Regulations, Forms and Records
13% of the exam 3 min
Thirteen percent of the weighting: who may become a mechanic, what a mechanic may do, how work and inspections are recorded, Form 337, the 100-hour and annual rules, ADs, and approved versus acceptable data. Checked against the current eCFR text.
Becoming a mechanic: part 65 eligibility
An applicant must be at least 18, able to read, write, speak and understand English, and must pass all the prescribed tests within 24 months (14 CFR 65.71). Experience comes from a Part 147 school's authenticated document, or from 18 months of practical experience for one rating or 30 months for both (65.77). A school student may take the General written after finishing the general curriculum (65.75(c)). After a failed test, retesting is allowed after 30 days, or sooner with a signed statement of additional instruction (65.19).
What a mechanic may and may not do
A certificated mechanic may perform or supervise maintenance, preventive maintenance and alteration within the ratings held, but not major repairs or major alterations of propellers, and not any repair or alteration of instruments (65.81, amended July 2025). A mechanic may not supervise or approve work never performed before without showing the ability. Airframe and powerplant mechanics may approve for return to service after maintenance, excluding major repairs and alterations, and may perform and approve 100-hour inspections (65.85, 65.87). An inspection authorization adds annual inspections, progressive inspections and approval after major repairs and alterations done to approved data (65.95); it expires March 31 of each odd-numbered year (65.92). Recent experience requires 6 months of mechanic work in the last 24 months (65.83), and an address change must be reported within 30 days (65.21).
Recording work and inspections
A 43.9 entry for maintenance or alteration contains a description or reference to acceptable data, the completion date, the name of the person who did the work if different, and the approver's signature, certificate number and kind of certificate; the signature approves only the work performed. A 43.11 inspection entry contains the type and extent of the inspection, the date and total time in service, the signature and certificate data, and the airworthiness statement; if the aircraft is not approved, the owner receives a signed, dated list of discrepancies. Major repairs and alterations also go on Form 337, executed at least in duplicate: a signed copy to the owner, and a copy to the FAA Aircraft Registration Branch in Oklahoma City within 48 hours (Part 43, Appendix B).
Inspections, ADs and data
Aircraft carrying people for hire, or used for flight instruction for hire in an aircraft the instructor provides, need a 100-hour or annual inspection within the preceding 100 hours; the limit may be exceeded by up to 10 hours en route to an inspection, and the excess counts against the next 100 (91.409(b)). Operating a product that does not comply with an applicable airworthiness directive is a violation (39.7). Major repairs and alterations require approved data, such as ADs, STCs, type certificate data sheets, DER-approved data and FAA-approved service bulletins; minor work may use acceptable data such as maintenance manuals or AC 43.13-1B. After work that may change flight characteristics, a pilot with at least a private certificate must fly and log it before passengers are carried, unless ground tests show conclusively that nothing changed (91.407).
Where people lose points
✗ "An A&P can approve a major alteration for return to service after doing it."
✓ No. That takes an inspection authorization holder (with approved data) or an appropriately rated repair station.
✗ "Minor instrument repairs are within a mechanic's privileges."
✓ ANY repair or alteration of instruments is excluded. Only propellers have the major-only exclusion.
✗ "A 43.9 signature declares the aircraft airworthy."
✓ It approves only the work performed. The airworthiness statement belongs to a 43.11 inspection entry.
✗ "The 10 hours flown to reach the inspection are free."
✓ They count against the next 100 hours.
✗ "AC 43.13-1B is approved data for any repair."
✓ It is acceptable data. It becomes approved data for a major alteration only under the conditions the AC itself sets.
Numbers to memorize
| Minimum age | 18 (65.71) |
| All tests passed within | 24 months (65.71) |
| Experience, one rating / both | 18 / 30 months (65.77) |
| Retest after failure | 30 days, or a signed statement (65.19) |
| Recent experience | 6 months in the last 24 (65.83) |
| Address change | Within 30 days (65.21) |
| IA expires | March 31, odd-numbered years (65.92) |
| 100-hour overflight | Up to 10 hours en route; counts against next 100 |
| Form 337 to the FAA | Registration Branch, Oklahoma City, within 48 hours |
| Malfunction or Defect Report | FAA Form 8010-4 |
Test yourself
No answers here on purpose — retrieving them is the practice. Drill this domain if any of these stall you.
- List the four items in a 43.9 maintenance record entry.
- Say who may perform an annual inspection and who may perform a 100-hour inspection.
- Give three examples of approved data and two of acceptable data.
- Name the records that transfer with an aircraft when it is sold.
- Explain when an aircraft must be test flown after maintenance, and by whom.
Go deeper on these
- A&P mechanic privileges and limitations (14 CFR part 65)
- Maintenance records, return to service and FAA Form 337