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Military Experience Mapper
See roughly how your hands-on military maintenance experience lines up with FAA mechanic experience requirements, and what to do next. Takes about 3 minutes.
Your checklist & results
Updates as you type. Save a copy to bring to your FSDO or education office.
For orientation only. The FAA alone determines eligibility. Nothing below is an FAA determination or FAA policy.
Your checklist
- Select your branch and specialty
- Log hands-on hours in each area for your goal
- Log 40+ hours in at least half of the relevant categories
- Logged hours roughly add up to 30 months of full-time work
Then, on your own
Experience by category
A category counts once it has 40+ hours logged (our rule of thumb).
Log some hours in step 2 to see your coverage by category.
14 CFR 65.77 requires at least 18 months (one rating) or 30 months of concurrent experience (both). Converting hours to months (~160 hrs ≈ 1 month) is our assumption, not an FAA conversion. Time in initial military training isn't credited (AC 65-30B).
Show rough estimate percentage
Estimate only. This number comes from our own simplified formula, which mixes logged time and category coverage. It is not FAA policy, not an eligibility determination, and doesn't guarantee you can test. An FAA inspector at your FSDO makes that call based on your documented experience.
Suggested next step
Select your specialty and log some hours to see a suggested next step.
Orientation only. Whether you're ready to test is decided by an FAA inspector reviewing your documented experience.
Two ways forward
Path A
JSAMTCC Certificate of Eligibility
If it's available for your specialty and base, completing the Joint Services Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification Council (JSAMTCC) program earns a Certificate of Eligibility. Per AC 65-30B, a COE holder is considered to have met the experience requirement for the rating listed on the COE and is authorized to test.
Start with: your base education office or maintenance training office.
Path B
Document your experience → FAA Form 8610-2
Gather the records below and meet with an FAA inspector at your local Flight Standards office (FSDO). If your documented experience satisfies the requirements, the inspector signs Form 8610-2 authorizing you to test. AC 65-30B says inspectors verify your duties cover at least 50% of the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) for the rating.
What to gather
Included when you print / save PDF or download.
Per AC 65-30B: time spent in initial military training isn't credited toward the 18- or 30-month experience requirement. Your local FSDO may ask for more or different documents.
This tool provides an estimate based on your inputs. Final eligibility is determined by the FAA at your local FSDO.
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