FAA Form 8610-2: the mechanic certificate application

When do you need Form 8610-2 signed?

Only if you qualify on practical experience, civilian or military, without a Certificate of Eligibility from the Joint Service Aviation Maintenance Technician Certification Council (JSAMTCC). You take two completed copies and your evidence to your local Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), or an International Flight Standards Office (IFO) abroad, and an Airworthiness Aviation Safety Inspector reviews them. If your experience is enough, the inspector completes block V with the date, signature and office number, and the signed form is your authorization at the test center.

School graduates and holders of a JSAMTCC Certificate of Eligibility don’t need an inspector’s signature. The FAA’s form page says they need no other FAA authorization to start testing.

Form 8610-2 at the oral and practical tests

Bring two identically prepared copies with original signatures to the examiner’s pre-test interview and the test, along with your passing test reports and photo ID. If you’re a school student testing early under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) 65.80, Section II must be signed by a school official and an FAA inspector. The examiner records any failed or untested parts on the form, so keep every annotated copy: you bring them all to a retest.