Who Writes Your A&P Oral: the DME, the MTG and Your AKTR
No, the Designated Mechanic Examiner (DME) must use the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Mechanic Test Generator (MTG) for your Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) oral and practical (O&P) test. The evaluator generates a complete test planning sheet to conduct your oral and practical test, including all the questions and projects obtained from the MTG.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, unnumbered page, PDF 2 · FAA-S-ACS-1, printed A-1, PDF 65
Three different jobs are involved: developing the question bank, generating your test from it, and administering that test.
On this page
Who develops the questions and the generator?
The FAA’s MTG frequently asked questions (FAQ) document says members of the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) Examination Boards (AEBs) developed and reviewed all questions in the database. Those boards include industry representatives and FAA personnel. That May 2023 FAQ also named PSI as the third-party vendor designing the new MTG for use when the ACS testing standard became effective.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, unnumbered page, PDF 2
The FAQ says test items correspond to ACS codes and come from the FAA handbooks or other documents in the ACS Companion Guide references. A practice guide or commercial question list is not the applicant-specific downloaded test.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, unnumbered page, PDF 3
What your AKTR contributes to the O&P test
The oral includes questions on the topics tied to the ACS codes on your Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR), plus additional questions that the MTG selects at random. The evaluator asks for your AKTRs before generating the test planning sheet.
FAA-S-ACS-1, printed A-1, PDF 65
Before the test begins, the examiner must also have you provide the written test AKTR for the appropriate written knowledge tests. As an exception, an applicant the FAA authorizes to test under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) section 65.80 may take the oral and practical tests before taking the required written tests. Discuss the eligibility basis with the examiner rather than treating that exception as an option for every applicant.
Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929, printed 13, PDF 13, 5-5-11-7C1) · Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929, printed 14, PDF 14, 5-5-11-7C1)c) · FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, unnumbered page, PDF 5
Understand the ACS codes on your AKTR
What documents does the examiner check?
Before testing, the examiner must have the applicant provide two original copies of FAA Form 8610-2. You must also provide government-issued photo identification, and the examiner must verify your identity before testing. These items are not a complete checklist for every applicant; ask the DME what applies to your application basis.
Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929, printed 13, PDF 13, 5-5-11-7C1)a) · Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929, printed 14, PDF 14, 5-5-11-7C1)d)
What the DME can choose, and what the DME cannot choose
All questions on the planning sheet must be asked, and the FAA’s MTG FAQ says the DME does not get to pick and choose which questions to ask. The practical projects and their questions also come from the MTG, and examiners are not permitted to combine practical projects. If you fail a test, the examiner can continue testing in other sections not yet tested.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, unnumbered page, PDF 4 · FAA-S-ACS-1, printed A-1, PDF 65 · Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929, printed 16, PDF 16, 5-5-11-7C3)e) and j)
Who prepares the hands-on setting?
In the example project in the FAA’s MTG FAQ, you are given an assigned aircraft and appropriate reference material, assigned and provided by the DME. The examiner must make available the tools, equipment, and reference materials for each practical project, and using other reference materials the examiner did not provide is prohibited. The examiner should not provide the specific tools and data for the task directly to you, but should instead evaluate whether you can select the appropriate tools and data needed. Practical questions allow applicable references; oral questions must be answered without reference material. Making resources available is not the same as doing your selection work for you.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, unnumbered page, PDF 4 · Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929, printed 13, PDF 13, 5-5-11-7B3)a) · Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929, printed 16, PDF 16, 5-5-11-7C3)h) · FAA-S-ACS-1, printed A-1, PDF 65
Prepare for a generated test rather than an examiner’s favorites
The ACS says an applicant is not permitted to know, before testing begins, which selections are included, and should be well prepared in all its knowledge, risk management and skill elements. Use your AKTR to identify weak topics, review the wider ACS, and practice an explanation you can support from the references afterward.
FAA-S-ACS-1, printed A-1, PDF 65
Practice explaining the topic before the generated test
In DMEReady, an artificial intelligence (AI) examiner conducts A&P oral practice; it is not a human DME. The conversation runs in your phone or computer browser, with spoken answers and DME-style follow-up questions. You can take the first drill free without signing up.
DMEReady has no FAA affiliation, does not train practical hand skills, and gives no prediction or guarantee of results.
Start your free drillFrequently asked questions
Will another applicant with my written score get the same O&P oral?
Not necessarily. The FAA’s MTG FAQ says applicants may end up with different numbers of oral questions, depending on how many ACS codes were missed on their AKTRs, even with the same percentage score.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, unnumbered page, PDF 4
When does the DME ask the practical questions?
During the project: the FAA’s MTG FAQ says that at a safe and appropriate time while you perform the project, the DME must ask two practical questions relevant to it, as provided by the MTG.
FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023, unnumbered page, PDF 4
Once a practical project starts, does the examiner test all of it?
Yes. Order 8900.1 says that once a practical project is begun, the examiner must test the entire project and record the results accordingly.
Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929, printed 16, PDF 16, 5-5-11-7C3)c)
For examiner fees and planning, read the DME exam cost guide.
Oral coming up soon? Try the full thing free for 30 days
We are running a small pilot before launch. If your oral and practical is in the next few weeks, you get every section of the voice mock oral free for 30 days, no card. In return, tell us honestly what helped and what didn’t.
Start the free pilotLimited spots. The pilot closes on November 30.
Passed a written? Get your oral study plan by email
Paste the ACS codes on your Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR). We’ll email you a study plan now, then two short tasks built from your codes: one on day 3, one on day 7. That’s all.
Related guides
- A&P ACS Codes: Know Your Codes Before the Oral
- What Does a DME Ask on the A&P Oral?
- A&P Oral and Practical: What to Expect on Exam Day
- 8610-2 Form: The Experience and Military Path to the A&P
Sources
Primary sources checked October 25, 2026.
- FAA-S-ACS-1
- FAA Mechanic Test Generator FAQs, updated May 22, 2023
- Order 8900.1, Vol. 5, Ch. 5, Sec. 11, CHG 929
About this guide: drafted with AI from the FAA sources listed on this page and checked claim by claim against them. Not reviewed by an A&P mechanic or DME. How we make our guides
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