Getting an aircraft maintenance engineering license usually takes about four years: roughly two years of approved training and module exams, followed by up to two years of documented practical experience on operating aircraft. That is the standard timeline for a B1.1, B1.3 or B2 license under the EASA Part-66 framework when your training comes from a Part-147 approved course.

The number moves a lot with your route. Without an approved course, the same license can require five years of practical experience, and the US FAA route runs on a different clock again. Demand is not what slows people down: Boeing's 2026 Pilot and Technician Outlook projects 728,000 new maintenance technicians worldwide between 2026 and 2045, including 48,000 in South Asia.

This guide splits the timeline into stages, shows where the time actually goes, and explains what adds months or saves years. It also uses Aviation Training Hub's (ATH) Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programme as a worked example of the training phase.

How Long Does It Take to Get an Aircraft Maintenance Engineering License?

It takes about four years on the standard EASA Part-66 route for categories B1.1, B1.3 and B2, and about the length of your course plus one year for categories A, B1.2, B1.4 and B3. Two choices set the timeline: how you trained and which category you want.

An aircraft maintenance engineering license is the legal credential that lets its holder certify maintenance work and release an aircraft to service. The table below shows how the time adds up on each route.

The EASA experience figures come from point 66.A.30 of Part-66, as set out in EASA's own Part-147 FAQ, which says a completed Part-147 course lets you apply with one or two years of maintenance experience instead of one, two, three or five. If you plan to apply to the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) rather than an EASA member authority, confirm its requirements directly, because national authorities apply licensing rules to their own applicants.

What Are the Stages of Getting an AME License, and How Long Does Each Take?

There are six stages: admission, coursework, module exams, on-the-job training, post-course experience and the license application. Only the coursework has a fixed length. The rest depends on intake dates, your exam pace and your employer.

1. Admission and entry check (up to 3 months of waiting). ATH runs five intakes a year, in January, April, July, September and November, so the gap between intakes is two to three months. Entry needs a Matric or FSc qualification with at least 50% in Mathematics and Physics.
2. Coursework (24 months). Six semesters of four months each, covering the foundation and specialised modules.
3. Module exams (spread across the course). The programme involves 16 EASA exams, sat one at a time as modules finish rather than all at the end.
4. On-the-job training (OJT). Practical hours with a partner organisation, with cost starting from PKR 8,000 depending on partner and scope.
5. Post-course practical experience (1 or 2 years). Logged work on operating aircraft, as the table above shows.
6. License application and type rating (authority-dependent). The authority reviews your certificates and logbook. EASA also publishes a list of Part-66 aircraft type ratings, which engineers add to a license for the specific aircraft types they certify.

How Long Does the Training and Exam Phase Take?

The training phase takes about 24 months in a six-semester programme, and finishing on time tends to depend on passing each module exam as you go instead of saving them up.

A Part-147 approved training organisation is a school that EASA, or a national authority acting under it, has approved to teach and examine basic maintenance training. When you finish the full course there, the organisation issues a Certificate of Recognition for the course, and that certificate is what unlocks the shorter experience requirement.

Treat the first year as the load-bearing one. Mathematics, physics and electrical fundamentals sit underneath nearly every specialised module that follows, so a weak first year shows up as resits later.

How Many Years of Practical Experience Do You Need After Training?

You need one or two years of practical maintenance experience after a Part-147 course, depending on category, and up to five years if you did not take one.

Practical maintenance experience is documented, hands-on work on operating aircraft, recorded in a logbook and covering a representative range of maintenance tasks. The Irish Aviation Authority's Part-66 licensing FAQ confirms the Part-147 figures: 1 year for the lighter categories and 2 years for B2, B1.1 and B1.3.

Where you gain the experience matters as much as how long. For applications to the Irish authority, only experience gained in approved organisations, such as EASA Part-145 or Part-M Subpart F organisations and certain FAA, Transport Canada and Australian equivalents, is accepted. How much of your OJT during training counts toward the requirement is a decision for the licensing authority, so ask in writing before you plan around it.

Does the License Category (A, B1, B2, C) Change the Timeline?

Yes. Categories A, B1.2, B1.4 and B3 need one year of experience after a Part-147 course, while B1.1, B1.3 and B2 need two. B1 and B2 carry the same experience requirement but certify different systems.

• Category A: limited certification of minor scheduled line maintenance and simple defect rectification.
• Category B1: release to service on airframes, engines and mechanical and electrical systems.
• Category B2: release to service on avionics, electrical and instrument systems.
• Category C: base maintenance certification, a later step that builds on years of B1 or B2 experience rather than a separate course.

If you want both B1 and B2, expect extra time. Adding a second category to an existing license carries its own experience requirement, and the UK regulatory library's Part-66 extension table shows it ranges from six months to two years depending on the starting and target category, halved if you completed a relevant Part-147 course.

How Does the FAA Airframe and Powerplant Timeline Compare?

The US route requires either graduation from an FAA-certificated maintenance school or 18 months of documented practical experience for one rating, or 30 months for airframe and powerplant combined. 14 CFR 65.77 sets those figures.

