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66.A.30 defines the minimum practical maintenance experience that applicants must accumulate before being eligible for each licence category, specifying both the duration and the type of experience required.
What it means in practice
Practical experience is a core pillar of Part 66 licensing. The regulation requires different durations of hands-on maintenance experience depending on the category sought, the applicant's prior technical training, and whether the experience was gained inside an approved environment. As a guide: skilled-worker applicants with completed technical training need less total experience than applicants with no previous technical background, and completion of an approved Part 147 basic training course reduces the requirement further — the classic figures being in the range of two to three years with approved training and up to five years without, depending on category.
Regulation (EU) 2023/989 sharpened the Category C requirements by distinguishing complex motor-powered aircraft (CMPA) from other aircraft: the C licence for CMPA requires three years of experience exercising B1.1, B1.3, or B2 privileges (or as support staff, or a combination) on CMPA, while the C licence for non-CMPA requires the corresponding experience exercising B1.2, B1.4, or B2 privileges. Alternatively, Category C may be obtained through the academic route: holders of an academic degree in a technical discipline from a recognised institution need three years of experience in a civil aircraft maintenance environment on a representative selection of tasks, including six months of observation of base maintenance tasks.
Key requirements
The experience must be recent and relevant. At least one year of the required experience must have been gained in the 12 months immediately preceding the licence application. This ensures that applicants have current, hands-on knowledge of aircraft maintenance practices at the time they apply.
Experience gained on military aircraft may be accepted if the competent authority is satisfied that it is equivalent to civil aircraft maintenance experience. Similarly, experience gained outside an approved maintenance organisation (a Part-145 organisation or CAO) may be recognised, but Regulation (EU) 2023/989 confirms that such experience attracts an additional experience requirement and a higher burden of proof before the competent authority will credit it. All experience must be documented and verifiable.
Common compliance gaps
The most significant compliance gap involves inadequate documentation of experience. Many applicants maintain only basic employment records rather than detailed logbooks describing the specific maintenance tasks performed. Competent authorities need to see that the experience covers a representative cross-section of maintenance activities relevant to the licence category. Generic job descriptions or employer confirmation letters without task-level detail are commonly rejected, delaying licence applications.
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