Inspection Authorization is extra paper on top of an A&P, not a second mechanic certificate. Under 14 CFR 65.91 you must hold a currently effective mechanic certificate with both airframe and powerplant ratings, each in effect for a total of at least three years; have been actively engaged in maintaining 14 CFR aircraft for at least the two-year period before you apply; have a fixed base of operations where you can be reached in a normal working week; have the equipment, facilities, and inspection data to inspect properly; and pass a written test. That paragraph is the whole door. There is no “almost.”
Fail the written and you wait at least 90 days to retest. The authorization is issued for two years. Renewal lives in 14 CFR 65.93: during March of each odd-numbered year you show you still meet 65.91(c)(1)–(4) and that you completed one of the five activity options in year one and one in year two — annuals, majors, a progressive, an 8-hour refresher acceptable to the Administrator, or an oral. Miss the first-year activity and you do not exercise IA privileges until you pass an FAA oral. Pay is a different desk. This one is the paper.
65.91 in one table
People memorize a Facebook version of IA eligibility and then fail the appointment. Read the rule. Both ratings, each effective at least three years. Actively engaged for two years before you apply — not “I held a ticket and thought about airplanes.” A fixed base you can actually be found at during a work week. Data and equipment, not a laptop in a truck with no jack. Then the written on inspecting to standards after majors, annuals, and progressives.
| Gate | The rule, shortened |
|---|---|
| Certificate | A&P, both ratings, each effective ≥ 3 years |
| Activity | Actively engaged, 2 years before apply |
| Base | Fixed, reachable in person or by phone on a work week |
| Kit | Equipment, facilities, inspection data |
| Test | Written on inspecting to standards after majors, annuals, progressives |
The written is not a trivia night
The test is about inspecting to airworthiness standards after the work you are about to sign. People who wrench well and inspect sloppily fail. People who can quote 65.91 and cannot walk an annual also fail. Study the work you already do. If you have not been around annuals, you are not ready, no matter how long you have held the ratings. Fail, wait 90 days, come back. That wait is in the rule. It is not a suggestion from a grumpy examiner.
Bring a fixed-base story you can tell without lying. “I work out of my truck on whoever calls” is how you demonstrate you do not meet the base and data gates. 65.91 already told you that. The FAA mechanic pages will not hold your hand through IA; the eCFR will.
65.93: March of odd-numbered years
Renewal is a calendar, not a vibe. March of each odd-numbered year. You show you still meet 65.91(c)(1) through (4), and you show activity in each half of the two-year period. The five options, shortened: enough annuals, enough majors, a progressive, an 8-hour refresher the Administrator accepts, or an oral. Do one qualifying activity in year one of the authorization and one in year two. Do not save it all for the last week of March and hope.
- March of odd-numbered years. Put it on a calendar you will actually see.
- Activity in each half of the two-year period — not a binge in month 24.
- Miss year-one activity and you stop exercising IA until you pass an FAA oral.
- An 8-hour refresher is a real course, not a YouTube playlist.
- The stamp on the wall is not current just because it is still physically on the wall.
What “actively engaged” is not
Two years of maintaining 14 CFR aircraft before you apply is not two years of holding a certificate in a drawer. It is not two years of selling tools. It is not two years of “I help my buddy on Saturdays” unless that help is real, documented maintenance. The ASI has seen the Saturday story. Bring work that looks like work: log entries, a shop, a lead who will say your name without wincing.
After you hold IA, the 65.93 activity options are how you stay in the club. Annuals are the GA default. Majors if that is your shop. A progressive if you actually ran one. A refresher if the year got away from you — plan it before March, not during. An oral if you have to. None of these is a personality. They are the rule.
Mistakes that waste a written
- Applying at year two of the A&P because “I have been around airplanes longer than that.” The clock is the ratings, not the hangar stories.
- No fixed base. A phone in a truck is not 65.91.
- No data. Inspection authorization without the books is a contradiction.
- Treating IA as a raise. It is a signature. IA pay is the money conversation after the paper.
- Forgetting March of the odd year. Then inventing a tale for the FSDO.
If you do not yet hold A&P, this page is premature. Start at how to get an A&P and how long it takes. If you hold A&P and you work a 145 that will never use IA, ask why you want the stamp. Airline line generally will not pay you for it. A field with two retiring IAs might.
After you pass: you are now the person who said yes
Keep a folder the way you should have kept the A&P experience file: annuals you performed, majors, progressives, refresher certificates, the odd-year March receipt. 65.93 is easier when you can prove the year without hunting. It is ugly when you cannot. The FAA FAQ will not do IA homework for you. Neither will this page. The eCFR will, if you read it every February of an odd year.
If the field already has enough IAs, you can still sit the written for yourself. Just do not model a raise. The IA pay band assumes work. No extra annuals, no extra money. Some people want the education anyway. That is allowed. Calling it a salary plan is not.
The authorization lets you end the sentence. Owners, buyers, and the next IA will read what you wrote. Write like someone who will still be in the county in two years. Keep the data current. Keep the base real. Put 65.93 on the same wall as the stamp. The Pay desk can tell you whether the field will pay for that sentence. The eCFR tells you whether you are allowed to say it.
Canadian paper does not substitute. A Transport Canada AME license is a different system. U.S. IA sits on a U.S. A&P. If you crossed a border with a duffel, start at military to A&P or 65.77, not at 65.91.
How long after A&P can I get an IA?+
Both ratings must have been in effect for a total of at least three years, and you need two years of recent active maintenance. The three-year clock is the rating, not a vibe. Read 14 CFR 65.91.
When do I renew?+
March of odd-numbered years, with activity in each half of the two-year period. Read 65.93, not a Facebook mnemonic.
What if I fail the written?+
Wait at least 90 days and retest. Use the wait to do actual annuals with someone who already holds IA, not to reread a dump sheet.
Does IA raise pay automatically?+
No. It raises what you may sign. The market pays when work is attached. See IA pay.
Can a 145 mechanic skip the fixed-base requirement?+
No. 65.91 still wants a fixed base, data, and equipment. If the 145 is the base, say so honestly. A locker at a line station that will never see an annual is a weak story.
Sources (verified)
Restatement of 14 CFR 65.91 and 65.93 for readers. Confirm the current eCFR before you apply. Not legal advice. Aviation Titans is independent editorial.