If you’re looking into a career fixing airplanes, you’ve probably run into the phrase “Part 147” more than once. It shows up on school websites, in FAA paperwork, and in every conversation about how to earn your mechanic certificate. So let’s answer the question head on.
What is Part 147?
In plain terms, Part 147 is the section of the federal regulations that governs FAA-approved aviation maintenance technician schools, and understanding it is the first real step toward picking the right program.
Think of this as the conversation you’d have with a mechanic who’s been around the hangar a few decades. No jargon dumps, no sales pitch. Just what you need to know before you spend a couple years and a chunk of money on training.
We’ll cover what is Part 147 at a basic level, why these schools exist, how the rules changed recently, what you learn, and how to tell a strong program from a weak one. By the end, the phrase won’t intimidate you anymore. It’ll just be a tool you use to make a smart decision.
What Is Part 147, Really?
Part 147 is a chapter in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations. That’s the rulebook the Federal Aviation Administration uses to run civil aviation in the United States. When people ask what is Part 147, the short answer is that it’s the standard every approved AMT school has to meet to legally train future aircraft mechanics.
An AMT school, short for aviation maintenance technician school, is a program the FAA has vetted and certificated. When a school holds a Part 147 certificate, it means the FAA has looked at the curriculum, the facilities, the equipment, and the instructors, and signed off that the place is fit to train mechanics.
That certificate is a big deal. It’s the difference between a program that actually counts toward your career and one that leaves you starting from scratch.
Here’s why that matters to you personally. To work on aircraft as a certificated mechanic, you need an FAA mechanic certificate with Airframe and Powerplant ratings, usually called your A&P. There are two roads to earning it.
You either rack up documented, hands-on work experience over roughly 18 to 30 months under supervision, or you graduate from an FAA-approved Part 147 school. Most people who want a clear, structured path choose the school route.
That’s the whole reason a Part 147 certification matters, and it’s why so many people start their research by asking what is Part 147 in the first place.
Why Part 147 Schools Exist
Before these schools existed, becoming a mechanic mostly meant finding someone willing to train you on the job and hoping you logged the right hours doing the right tasks. That worked for some folks. For a lot of others, it was slow, inconsistent, and hard to prove to the FAA later.
An FAA Part 147 school solves that problem. It packages the training into an organized program with a set curriculum, real aircraft and components to work on, and instructors who hold their own certificates.
When you graduate, the school gives you a certificate of completion that qualifies you to sit for the FAA mechanic knowledge, oral, and practical tests without having to separately document years of field experience.
So when you’re asking what is Part 147 good for, this is the heart of it. It’s a recognized, streamlined route that the entire aviation industry understands and trusts. Airlines, repair stations, and manufacturers know exactly what a Part 147 graduate has been trained to do.
The Part 147 Rules Got a Major Update
If you talk to an older mechanic, they might describe Part 147 the way it worked for decades.
That version was built around fixed seat-time requirements. Schools had to deliver a set number of curriculum hours, and students had to log them regardless of how quickly they mastered the material.
That changed. The FAA published an updated Part 147 as an interim final rule in 2022, and it took effect on September 21, 2022.
The new approach is performance-based. Instead of counting hours in a seat, the rule focuses on whether students can actually demonstrate the skills and knowledge a working mechanic needs.
The updated rule ties school curriculum directly to the Mechanic Airman Certification Standards, known as the ACS.
The ACS spells out exactly what a mechanic should know and be able to do. By aligning training with that standard, the FAA made sure schools teach current, relevant skills rather than material that may have gone stale over the years. You can read the current regulation yourself on the FAA’s electronic Code of Federal Regulations if you want the exact language.
What does this mean for you as a student? A few practical things.
Schools now have more freedom to design programs around what employers actually want.
Nationally accredited institutions gained more say over grading and teaching methods. And the FAA keeps a close eye on results, partly by tracking how graduates perform on their tests. That last point is worth remembering when you shop for a school, and we’ll come back to it.
Part 147 School vs. the Experience Route
Since people often ask what is Part 147 compared to the other way of becoming a mechanic, it’s worth laying the two paths side by side. Both roads lead to the same A&P certificate, but they feel very different to travel.
The experience route means working under the supervision of certificated mechanics and documenting your practical experience over roughly 18 to 30 months. You learn on real jobs, you earn while you learn, and you don’t pay tuition.
The catch is that it’s harder to control. The tasks you get depend on where you work, the paperwork has to be airtight, and you eventually have to convince an FAA inspector that your experience covers everything the tests require.
The Part 147 route trades that uncertainty for structure. You pay for a program, but in exchange you get a curriculum that deliberately covers every area you’ll be tested on, instructors whose job is to make sure you get it, and a clear finish line.
When folks ask what is Part 147 really buying them, the honest answer is predictability and a nationally recognized credential. For most people building a career from scratch, that trade is worth it.
What You Actually Learn at a Part 147 School
Every approved AMT school builds its program around the same core competencies, because they all have to align with the Mechanic ACS. So no matter which FAA Part 147 school you attend, you’ll cover the same foundational ground.
Training splits into three broad areas. First comes general knowledge that every mechanic needs, things like reading maintenance manuals, understanding aircraft drawings, basic electricity, weight and balance, corrosion control, and the regulations that govern the work.
Then you branch into two ratings.
This shared foundation is a big part of what is Part 147 designed to guarantee, that every graduate leaves with the same baseline of competence.
The Airframe rating covers the structure of the aircraft. Sheet metal and composite repair, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, landing gear, fuel systems, ice and rain control, and the aircraft’s electrical and instrument systems.
The Powerplant rating covers engines. Reciprocating and turbine engines, ignition, fuel metering, lubrication, exhaust, propellers, and engine inspection.
