Transport Canada AME licence route: ratings M1, M2, E, S, and Balloon, training hours, experience totals, task proof, and the 70 percent exam pass mark.
Applies in: CA
Transport Canada issues aircraft maintenance engineer licences to certify the performance of maintenance. Before applying, applicants take basic training, get experience, and write exams, as the Obtaining an aircraft maintenance engineer licence page states. The detailed requirements sit in the Canadian Aviation Regulations, Part IV, Subpart 3, and Airworthiness Manual Chapter 566, and the Transport Canada pages state plainly that their summaries are not all-inclusive. Read the regulations and the Airworthiness Manual chapter before starting a training program. This guide follows the Transport Canada pages, and states no training-provider figure, no school duration, and no salary claim.
The licence carries rating designators that set the scope of maintenance release privileges. M1 covers non-turbojet aircraft built to Standard 522, 523, 523-VLA, 527, 549 and equivalent standards, including all airframe, engines, propellers, components, structures, and systems of those aircraft. M2 covers all aircraft not included in M1, excluding balloons, including all airframes, engines, propellers, components, structures, and systems. E covers aircraft electronic systems, including communication, pulse, navigation, auto flight, flight path computation, instruments, and the electrical elements of other aircraft systems, plus any structural work directly associated with maintaining those systems. S covers all airframe structures. Balloon is a separate rating. Holders of an M1 or M2 rated licence also have maintenance release privileges for all turbine powered helicopters and SFAR 41C aeroplanes, including their associated variants and derivatives.
An applicant provides documented proof of five elements: citizenship, age, training, knowledge, experience, and skill. Citizenship of any country is acceptable. The age for licence issuance is 21. Pick the rating first, because the training hours, experience totals, and examinations that follow all depend on the rating sought.
Basic training must be applicable to the licence rating requested, and must be from a Transport Canada approved or acceptable source, or be assessed case by case. The minimum basic training in the Transport Canada requirements table is 1,000 hours of aircraft maintenance theory for M1 and M2, 1,000 hours of electronics theory for E, 550 hours of aircraft structures theory for S, and an acceptable course in balloon maintenance for Balloon.
Proof of basic training is a graduation certificate from an approved basic training course bearing the approval number, or a graduation certificate from an acceptable basic training course. Applicants who did not complete training from an approved or acceptable source must submit a course graduation certificate or diploma, a transcript of marks and hours of theoretical training in each subject, and a detailed course curriculum from the training provider effective at the time the training was completed, for assessment against Airworthiness Manual Chapter 566. Courses not previously approved or accepted are evaluated case by case at the time of the individual licence application. Use the Transport Canada list of approved and acceptable basic training courses currently active to check a course before enrolling, and keep the graduation certificate, transcript of marks, transcript of theoretical hours, and detailed curriculum, because the application requires them.
Canadian military training has been evaluated separately. The general information page states that Canadian military training for the AVN, AVS, and ACS courses has been evaluated against Airworthiness Manual Chapter 566, with a table of gaps in hours and subjects by trade and qualification level. Military applicants should read that table and the Maintenance and Manufacturing Staff Instructions No. 18, Appendix B, before assuming military training covers the full basic training requirement.
Experience is proved with a personal logbook or equivalent document, such as employment letters signed by the persons responsible for the maintenance release of the work items recorded, identifying exact dates, types of work performed, and types of aircraft worked on. Applicants are assessed separately against each type of required experience: total, specialty, and civil.
The totals are 48 months in total, 12 months specialty, and 6 months civil for M1, M2, and E; 36 months in total, 24 months specialty, and 6 months civil for S; and 120 hours for Balloon. At the time of a Form 24-0083 application, applicants should have all but 6 months of the total aviation maintenance experience required. Maintenance performed on ultra-light, advanced ultra-light, amateur-built, or owner-maintained aircraft is not acceptable. Maintenance of military aircraft or parts intended for installation on military aircraft may count toward total and specialty experience if it is representative of the aircraft, systems, or structures for the rating sought, but military applicants must still obtain at least 6 months of civil aviation maintenance experience performing maintenance on civil registered aircraft. Hands-on experience credit starts after completion of the initial basic training period, for example successful completion of a TQ or QL level 3.
Keep records from the start. The logbook or equivalent document is the proof, and gaps in dates, aircraft types, or work descriptions are harder to repair years later than they are to record at the time.
Skill is proved by completing a representative selection of eligible maintenance tasks over the full range of applicable systems and structures. The applicant submits documentation showing completion of at least 70 percent of the items listed in Appendix B of Airworthiness Manual Chapter 566 that apply to the rating sought and to the aircraft, systems, or components for which experience is claimed. Each task claimed must have been subject to a maintenance release or equivalent certification.
Proof is an appropriately completed personal logbook, or an appropriately completed list of maintenance tasks per Appendix B. Each task is certified by the holder of an AME licence or an equivalent person who supervised the work, including the date, aircraft type, registration mark, or component serial number as applicable, and a confirmation that the applicant can identify the applicable standard, select the proper tools, perform the work correctly without supervision, and complete the necessary documentation. The persons who sign for task completion are responsible for the accuracy of the statements made. At least 10 percent of the required maintenance tasks must be completed on civil registered aircraft, in addition to the civil experience requirement. There is no formal AME logbook, but Transport Canada publishes maintenance task record documents for the M1 or M2, E, S, and Balloon ratings for recording tasks.
