The A&P General test (AMG): what to expect

The Aviation Maintenance Technician General test, code AMG, comes first: the FAA says you take it before the Airframe or Powerplant test (FAA: Aircraft Mechanic Oral, Practical, & Written Tests). Whichever rating you're after, it's part of getting your original certificate; it's only skipped when a certificated mechanic adds a second rating (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 6). It has 60 questions, up to 2 hours and a 70% passing score (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 6). In 2025 the FAA recorded 22,585 Aviation Maintenance Technician General knowledge tests, and 69.59% were passed (FAA CY2025 knowledge test report). Here is what to expect.

The format at a glance

The 60 doesn't include validation questions, which any knowledge test may carry to gather data. They aren't scored, but the time limit includes them (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 2). That works out to about 2 minutes a question, a little less if validation questions are added: enough to think, not enough to wrestle with one problem for ten.

What the General test covers

Questions come from the 12 General subjects of the FAA's Aviation Mechanic Airman Certification Standards (ACS) (Aviation Mechanic ACS, pp. 1-18) (14 CFR 65.75(a)). In plain terms:

• Fundamentals of Electricity and Electronics: circuits and the laws behind them, batteries, semiconductors and digital logic.
• Aircraft Drawings: reading blueprints, schematics, charts and graphs.
• Weight and Balance: weighing an aircraft and working out where its center of gravity falls.
• Fluid Lines and Fittings: rigid lines and flexible hoses, and how they're made up and installed.
• Aircraft Materials, Hardware, and Processes: metals, fasteners, safety wire, torque, precision measuring and welds.
• Ground Operations and Servicing: towing, tie-down, fueling, engine runs, extinguishers and shop safety.
• Cleaning and Corrosion Control: what causes corrosion, how to find and treat it, and paint and finishes.
• Mathematics: geometry, ratios, algebra, number notation and unit conversion.
• Regulations, Maintenance Forms, Records, and Publications: what the certificate allows, record entries, FAA forms and maintenance data.
• Physics for Aviation: force, work, heat, pressure, gas laws and the basics of flight.
• Inspection Concepts and Techniques: measuring tools, nondestructive testing and inspection programs.
• Human Factors: human error, safety culture, teamwork and shift handovers.

Every subject breaks down into coded knowledge elements. In a code like AM.I.H.K5, AM stands for Aviation Mechanic, I for the General section, H for the subject and K5 for the fifth knowledge element (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 11); under Mathematics, K5 is proportion and percentage problems (Aviation Mechanic ACS, p. 13). Test questions are tied to these codes (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 11), so the ACS doubles as a checklist of what can be asked. For reading, the FAA says many questions are based on its handbooks (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic); for General that's the free Aviation Maintenance Technician Handbook - General (FAA-H-8083-30B).

Before test day

1. Get authorized. The testing center needs to see one of these: an original FAA Form 8610-2 signed by an FAA inspector (the experience route), an authenticated document from a certificated aviation maintenance technician school, or a military certificate of eligibility (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 6). Still in school? A document showing you've completed the school's General curriculum lets you take this test before you graduate (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 6) (14 CFR 65.75(c)). Keep your originals; the center makes a copy (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 12).
2. Get an FAA Tracking Number. Create a profile in IACRA, the FAA's online airman application system, before the test. Your FTN is printed on your test report (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 1).
3. Book it. With your FTN, you create an account with the FAA's testing provider, choose a testing center, pick a time slot and pay (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 15). The FAA points fee questions to the provider (FAA: Become an Aviation Mechanic).
4. Ask early for any accommodation you need. Requests go through the same registration process, and you should be ready to send medical documentation (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 18).

On test day

Bring identification that is valid and current and shows your photo, date of birth, signature and physical, residential address. For US citizens and resident aliens, that can be a driver's license, a government ID card, a military ID or a passport. A post office box doesn't count as a residential address; if your ID doesn't show one, the matrix lists other documents that prove it (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 1). Bring your authorization, too (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 16).

What you may use in the testing room is a short list (FAA ACS Companion Guide, pp. 16-17):

• The testing supplement book, handed to you by the proctor. For the mechanic tests that's FAA-CT-8080-4G (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 6). It's a free download (FAA testing supplement PDF), worth paging through beforehand so its layout isn't new to you.
• An aviation calculator, or a basic calculator that only does arithmetic. The testing center may supply one or refuse yours, and you clear its memory in front of the proctor before and after the test.
• Scales, straightedges, protractors and similar tools, if they relate to the test.

Notes, books and dictionaries stay out (FAA ACS Companion Guide, pp. 16-17). For a question that uses a graph, you can ask for a printed copy to mark up; it goes back to the testing center at the end, along with any other paperwork from the test (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 17). Before the test starts you can run a short tutorial to practice choosing an answer, marking a question for review and checking the time left (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 16).

Once you start, read each question fully before you look at the choices, and remember that only one answer is complete and correct. Mark hard questions, answer the easier ones, then go back (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 17). If a question seems faulty, you can leave a comment on it as you go (FAA Airman Testing FAQ, p. 4). The FAA directs testing centers to end a test whenever a proctor suspects cheating (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 17), and anyone who cheats becomes ineligible for any airman certificate or rating for 1 year (14 CFR 65.18).

After you finish

You leave with a printed Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR) showing your score and the codes for any questions you missed. Keep the original, so the examiner can go over the areas you missed with you during the oral part of your oral and practical tests (FAA Airman Testing FAQ, p. 3). The FAA's companion guide says a report expires 24 calendar months after the month you take the test (FAA ACS Companion Guide, p. 19), and Part 65 requires all your tests to be passed within 24 months (14 CFR 65.71(a)(3)), so don't leave Airframe or Powerplant too long.

If you don't pass, you can retest after 30 days, or sooner with a signed statement from someone who holds the certificate and rating you're seeking, confirming extra instruction in each failed subject (14 CFR 65.19). Bring the failed report to the testing center when you retest (FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix, p. 6).

How to prepare

Start with the ACS list and the General handbook, then practice in the real format. If you want a guided route, A&P Complete, the course for all three mechanic tests, is $49 once and includes a General module of 12 lessons, one per ACS subject, plus 15 timed 60-question mock exams. It is text-only practice, so it doesn't prepare you for questions that use images. Read the free Mathematics lesson to see how it teaches. Then look ahead to the Airframe test or the Powerplant test, and read how to study for the A&P written tests and how hard the A&P tests are.

Questions people ask

How many questions are on the A&P General test?

60 scored questions, with up to 2 hours and a passing score of 70%. Unscored validation questions may be added, and the time limit includes them.

Do I have to take the General test first?

Yes. The FAA says to take the General knowledge test first, then the Airframe and/or Powerplant tests. If you already hold a mechanic certificate and are only adding a rating, the testing matrix says the General test isn't required.

Can I take the General test while I'm still in school?

Yes, if your aviation maintenance technician school gives you an authenticated document showing you completed the General part of its curriculum and the date you completed it (14 CFR 65.75(c)).

Can I bring a calculator to the AMG test?

Aviation calculators and basic calculators that only do arithmetic are acceptable, but the testing center may provide its own or refuse yours, and the proctor makes the final decision on any aid.

What subjects are on the General test?

The 12 General subjects of the FAA's Aviation Mechanic ACS: electricity and electronics, aircraft drawings, weight and balance, fluid lines and fittings, materials and hardware, ground operations and servicing, cleaning and corrosion control, mathematics, regulations and records, physics, inspection, and human factors.