Most students go for both ratings together, the full A&P, because that’s what makes you most employable. Some schools let you pursue one at a time. If you’re weighing that decision, our guide to the A&P license walks through how the two ratings work and why most mechanics earn both.
How Part 147 Connects to Your Mechanic Certificate
Graduating from an approved school doesn’t automatically make you a certificated mechanic. It qualifies you to test. Here’s the sequence so you know what you’re signing up for.
You complete the program and earn your certificate of completion. That document is your ticket to the FAA testing process. From there you take written knowledge tests, an oral exam, and a hands-on practical test administered by a Designated Mechanic Examiner.
Pass all of them and you earn your A&P. The training you get at a solid Part 147 school is designed to prepare you for exactly these exams.
This is another reason the answer to what is Part 147 matters so much. The school route and the testing route are two links in the same chain.
A good program doesn’t just check a regulatory box. It genuinely prepares you to walk in and pass, then step onto a hangar floor and be useful on day one.
How to Tell a Good Part 147 School From a Mediocre One
Here’s where a lot of prospective students get stuck. Every FAA Part 147 school clears the same regulatory bar, so on paper they can look interchangeable. They’re not. The certificate is a floor, not a ceiling. Some programs go well beyond the minimum, and some coast right at it.
When you compare schools, lean on criteria you can actually verify.
Look at tuition and total cost, including tools, books, and fees, not just the sticker number. Look at program length and schedule options, since some schools offer day and evening tracks that matter if you’re working while you study. Look at the hands-on hours and the condition of the equipment, because time with real aircraft and engines is what builds skill. Look at employer partnerships and where graduates actually get hired.
And check for accreditation and VA approval if you’re using education benefits.
One honest word of caution. Be skeptical of any school or website that claims to publish FAA pass rates or graduation rates as a marketing tool. That data isn’t something the public gets clean access to, and anyone waving specific numbers around should make you raise an eyebrow.
Understanding what is Part 147 means knowing that the certificate guarantees a baseline, not a ranking. Judge schools on the transparent stuff you can confirm for yourself.
For a deeper walkthrough, our article on how to choose an AMT school breaks the whole process into a checklist you can work through.
What Part 147 School Costs and How Long It Takes
Cost varies a lot depending on whether you attend a public community college, a technical school, or a private aviation academy. Community college programs tend to run cheapest, especially for in-state students, while private academies cost more but sometimes finish faster or offer tighter industry connections.
Program length has loosened up a bit under the performance-based rule, but most full A&P programs still take somewhere between 18 and 24 months of full-time study.
That’s the realistic window to plan around.
If money is your first question, and for most people it is, our breakdown of the cost of AMT school covers tuition ranges, financial aid, and how to think about the investment against what mechanics earn.
And mechanics do earn a respectable living.
The aviation maintenance field has been dealing with a real shortage of skilled workers, which has pushed wages up and opened doors for new graduates. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks pay and job outlook for aircraft mechanics if you want to see the current numbers for yourself.
Is a Part 147 School Right for You?
This path is open to a wider range of people than you might assume. You don’t need a prior aviation background.
You don’t need to have grown up around airplanes. Programs draw high school graduates, career changers coming from other trades, veterans transitioning out of the military, and plenty of women building careers in a field that needs more of them.
If you like working with your hands, you’re comfortable with detail and responsibility, and you want a skill that’s genuinely in demand, this work fits.
For a huge range of people, learning what is Part 147 is the moment the whole career starts to feel reachable.
The honest test is whether structured, hands-on training appeals to you more than piecing together experience on your own. If it does, an approved school is almost certainly your best route. Understanding what is Part 147 is really about understanding that you have a clear, respected path in front of you, one the whole industry recognizes.
Common Questions About Part 147
By now the big picture should be clear, but a handful of specific questions come up again and again when people first dig into this topic. Here are the ones worth answering directly.
What is Part 147 in one sentence? It’s the federal regulation that sets the standard for FAA-approved aviation maintenance technician schools, the programs that train future aircraft mechanics. When someone asks what is Part 147, that’s the cleanest answer you can give.
Is a Part 147 school required to become a mechanic? No, it isn’t the only way. You can also qualify through documented work experience. But a Part 147 school is the most structured and widely used path, and for most people it’s faster and easier to prove to the FAA. That’s exactly why so many people ask what is Part 147 when they start researching the field.
Does every Part 147 school teach the same thing? The core competencies are the same everywhere because every FAA Part 147 school has to align with the Mechanic ACS. What differs is the quality of instruction, the equipment, the schedule flexibility, and the connections to employers.
So the honest answer to what is Part 147 offering you is a shared floor of training, with real differences in everything built on top of it.
What changed with the 2022 update? The rule moved from fixed hour requirements to a performance-based model tied to the Mechanic ACS. In practice, that means programs can be more flexible and more current.
When you understand what is Part 147 today versus a decade ago, you can see why newer graduates often come out better prepared for modern aircraft.
Can I use veterans benefits at a Part 147 school? Many approved schools carry VA approval, which lets eligible veterans use their education benefits. If you’re transitioning out of the military, that’s one of the first things to confirm when you compare programs.
The Bottom Line on Part 147
So, one more time, what is Part 147? It’s the FAA standard that defines an approved aviation maintenance technician school, and it’s the most direct, widely trusted way to become a certificated aircraft mechanic.
The rules were modernized in 2022 to focus on real skills over seat time, which means today’s programs are built around what employers actually need.
When you understand what Part 147 covers, you can compare schools with clear eyes, pick the program that fits your budget and goals, and start your training with confidence.
Your next move is simple. Browse the approved schools in our directory, weigh them on cost, program length, hands-on hours, and the other criteria that matter, and reach out to the ones that fit. A career on the hangar floor starts with choosing the right place to learn.
