TL;DR: BS Aircraft Maintenance Technology is a four-year degree, but the degree is not what lets you work on an aircraft. There is no PRC board exam for aircraft maintenance. The licence that matters is the Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) licence issued by CAAP under Part 2 of the Philippine Civil Air Regulations, with Airframe, Powerplant, or combined ratings. CAAP requires you to be at least 18, pass knowledge, oral and skill tests within 24 months, and document experience - 24 to 30 months if you trained at an approved training organisation, 30 to 60 months if you are relying on practical experience alone.
This is the single most important thing to understand before enrolling: an employer in this field hires on the licence, and the licence comes from the aviation regulator, not from the Commission on Higher Education and not from the PRC. A degree that is not attached to a CAAP-approved training pathway leaves you with the long experience route.
Where the Regulation Actually Sits
Three bodies get mentioned in school marketing, and they do different things.
PRC issues no licence here at all. The Commission lists 46 Professional Regulatory Boards. Aeronautical Engineering is one of them - that is the design-and-engineering degree, a different course with a different board exam. Aircraft maintenance is not on the list. If a school implies a "board exam" for aircraft maintenance technology, ask it to name the board.
CHED grants a school authority to operate the degree, but has not issued a programme-specific policies, standards and guidelines for it. CHED's published memorandum order indexes from 1994 through 2026 include PSGs for Aeronautical Engineering - CMO No. 28, series of 2007, later CMO No. 93, series of 2017 - and none for aircraft maintenance technology or air transportation. The practical consequence: curricula differ between schools far more than they do in, say, nursing, and you have to read the actual checklist.
CAAP is the body that decides whether you may sign a maintenance release. Its rules are in the Philippine Civil Air Regulations. Part 2 covers personnel licensing, and Subpart 2.6 is aviation maintenance licensing. Two licences live there: the Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) and the Aviation Maintenance Specialist (AMS).
The AMT Licence, Requirement by Requirement
Eligibility
Under Subpart 2.6.2.2, an applicant for an AMT licence and any associated rating must:
- be at least 18 years of age
- demonstrate the ability to read, write, speak and understand English "by reading and explaining appropriate maintenance publications and by writing defect and repair statements"
- comply with the knowledge, experience and competency requirements for the licence and rating sought
- pass all of the prescribed tests within a period of 24 months
A licensed AMT adding a rating later must meet the skill requirements and pass the prescribed tests for the additional rating, again within 24 months.
Ratings
| Rating | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Airframe | The aircraft structure and its systems |
| Powerplant | Engines, propellers and related systems |
| Airframe and Powerplant | Both, and the broadest signing privileges |
Knowledge tests
The general knowledge test covers five areas set out in Subpart 2.6.2.4: air law and airworthiness requirements; natural science and aircraft general knowledge (mathematics, units of measurement, physics and chemistry as applied to aircraft maintenance); aircraft engineering (materials, structures, fastening techniques, powerplants, mechanical, fluid, electrical and electronic power sources, instruments and displays, control systems, navigation and communication systems); aircraft maintenance (overhaul, repair, inspection, replacement, modification and defect rectification per the maintenance manuals); and human performance, including threat and error management.
On top of that, rating-specific tests. The airframe rating test covers airframe maintenance practices and materials, fixed-wing airframe systems and structures, rotary-wing airframe systems and structures, and systems and structures. The powerplant rating test covers piston engines, propellers, gas turbine engines and fuel systems. Every section must be passed before applying for the oral and practical tests.
Skill test
Subpart 2.6.2.6 requires an oral and a skill test covering "the applicant's basic skill in performing practical projects on the subjects covered by the written test". This is hands-on work, judged.
Experience - the part that should drive your school choice
Subpart 2.6.2.7 gives two routes:
| Route | Airframe | Powerplant | Airframe and Powerplant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practical experience only | 30 months | 30 months | 60 months |
| Training in a CAAP-approved training organisation | 24 months | 24 months | 30 months |
Read that table again with a calculator. Choosing the approved-training route rather than the pure experience route can cut the documented requirement for combined ratings roughly in half. That is why the question "is this school a CAAP-approved training organisation, and does my programme fall under that approval?" matters more than any brochure claim about facilities.