An FAA certificate and an EASA Part-66 license are separate credentials issued by separate authorities. Check conversion rules with the authority before assuming one replaces the other, and see ATH's separate guide on whether a Pakistani AME license can convert to EASA or FAA.

What Can Make Getting an AME License Take Longer?

Splitting your training, skipping the full course and gaining experience in unapproved organisations are the documented ways to add years to the timeline.

• Splitting training across two Part-147 organisations. EASA's FAQ says you then receive module certificates but not the course-completion certificate, so the experience reduction is lost unless your authority is satisfied that the combined training covers the full syllabus, includes all practical assessments and keeps the right balance of theory and practice.
• Sitting exams without attending the course. EASA states that no experience credit is granted in this case, so the standard one, two, three or five years applies.
• Experience in unapproved organisations. Work done outside organisations your authority recognises may not count toward the requirement.
• Failed or delayed module exams. Each module is sat separately, so a failed exam delays progression by however long the next sitting takes.
• Waiting for an OJT placement. Placement depends on partner capacity, so a late start can push the whole sequence back.

How Can You Shorten the Timeline to Get an AME License?

Choose a Part-147 approved course, finish every module at one organisation, and start logging approved practical experience as early as your authority allows.

1. Verify Part-147 approval before you pay. The drop from five years of experience to two depends on it, so ask to see the approval certificate.
2. Keep the course and all exams at one organisation. This protects the experience reduction described above.
3. Line up your OJT partner early. Start the conversation well before your final semester.
4. Keep a dated, signed logbook from day one. Supervisors' sign-offs are the evidence your authority will ask for.
5. Ask your authority how much OJT counts. Get the answer in writing, so you know your real remaining experience requirement.
6. Pick the intake that fits. With intakes two to three months apart, waiting for the right one costs less than starting unprepared.

How Much Does the 24-Month Training Phase Cost?

Core tuition for the 24-month programme at ATH totals PKR 990,000, plus EUR 139 per EASA exam and OJT costs starting from PKR 8,000.

These figures cover the training phase only. PKR and euro amounts are kept separate because exam fees are billed in euros and exam by exam, and OJT costs vary by partner.

Why Does the Timeline Matter for Your Career Plans?

The timeline matters because technician demand is expected to stay high for the whole of a career that starts four years from now. Boeing's 2026 outlook says global demand for technicians will nearly replace the entire current workforce by 2045.

All four figures come from Boeing's Pilot and Technician Outlook 2026-2045. Boeing also notes that technician hiring stayed resilient in 2026 even as some carriers adjusted pilot and cabin crew recruitment. A four-year path is short against a twenty-year forecast, so the cost of delay is a lost year of earning, not a missing job. For hiring and pay data beyond these demand figures, see ATH's Aircraft Maintenance Engineer job outlook for 2026 and beyond.

How Does Aviation Training Hub Structure the Training Timeline?

The following section reflects Aviation Training Hub's (ATH) own programme structure, not a third-party finding. ATH runs its Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programme across two years and six semesters of four months each, with intakes in January, April, July, September and November rather than a single annual cycle. Entry requires a Matric or FSc qualification (Pre-Engineering or Pre-Medical accepted) with a minimum of 50% in Mathematics and Physics.

Year one covers the foundation modules and year two moves into the specialised ones, with the 16 EASA module exams sat progressively alongside the coursework. Assessment is deliberately assignment- and project-based rather than exam-only, so students work through practical tasks that mirror real maintenance scenarios. The programme runs from two campuses, Islamabad and Karachi.

Because the license timeline depends on experience rules as much as coursework, ATH's counselling session is the place to ask how the 24-month phase fits the route and category you are aiming for. Graduates who want to move into leadership later can progress into a BSc (Hons) Aircraft Engineering Management top-up without repeating foundational coursework.

What Mistakes Make Students Misjudge the AME License Timeline?

• Treating two years of study as two years to a license. The course is the first half of the standard route, not the whole of it.
• Not checking Part-147 approval. It is the single fact that decides whether you face two years of experience or five.
• Changing schools mid-course. It can cost you the experience reduction.
• Keeping a loose logbook. Experience without signed, dated records is hard to prove later.
• Underestimating OJT. Practical exposure on real aircraft is what authorities and employers look for.
• Assuming every authority applies the same rules. Confirm PCAA, EASA member-state or FAA requirements for the license you actually want.

Conclusion

How long does it take to get an aircraft maintenance engineering license? About four years for B1.1, B1.3 and B2 on the standard EASA Part-66 route, built from a 24-month approved course and up to two years of practical experience, with a shorter experience requirement for categories A, B1.2, B1.4 and B3. Skip the approved course and the experience requirement grows to as much as five years.

If you are weighing this path, start by confirming the training organisation's Part-147 approval and the authority you will apply to, then map the experience years to your category.

Last updated: October 2026. Figures reviewed against the sources linked in this guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about how long it takes to get an aircraft maintenance engineering license