Part-66 Licence: Experience and How to Apply
How to get an EASA Part-66 licence: experience years by category and training route, the 10-year and recency rules, EASA Form 19, and the 24-hour rule.
Dionysis Kefalas10 min readFor Part-145 and training organisation staff
Part 4 of 5 in EASA Part-66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence Show parts
- 1The EASA Part-66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence
- 2Part-66 Categories: A, B1, B2, B3 and C
- 3Part-66 Modules and Basic Knowledge Exams
- 4Part-66 Licence: Experience and How to Apply
- 5Part-66 Validity: Type Ratings and Renewal
Quotes checked on against EASA Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness (Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014) — 2 Sep 2025 revision.
On this page
How long it takes — three experience routes
For the categories below, the required experience depends on previous training. A Part-147 basic course gives access to the shortest of these routes; passing standalone modules is not the same as completing that course.
The table summarises points 1, 2 and 2a of the quotation below. Point 1 includes subcategory B1.E. Point 2a says the B2L experience covers the corresponding system rating or ratings. For each new system rating added to an existing B2L licence, that point states 3 months of practical maintenance experience relevant to the new system rating.
(a)An applicant for an aircraft maintenance licence shall have acquired:
1.for category A, subcategories B1.2, B1.E and B1.4 and category B3:
(i)3 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft, if the applicant has no previous relevant technical training; or
(ii)2 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of training considered relevant by the competent authority as a skilled worker, in a technical trade; or
(iii)1 year of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of a basic training course approved in accordance with Annex IV (Part-147);
2.for category B2 and subcategories B1.1 and B1.3:
(i)5 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft if the applicant has no previous relevant technical training; or
(ii)3 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of training considered relevant by the competent authority as a skilled worker, in a technical trade; or
(iii)2 years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft and completion of a basic training course approved in accordance with Annex IV (Part-147);
2a. for category B2L:
(i)3 years of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft, covering the corresponding system rating(s), if the applicant has no previous relevant technical training; or
(ii)2 years of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft, covering the corresponding system rating(s), and completion of training, considered relevant by the competent authority, as a skilled worker in a technical trade; or
(iii)1 year of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft, covering the corresponding system rating(s), and completion of a Part-147 approved basic training course. For the addition of (a) new system rating(s) to an existing B2L licence, 3 months of practical maintenance experience relevant to the new system rating(s) shall be required for each system rating added.
2b. for category L:
(i)2 years of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft covering a representative cross section of maintenance activities in the corresponding subcategory;
(ii)as a derogation from point (i), 1 year of practical maintenance experience in operating aircraft covering a representative cross section of maintenance activities in the corresponding subcategory, subject to the introduction of the limitation provided for in point 66.A.45(h)(ii)(3).
3.for category C with respect to complex motor-powered aircraft (CMPA):
(i)3 years of experience in exercising category B1.1, B1.3 or B2 privileges as support staff, or both support staff and certifying staff, in accordance with point 145.A.35 of Annex II (Part-145), at a maintenance organisation working on CMPA, including 12 months of experience as base maintenance support staff; or
(ii)5 years of experience in exercising category B1.2, B1.E, B1.4 or L5 privileges as support staff, or both support staff and certifying staff, in accordance with point 145.A.35 of Annex II (Part-145), at a maintenance organisation working on CMPA, including 12 months of experience as base maintenance support staff; or
(iii)for applicants holding an academic degree, 3 years of experience in working at an aircraft maintenance environment, on a representative selection of tasks that are directly associated with aircraft maintenance, including 6 months of participation in the performance of base maintenance tasks in operating CMPA;
(iv)to extend the endorsed category C with respect to other than CMPA to CMPA:
(a)2 years of experience in exercising category B1.1, B1.2, B1.E, B1.3, B1.4, B2 or L5 privileges as support staff, or both support staff and certifying staff, in accordance with point 145.A.35 of Annex II (Part-145), at a maintenance organisation working on CMPA, including 6 months of experience as base maintenance support staff; or
(b)when holding a category C licence based on an academic degree, 2 years of experience in working at an aircraft maintenance environment on a representative selection of tasks that are directly associated with aircraft maintenance, including 3 months of participation in the performance of base maintenance tasks in operating CMPA;
4.for category C with respect to other than CMPA:
(i)3 years of experience in exercising category B1, B2, B2L, B3 or L privileges as support staff, or both support staff and certifying staff, in accordance with point 145.A.35 of Annex II (Part-145), at a maintenance organisation in operating other than CMPA, including 6 months of experience as base maintenance support staff; or
(ii)for holders of an academic degree, 3 years of experience in working at an aircraft maintenance environment, on a representative selection of tasks that are directly associated with aircraft maintenance, including 6 months of participation in the performance of base maintenance tasks in operating other than CMPA;
5.the academic degree shall be in a relevant technical discipline, issued by a university or any other higher educational institution recognised by the competent authority.
[…]
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/111, Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness, 2 Sep 2025 revision.
Who can apply — eligibility
Passing the basic-knowledge modules earns you the theory. It does not, on its own, earn you a licence. Part-66 sets two further gates before the competent authority will issue an aircraft maintenance licence: a minimum age, and demonstrated practical experience to back the knowledge. The age gate is short and absolute, and it lives in 66.A.15.
An applicant for an aircraft maintenance licence shall be at least 18 years of age.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness, 2 Sep 2025 revision.
The minimum age applies whichever category you seek. Passing modules alone does not demonstrate all the knowledge, training and experience needed for issue.
