EASA Part-66 Licence: Choose Your Category and Route

Start with the work you want to certify

An EASA Part-66 aircraft maintenance licence records your qualification and its scope. Choose a category from the maintenance work and aircraft you intend to cover, then establish the knowledge, experience and rating requirements. In a Part-145 organisation, you also need that organisation’s certification authorisation before signing on its behalf.

The table is a starting point. Aircraft ratings, licence limitations, competence and applicable organisation authorisation still control what you can certify. Maximum take-off mass is abbreviated to MTOM.

Read the full category and privilege guide alongside 66.A.3 and 66.A.20 before choosing a route. Aircraft groups serve the rating rules; their definition is in 66.A.5.

Electric aircraft need a specific scope check. B1.E already covers aeroplanes with electric power plant below 5,700 kg MTOM. It is not a future proposal. Nor does B2 mean unrestricted electric-propulsion coverage: GM1 66.A.20(a) distinguishes the main electric power plant from the electrical system. For unusual aircraft or powerplant combinations, check the EASA-designated categories in the relevant aircraft data under 66.A.3(a)(8) and (b).

Build the route around your starting point

There is no single experience period for a Part-66 licence. For example, B1.1 requires five years of practical maintenance experience on operating aircraft without relevant technical training, three years with relevant skilled-worker training accepted by the competent authority, or two years after an approved Part-147 basic course. These are B1.1 figures, not a universal timetable. L, C and additions to an existing licence have their own routes. See 66.A.30 and the full experience and application guide.

Before paying for training, settle which category you are pursuing, which course or examinations you will complete, and which experience route the authority will accept. Standalone module passes do not by themselves establish completion of this course:

The Part-147 basic-training guide explains that distinction. Treat the following as evidence stages; some work can overlap, so this is not a mandatory chronological sequence.

1. Demonstrate basic knowledge. Check the modules for the intended category and any authority-approved credits. Under 66.A.25, examinations are conducted by an approved Part-147 organisation or the competent authority; category L also permits another organisation agreed by that authority. Use the modules and examinations guide for the syllabus and timing rules.
2. Build basic experience. Keep records that demonstrate actual maintenance across the required tasks, category and period. Check recency and the ten-year application window under 66.A.30(d) and (f), rather than counting employment anniversaries. Outside-organisation experience needs the authority’s equivalence assessment and additional experience under 66.A.30(e).
3. Apply with the evidence. The minimum application age is 18. Submit EASA Form 19 and the applicable knowledge, practical-training and experience evidence in the competent authority’s required manner. A Member State competent authority issues the licence; EASA does not issue it to you directly. See 66.1, 66.A.10 and 66.A.15.
4. Establish the aircraft coverage. Check the required aircraft rating and any type training or on-the-job training (OJT), then the organisation authorisation needed for your intended duties. Category A requires no licence aircraft rating, but its task training and authorisation requirements still apply under 145.A.35.

A useful experience record therefore shows what you did, not just where you worked. Ask the authority about its evidence format early enough to correct gaps while you still have access to the supporting records.

Separate basic experience, type practical training and OJT

These answer different questions. Basic experience supports the licence category. Type training develops knowledge and skills for a particular aircraft: Appendix III section 1 requires theory and examination plus practical training and assessment, except for category C ratings. OJT develops and assesses work on the particular type in a real maintenance workplace; Appendix III section 6 requires an accepted programme, supervised tasks, a logbook and final assessment.

Under 66.A.45(c), the normal first aircraft type rating within a category or subcategory requires OJT, except category C. Point (d) provides a different Group 2/3 route through type evaluation and, for B1/B2, practical experience. Non-conventional aircraft also have additional first-type provisions. A completed practical type course is therefore not automatically completed OJT; nor is “OJT once in your lifetime” a safe planning rule.

Use the type-ratings and validity guide and Appendix III in the official continuing-airworthiness rules to establish the route for the aircraft and category before arranging training.

Licence versus Part-145 certification authorisation

This comparison concerns work within a Part-145 organisation. Other maintenance frameworks have their own provisions.

For ordinary Part-145 authorisation, the organisation assesses competence, qualifications and capability for the intended duties before issue or reissue. Its authorisation cannot simply enlarge your licence privileges. Part-145 certifying and support staff must be at least 21, even though the licence application minimum is 18. The governing provisions are 145.A.35(a), (b), (f), (g) and (l).

Before signing, check all four conditions in 66.A.20(b): compliance with the applicable maintenance rules; six months of relevant maintenance experience in the preceding two years or meeting the provision for issue of the appropriate privileges; adequate competence; and the ability to read, write and communicate understandably in the technical-documentation and procedure language.

The five-year licence validation requirement in 66.A.40 is a separate administrative check measured from the last issue or change. It does not establish that you are current to certify today.

As a practical record check, keep together the licence, module/course evidence, basic-experience records, rating evidence, required OJT logbook and assessment, and current organisation authorisation. Check each against the work you are about to undertake.

Sources and current amendments

The library baseline is the September 2025 EASA Easy Access Rules. EASA expressly states that publication excludes Regulation (EU) 2025/111, whose Part-66 changes apply from 13 February 2026. The category and privilege discussion uses those amendments separately from the baseline.

The electric-powerplant explanation also uses the non-binding guidance in ED Decision 2026/002/R, Part-66 Issue 2 Amendment 9. Regulation requirements and explanatory guidance have different status. For an individual application, use the applicable text and your licensing authority’s instructions alongside this overview.