Technical knowledge is shown by passing the Transport Canada technical examinations for the rating, with knowledge credit possible for applicants who completed approved basic training from an approved training organization. Regulatory knowledge is shown by passing the regulatory requirements examination. Transport Canada publishes the Study and Reference Guide, TP 14038, for the technical examinations, covering exam formats, sample topics for maintenance, avionics, and structures exams, and study resources. Read it before booking.
Approval to attempt the technical and regulatory examinations is valid for 12 months after Transport Canada approves the application. The passing grade for each examination is 70 percent. The technical examinations may be attempted once the Form 26-0638 application has been approved, and the regulatory examination may be attempted once the Form 24-0083 application has been approved and the applicant has completed all but 6 months of the required total experience. A first failure means a wait of at least 30 days before re-examination; a second or later failure means a wait of at least 6 months after each failed attempt. Examinations are invigilated at a Transport Canada Regional Service Centre of the applicant's choice, by appointment only, and applicants book and pay through the online booking website.
There are two application forms, depending on where basic training was acquired. Form 26-0638, the AME Licence Application Supplement for technical examinations, is for applicants who must demonstrate technical knowledge and attempt the Transport Canada technical examinations. Form 24-0083, the Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Licence Application, is for applicants who completed an approved training organization basic training program with knowledge credit or who completed the technical examinations. Applicants in Canada submit the completed form and supporting documentation to the nearest Transport Canada Centre or Regional Office; applicants outside Canada submit to Operational Airworthiness in Ottawa. Documents must be originals or certified true copies, translated into English or French where necessary, with translations accompanied by the originals. Copies may be certified by a notary public or commissioner for oaths, a Transport Canada safety inspector, officer, or administrative support person, or the holder of a valid Canadian AME licence. Where documents are not submitted in person, they must be certified as true copies by one of those persons. The obtaining page states an application will be processed within 40 working days under the Aviation Service Standards. The new licence credential has a 10-year validity period, better security features, and no photograph, according to the Transport Canada notice on the obtaining page.
Figures not stated here: no training-provider tuition, course length, or salary figure is stated, because no Transport Canada page states one. No examination fee amount is stated, because the general information page refers readers to Schedule IV of the Canadian Aviation Regulations 104 without stating the amounts. Confirm current charges on Schedule IV and the current service standard before paying or planning.
M1 covers non-turbojet aircraft built to Standard 522, 523, 523-VLA, 527, 549 and equivalent standards, including all airframe, engines, propellers, components, structures, and systems of those aircraft. M2 covers all aircraft not included in M1, excluding balloons, including all airframes, engines, propellers, components, structures, and systems. E covers aircraft electronic systems, including communication, pulse, navigation, auto flight, flight path computation, instruments, and the electrical elements of other aircraft systems, plus structural work directly associated with maintaining those systems. S covers all airframe structures. Balloon is a separate rating. Holders of an M1 or M2 rated licence also have maintenance release privileges for all turbine powered helicopters and SFAR 41C aeroplanes, including associated variants and derivatives.
M1, M2, and E each need 1,000 hours of theory, 48 months of aviation maintenance experience in total, 12 months of specialty experience, and 6 months of civil experience. S needs 550 hours of aircraft structures theory, 36 months in total, 24 months of specialty experience, and 6 months of civil experience. Balloon needs an acceptable course in balloon maintenance and 120 hours of experience. Applicants are assessed separately against each type of required experience, total, specialty, and civil, as detailed in Appendix A of Airworthiness Manual Chapter 566. Maintenance on ultra-light, advanced ultra-light, amateur-built, or owner-maintained aircraft is not acceptable, and at the time of application for Form 24-0083, applicants should have all but 6 months of the total experience required.
No. Transport Canada states citizenship of any country is acceptable, with proof such as a valid passport or a valid aviation personnel licence showing citizenship issued by an ICAO contracting state. The licence issuance age is 21, proved by a Canadian citizenship certificate, a birth or baptismal certificate, a passport, or any Canadian federal or provincial document showing the birth date.
Technical knowledge is shown by passing the Transport Canada technical examinations for the rating, with credit possible for applicants who completed approved basic training from an approved training organization. Regulatory knowledge is shown by passing the regulatory requirements examination. The passing grade for each examination is 70 percent, and approval to attempt the examinations is valid for 12 months after Transport Canada approves the application. An applicant who fails on the first attempt cannot be re-examined sooner than 30 days after the failed attempt, and an applicant who fails a second or later attempt cannot be re-examined sooner than 6 months after each failed attempt. Examinations are invigilated at a Transport Canada Regional Service Centre of the applicant's choice, by appointment only.
No. Transport Canada states there is no conversion of aircraft maintenance licences in Canada, and all applicants must meet the requirements for initial issuance. Applicants who held certain maintenance licences issued by an ICAO contracting state may be exempt from the basic training requirement, under Airworthiness Manual 566.07(1), with documented proof of the licence and a letter from the issuing civil aviation authority attesting its validity, privileges, initial issuance date, and conformity with ICAO Annex 1. That is an exemption from one element, not a conversion, and the applicant must still meet the knowledge, experience, and skill requirements.
No fee amount is stated in this guide, because the Transport Canada general information page refers readers to Schedule IV of Canadian Aviation Regulations 104 for the charges and does not state the amounts on the page. Fee payments can be made through the online booking website or by calling 1-800-305-2059. On timing, the Transport Canada obtaining page states an application will be processed within 40 working days under the Aviation Service Standards, in the Personnel Licensing and Training section. Confirm the current charges on Schedule IV before paying, and confirm the current service standard with Transport Canada before planning around the 40 working days.