What counts as experience
(c)The experience shall be practical and involve a representative cross section of maintenance tasks on aircraft.
(d)At least 1 year of the required experience shall be recent maintenance experience on aircraft of the category/subcategory for which the initial aircraft maintenance licence is sought. For subsequent category/subcategory additions to an existing aircraft maintenance licence, the additional recent maintenance experience required may be less than 1 year, but shall be at least 3 months. The required experience shall be dependent upon the difference between the licence category/subcategory held and applied for. Such additional experience shall be typical of the new licence category/subcategory sought.
[…]
(f)Experience shall have been acquired within the 10 years preceding the application for an aircraft maintenance licence or the addition of a category or subcategory to such a licence.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness, 2 Sep 2025 revision.
When you check point (d), separate an initial licence from a later addition. An initial licence needs at least 1 year of recent maintenance experience on aircraft of the category or subcategory sought. A later category or subcategory addition may need less than 1 year of recent maintenance experience, but at least 3 months. Do not treat the whole of the experience as recent. Point (f) asks whether the experience was acquired within the 10 years preceding the application. Point (c) asks for a representative cross section of maintenance tasks.
Category L is point 2b in the quotation above, not a row in the table. Read that point for its own durations and the limitation it names. Do not apply the table to category L.
Category C is points 3, 4 and 5 in that same quotation, not another row in the table. Read them against the aircraft and the privileges sought.
Knowledge and type-rating gates
Basic-knowledge examinations and credits are in Part-66 modules and examinations. This page does not state 66.A.25.
Aircraft ratings are a separate gate from this experience. The endorsement routes are in Keeping Your Part-66 Licence Valid: Type Ratings, Renewal and Recency.
Applying for the licence
Once age, knowledge and experience are all in place, the application itself is a defined administrative act — a specific form, to a specific authority, supported by specific evidence. 66.A.10 fixes all three.
(a)An application for an aircraft maintenance licence or change to such licence shall be made on an EASA Form 19 (see Appendix V) in a manner established by the competent authority and submitted thereto.
(b)An application for the change to an aircraft maintenance licence shall be made to the competent authority of the Member State that issued the aircraft maintenance licence.
[…]
(f)Each application shall be supported by documentation to demonstrate compliance with the applicable theoretical knowledge, practical training and experience requirements at the time of application.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness, 2 Sep 2025 revision.
Use the form and the filing route in the quotation, and put the supporting documents with the application before you send it.
Evidence of qualification
The licence does not stop earning its keep on the day it is issued. A Part-66 licence is the working credential a certifying engineer carries. 66.A.55 sets the time for producing it.
Personnel exercising certification privileges as well as support staff shall produce their licence, as evidence of qualification, within 24 hours upon request by an authorised person.
Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014, Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness, 2 Sep 2025 revision.
If an authorised person asks, produce the licence within 24 hours. Keep it somewhere you can reach on a ramp, on a night shift, or away from home.
Putting it together
Walk it through with a fictional engineer. A technician at ExampleMRO completes a Part-147-approved basic training course, then logs practical maintenance on operating aircraft at the shop. Because they took the Part-147 route, they use point 1 of the 66.A.30 quotation for category A, subcategories B1.2, B1.E and B1.4 and category B3, then check point (d) for this initial licence rather than for a later addition. They sit and pass the relevant basic-knowledge modules. With the theory, the training and the experience all in hand — and now past eighteen (66.A.15) — they assemble the evidence pack: module certificates, the Part-147 course record, and a logbook showing the recent, representative cross-section of tasks the rule wants. That pack is what supports the EASA Form 19 they submit to the competent authority under 66.A.10. Once the licence issues, 66.A.55 means they keep it within reach: an authorised person can ask, and the clock to produce it is 24 hours.
The thread running through every step is evidence. The age is a fact, but the knowledge, training and experience are all things you must be able to show, both at application and for years afterwards. This is where keeping the licence and its supporting records organised stops being housekeeping and becomes compliance. Avioverse's certifications tracker can help organise your qualification records and renewal tasks. Keep the application evidence and the licence retrievable in the form your competent authority requires.
The licence in hand is the start of the working life of a Part-66 engineer, not the end of the paperwork. Type ratings extend it to specific aircraft, and recency and renewal keep it valid. The final guide in this series, Keeping Your Part-66 Licence Valid: Type Ratings, Renewal and Recency, picks up there — from the day the licence is issued to keeping it current for the rest of your career.
Where to read it yourself
Read 66.A.25 (knowledge), 66.A.30 (experience), 66.A.45 (aircraft ratings), Annex III Appendix I (basic knowledge), Annex IV Appendix I (basic-course durations), and Annex III Appendix III (type training and OJT) in the EASA Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness. The library baseline is the 2025-09-02 revision, with current amendments checked for this guide on 24 September 2026.
Educational content, not regulatory compliance advice. Verify against the current regulation text before relying on it.
In this series
Related
- The EASA Part-66 Aircraft Maintenance Licence: A Complete GuideGuide · 6 min
- Part-66 Licence Categories Explained: A, B1, B2, B3 and CGuide · 7 min
- Part-66 Modules and Examinations: The Basic Knowledge RequirementsGuide · 8 min
- Keeping Your Part-66 Licence Valid: Type Ratings, Renewal and RecencyGuide · 7 min
Written by Dionysis Kefalas. Retired Hellenic Air Force Captain and founder of Avioverse. About the author
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