA A&P Powerplant.

03 THE ORAL AND PRACTICAL§ 65.79 · ACS APPENDICES

The A&P oral and practical in five figures

  • 6Tests at the oral and practical, not two: an oral and a practical for each of General, Airframe and Powerplant, given by a Designated Mechanic Examiner (DME).§ 65.79
  • 31Practical projects for a full A&P, set by the FAA and not the examiner: 9 General, 11 Airframe, 11 Powerplant, each graded pass or fail.ACS
  • 2Examiner questions attached to every practical project. Fail either question, or the hands-on work, and the project fails.ACS
  • 4 to 34Oral questions per section: 4 if your written was clean, one more for every ACS code you missed, up to 22 on General and 34 on Airframe or Powerplant.ACS
  • 70%The passing score at the oral and practical, and disregarding safety fails the test on its own, whatever the score.ACS APPX 2

What actually happens in the room is on the oral and practical page.

04 ELIGIBILITY§ 65.77 · PART 147

Becoming eligible for the A&P in six figures

  • 30 monthsDocumented practical experience working concurrently on airframes and powerplants, for both ratings by the experience route. Calendar months, and the FAA will not let them be compressed.§ 65.77(b)
  • 18 monthsThe same, for one rating on its own, Airframe or Powerplant.§ 65.77(b)
  • 160 hoursRoughly what the FAA reads a month of experience as, full time. Training time does not count toward it.FAA
  • 3Routes to being authorized to test: graduate a part 147 school, document your own experience, military service. They are alternatives, not stages.§ 65.77
  • 2 originalsCopies of FAA Form 8610-2 you bring to the examiner, each with original signatures. The test center scans them and hands them back.8610-2
  • 0 medicalMedical certificates required for an A&P. None, and no education requirement either beyond the ability to read, write, speak and understand English.§ 65.71

How the months are counted and proved is on the experience page, and which route fits you is on the school or experience page.

05 THE MONEYPSI · FAA

What the A&P costs in three figures

  • $175What PSI Services, LLC lists for one A&P knowledge test, the voucher price, and what a retest costs again.PSI
  • $525The three A&P written tests together if each is passed the first time. Arithmetic, not a published figure.DERIVED
  • $0What the FAA charges for the certificate itself. The oral and practical fee is set by each examiner and the FAA publishes no schedule, so no figure for it belongs in a list like this one.FAA

The full picture, including what nobody publishes, is on the cost page.

06 HOW MANYFAA CIVIL AIRMEN STATISTICS

How many mechanic certificates are held, and what share pass, in five figures

  • 348,426Active mechanic certificates the FAA counted at 31 December 2025, 328,334 of them held inside the United States.FAA · 2025
  • 11,103New mechanic certificates the FAA issued during 2025, the highest figure in its ten-year series, with 6,336 additional ratings added to existing certificates the same year.FAA · 2025
  • 69.59%Pass rate on the A&P General written test in 2025, across 22,585 tests taken, from the FAA’s own knowledge test statistics.FAA · 2025
  • 74.01%Pass rate on the A&P Airframe written test in 2025, across 16,885 tests taken, from the FAA’s own knowledge test statistics.FAA · 2025
  • 63.04%Pass rate on the A&P Powerplant written test in 2025, across 17,572 tests taken, from the FAA’s own knowledge test statistics.FAA · 2025

The pass rates for every year the FAA has published, and what they mean, are on the pass rates page. Those rows were read on 6 September 2026; everything else on this page on 19 August 2026.

07 WHAT WE COULD NOT CONFIRM4 CLAIMS

The A&P claims on this site we could not tie to a source

Every figure above was read from a primary document. These 4 were not, and rather than drop them or dress them up, here they are with their status and the reason. They are marked the same way wherever they appear on the site.

  • SOFTEach knowledge test question has three answer choices.

    No current FAA publication states the number of options. Verified against a 2026 commercial test guide only. The site says “three answer choices” and does not attribute it to the FAA.

  • SOFTThe oral and practical takes one to two days for a full A&P.

    Practicing examiners publish 8 to 10 hours for a full A&P. The FAA sets no time limit and publishes no duration. Always presented as “varies by examiner”.

  • UNVERIFIEDMechanics call the certificate a “ticket”.

    Widely asserted in search snippets; not found on any primary or industry page actually read. “A&P license” is the informal term with real evidence behind it. The site does not use “ticket”.

  • SOFTExaminer fee ranges for the oral and practical.

    Four published school and examiner schedules, read 19 August 2026. The FAA principle, that the examiner sets the fee, is confirmed; the dollar figures are not endorsed by the FAA.

08 COMMON QUESTIONSFAQ

Questions people ask about the A&P numbers

Q.01

Where does it say 70% is the A&P passing score?

In 14 CFR § 65.17(c), which sets the minimum passing grade for the written tests under Part 65 as a whole. It is one threshold for the whole test, not a minimum per subject area. The oral and practical is also graded to 70%, from the ACS. How the pass mark plays out on the day, and why a bare pass costs you at the oral, is on the knowledge tests page.

Q.02

When does the A&P 24 month window start?

At the end of the month in which you pass your first written test, under 14 CFR § 65.71(a)(3). Every remaining written, and the oral and practical for every rating you are after, has to be passed inside it. It is one clock for the whole certificate, not one per test. The rules for what happens if it runs out are on the knowledge tests page.

Q.03

Is 30 months of A&P experience 30 calendar months?

Yes. 14 CFR § 65.77(b) asks for 30 months of practical experience working concurrently on airframes and powerplants for both ratings, or 18 for one, and the FAA counts calendar months. Its inspectors have refused applicants who offered the same hours in a shorter time. A month is generally read as about 160 hours of work, and training time does not count. How to document it is on the experience page.

Q.04

Where do these A&P numbers come from?

From five documents, all linked at the foot of this page: 14 CFR Part 65 Subpart D on the eCFR, FAA-S-ACS-1 (the ACS), PSI’s own testing pages, the FAA’s U.S. Civil Airmen Statistics, and the FAA’s Airman Knowledge Test statistics. Every figure was read from its source on the date printed under the title, and the 4 claims that could not be tied to a primary source are listed in their own section rather than quietly dropped.

09 SOURCESPRIMARY DOCUMENTS

Read the documents, not us

Every fact on this page was read from these on 19 August 2026. They are the authority and we are the summary. If we and one of them disagree, they are right.

FREE PLAN · NO CARD · ALL 44 SUBJECTS OPEN

The numbers are the easy part. The material is here, free.

The free plan opens all 44 subjects, which cover every ACS subject area, with 25 new questions a day in each. Each question has 3 answer choices, like the FAA A&P tests, with a written explanation behind every answer and, for every answer written from the FAA handbooks, the chapter it came from. It is a plan, not a trial, and it needs no card.

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Or answer a few first. The free FAA A&P practice test runs on the page, with no account.