The AME E Licence: Electronic Systems Rating

The E (electronic systems) rating authorizes maintenance on aircraft electronic systems — communications and navigation equipment, avionics, and related electrical/electronic systems, as distinct from the mechanical/structural work covered by M1, M2, and S. Per Transport Canada's technical examination study guide, the E rating's exam content emphasizes avionics, electronics, and navigation systems specifically.

E is a fully independent rating category — you don't need to hold M1 or M2 first, and holding E doesn't automatically grant any mechanical-category privileges. Many AMEs do eventually hold E alongside a mechanical rating, since electronic and mechanical systems work is often needed on the same aircraft, but they remain separate credentials with separate requirements.

Like the other ratings, E has its own experience requirement (specified in months, split across total, specialty, and civil-aviation experience) and its own basic training minimum, both set out in CARs Standard 566's Appendix A. See our AME Experience Requirements guide for how these figures are structured, and confirm current exact figures directly against Standard 566's official table, since these are periodically amended.

E candidates write two separate exams: a technical examination testing electronic-systems knowledge specific to the rating (90 questions, per Transport Canada's TP 14038 study guide), and the regulatory examination covering the CARs framework (50 questions for M, E, and S ratings). Both require a 70% passing grade. See our AME Technical Exams and AME Regulatory Exam guides for the full breakdown of each.