Type Rating Endorsements

What is a type rating?

A type rating is an endorsement entered directly on an Aircraft Maintenance Licence (AML) that authorises the licence holder to certify maintenance on a specific aircraft type. Under EASA Part-66, an AML issued in any category — A, B1, B2, or C — does not by itself permit the engineer to sign a Maintenance Release on any particular aircraft. The licence establishes the category of work the engineer is qualified to certify; the type rating specifies which aircraft that authority applies to.

Each type rating endorsement on an AML records the aircraft family, the engine variant or variants approved, and the licence category under which it was granted. For example, an engineer may hold a B1 type rating for the Airbus A318/A319/A320/A321 with CFM56 engines, and a separate B1/B2 type rating for the Boeing 737 NG with CFM56-7B engines. These are two distinct endorsements, each requiring its own approved training and documented experience. Multiple type ratings can be accumulated on a single AML throughout an engineer's career — each one extends the scope of the engineer's independent certifying authority.

Without an appropriate type rating endorsement, an engineer holding an otherwise valid AML cannot sign off any maintenance work on that aircraft type. The Maintenance Release — the legal document certifying that a maintenance task has been completed and the aircraft is fit for flight — is only valid when signed by an engineer whose licence carries both the correct category and the type rating for that specific aircraft. This is not an administrative convention: it is a fundamental requirement of the EASA regulatory framework that governs all commercial aviation maintenance in Europe.

The type rating system exists because modern commercial aircraft are enormously complex, and the systems knowledge required to maintain a widebody twin-aisle jet differs substantially from that needed for a light business aircraft — even if both are certificated in the same EASA category. Type-specific training ensures that the engineer certifying maintenance on a given aircraft has been assessed against a syllabus that covers the actual systems, procedures, and safety-critical characteristics of that type, not merely the general principles of the category.

Obtaining a type rating

The process for adding a type rating endorsement to an AML follows a defined pathway under EASA Part-66 and Part-147. Three elements must be completed before the national aviation authority will add the endorsement to the licence:

• Complete an approved type rating course. The candidate must attend and successfully complete a type rating training course delivered by a Part-147 approved maintenance training organisation. The course syllabus is defined by EASA and covers the aircraft's systems in the depth required by the Part-66 type rating specification for the relevant category. The course includes both a theoretical component — covering aircraft general, powerplant, hydraulics, fuel, pneumatics, electrical, avionics, flight controls, landing gear, and environmental control systems — and a practical on-aircraft element carried out on an actual aircraft of the relevant type at an approved maintenance facility. Completion of the course generates a type rating course completion certificate issued by the approved organisation. TRITECH is a Part-147 approved organisation with type rating approval for five aircraft types, meaning candidates can complete this step at TRITECH's facility in Riga.
• Demonstrate on-the-job experience on the type. The course completion certificate alone is not sufficient for endorsement. EASA Part-66 requires the candidate to demonstrate practical on-the-job experience on the specific aircraft type, gained under the oversight of engineers who already hold an endorsed AML for that type. The experience requirement allows the authority to be satisfied that the engineer has applied their type training knowledge in a real maintenance environment — troubleshooting, carrying out tasks, and working to approved data on that actual aircraft. The duration and nature of the required experience are defined by Part-66 and may also be subject to requirements set by the engineer's employer under a Part-145 organisation's own competence scheme.
• Apply to the national authority for endorsement. Once the course certificate and experience requirements are satisfied, the engineer submits an application to their national aviation authority — in Latvia, the Civil Aviation Agency — requesting addition of the type rating endorsement to the AML. The authority reviews the supporting documentation and, where satisfied, issues the updated licence with the type rating entered. From that point, the engineer holds full independent certifying authority for that aircraft type within the scope of their licence category.

Engineers who already hold a type rating on one variant within an aircraft family may be entitled to differences training rather than a full type rating course when seeking endorsement on a related variant. For example, an engineer with a B1 endorsement on the A320 with CFM56 engines who wishes to add the IAE V2500 engine variant may complete a differences course covering only the engine-specific systems, rather than repeating the full aircraft general content. TRITECH can advise on whether differences training applies to a candidate's specific situation.

Types approved at TRITECH

TRITECH holds Part-147 approval for type rating training on five commercial and business aviation types, covering the most prevalent aircraft in European airline and corporate aviation operations. The approved types span narrowbody commercial jets in the highest-demand categories through to widely operated business jets, enabling engineers to target the segments of the market that align with their career objectives.

For engineers targeting commercial airline line maintenance in Europe, the Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 NG represent the two highest-priority endorsements. These two types account for the majority of narrowbody commercial aircraft in operation across European carriers, and they are the types most frequently specified in B1 and B2 job advertisements published by European airlines and MROs. Securing a type rating on either — or both — of these types before entering the job market materially improves an engineer's competitive position and is likely to accelerate time to first employment as a certifying engineer.

For engineers with interests or existing connections in business aviation, the BAe 125 / Hawker series, EMB-135/145, and Phenom 300 type ratings open access to a different but equally active segment of the maintenance market: the corporate and charter operators, business aviation MROs, and handling companies that maintain these types at airfields across Europe and beyond. Demand for engineers with business jet type ratings is sustained by the continued growth of corporate aviation and the relatively smaller pool of endorsed engineers compared to commercial airline types.

Type ratings and your employment position

The practical effect of a type rating on an engineer's employment position is direct and significant. European commercial aviation maintains near-constant demand for B1 and B2 engineers endorsed on the major narrowbody types. Major low-cost operators — Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Vueling, and others — have for several years been competing for engineers with A320 family and B737 NG endorsements, frequently offering above-market starting packages to candidates who arrive already endorsed. The competition for these engineers intensified further as European fleets grew through the post-pandemic recovery period, and structural demand shows no sign of abating given continued fleet expansion by the major carriers.

An engineer who completes their AML with a commercially relevant type rating already endorsed — rather than starting without one and seeking employer-sponsored training after joining — enters the market in a substantially stronger position. They can apply for certifying engineer roles directly, rather than accepting extended periods in a supervised or limited-authority capacity while waiting for the employer to arrange type training. For many candidates, completing a self-funded type rating course at TRITECH before their first permanent role represents the most commercially sensible single investment they can make in their licence.

For engineers who have already been working in the industry under a B1 or B2 AML but without a type rating — or with a type rating on a type their current or prospective employer does not operate — adding a new endorsement through a TRITECH course is a direct route to expanding their marketable capability. The type rating course schedule can be completed while an engineer continues in employment, allowing them to add the endorsement without a career break.