Privileges
Subpart 2.6.2.8 sets out what the licence buys you. A licensed AMT with combined airframe and powerplant ratings may perform or supervise maintenance, preventive maintenance or modification and, after inspection, sign a maintenance release and return to service for the aircraft, airframe, engine, propeller, appliance, component or part they are rated for - subject to conditions such as having satisfactorily performed the work at an earlier date, having demonstrated the ability to the Authority's satisfaction, having received acceptable training, or having done the work under the direct supervision of an appropriately rated licensed AMT. Single-rating holders may perform the relevant 100-hour inspection and sign a maintenance release.
That signature is the job. Everything in the degree is preparation for being allowed to write it.
What the Degree Adds
If CAAP does the licensing, why take a four-year degree at all rather than a shorter technical course?
- It compresses the experience requirement, provided the training sits inside an approved training organisation.
- It is a degree. Airline and maintenance-repair-overhaul employers, and immigration systems in countries Filipino mechanics work in, treat a bachelor's degree differently from a certificate.
- It opens supervisory and management tracks that a licence alone does not.
- It carries the general education load that lets you shift or continue to postgraduate study later.
Schools that publish their programme lists on their own sites include the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines, which lists a Bachelor of Science in Aircraft Maintenance Technology and an Associate in Aircraft Maintenance Technology under its Institute of Engineering Technology, and PATTS College of Aeronautics, which lists a BS in Aircraft Maintenance Technology among its programmes.
The name change is recent and worth knowing if you are searching for the state school: Republic Act No. 12255, approved 5 September 2025, declared the Philippine State College of Aeronautics the national professional institution for aviation and renamed it the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines. Section 5 of that law lists the programmes NAAP shall offer, including an associate in aircraft maintenance technology leading to a baccalaureate in aircraft maintenance technology. If you are comparing costs, our PhilSCA tuition fee guide and PATTS tuition fee guide cover what those schools publish.
The associate-then-bachelor structure is a ladderised design. Our guide to ladderized programs in the Philippines explains how credit carries forward between the levels and what to confirm before you start at the associate rung.
Careers
Licensed technicians work in airline line and base maintenance, in maintenance-repair-overhaul organisations, with general aviation and charter operators, in aircraft component shops, and with government operators. The AMS licence covers specialist work within the same regulatory family.
Career progression in this field is rating-driven rather than title-driven: you start with limited privileges, build documented experience, add ratings, and move from working under supervision to signing your own releases and then supervising others. That is why the experience clock in Subpart 2.6.2.7 is the single most important number in this article.
We do not publish salary ranges for aircraft technicians because we have not found a published Philippine pay survey specific to the role that we would stand behind. Ask graduates from two or three years back at any school you are considering, and ask what rating they held when they were hired.
What to Ask a School Before You Pay
- Is the school a CAAP-approved training organisation, and does this specific programme fall under that approval? Get the certificate reference, not a verbal yes.
- Which route to the AMT licence does this programme put me on - the 24 or 30-month approved-training evidence, or the 30 or 60-month practical experience evidence?
- What is the CHED authority to operate this programme? There is no national PSG for it, so authority to operate is the baseline check. Our guide on how to verify school legitimacy shows where to look.
- What aircraft, engines and shop equipment do students actually work on, and how many students share each one?
- Where do students do on-the-job training, and does the school arrange it?
- What proportion of recent graduates hold an AMT licence today, and how long after graduation did they get it?
Bottom Line
BS Aircraft Maintenance Technology is a legitimate route into a licensed trade, but the licence is CAAP's and the rules are in the Philippine Civil Air Regulations, not in a CHED memorandum order or a PRC board exam. Judge a school on whether it shortens your path to the AMT licence. Two programmes with identical brochures can differ by three years of documented experience, and that difference is the whole decision.
Comparing aviation schools? Browse schools on SchoolFinderPH to see programmes and locations side by side.
Sources
- CAAP - Philippine Civil Air Regulations Part 2, Personnel Licensing, July 2026 edition (official PDF)
- CAAP - Civil Aviation Regulations
- Professional Regulation Commission - Professional Regulatory Boards
- Commission on Higher Education - CHED Memorandum Orders, indexed by year (1994-2026)
- CHED CMO No. 93, series of 2017 - PSGs for the BS Aeronautical Engineering Program (official PDF)
- LawPhil - Republic Act No. 12255, renaming the Philippine State College of Aeronautics as the National Aviation Academy of the Philippines
- National Aviation Academy of the Philippines - Programs Offered
- PATTS College of Aeronautics - Academic Programs
