ASE Certification for Mechanics: How It Works

What ASE Certification Is

ASE was established by the automotive industry in 1972 as a nonprofit and describes itself as an independent third party that assesses, certifies and credentials current and future industry professionals. Its Blue Seal logo identifies professionals who hold the knowledge and skills to do the work well. To become ASE certified, a technician has to pass an ASE test and have relevant hands-on work experience, and the amount of experience varies by test.

ASE certification is a way to show competence, not a license to work. BLS describes it as something employers may require or prefer, so whether a shop asks for it depends on the employer. The auto mechanic career page sets it beside the other credentials and the pay.

ASE Certification Tests

ASE sorts its tests into series by trade, and each test is a separate certification. The A series covers cars, SUVs and light trucks up to Class 3. A technician certified in A1 through A8 is a Master Automobile Technician; A9, the light vehicle diesel test, is not part of Master status.

The other series follow the same pattern. The T series (T1 to T8) covers medium and heavy trucks, and a technician certified in T2 through T8 is a Master Medium-Heavy Truck Technician. The collision series (B2 to B5) covers painting and refinishing, non-structural and structural damage repair, and mechanical and electrical components, and B2 through B5 make a Master Collision Repair Technician. The G1 test covers maintenance and light repair, and the L-series tests cover advanced specialties: engine performance, electronic diesel engine diagnosis, hybrid and electric vehicles, and advanced driver assistance systems.

ASE Certification Work Experience

ASE certification takes both a passing score and time on the job. The minimum depends on the test and on the kind of work the technician does, and each minimum is full-time work or the part-time equivalent.

A technician can register and take a test before reaching the experience minimum, except for X1. ASE then issues a score report, and the certification and certificates follow once the experience requirement is met. Repairs done in a home garage are not accepted as work experience.

How a Mechanic School Counts Toward ASE Certification

ASE lets formal training stand in for some of the work experience. The credit depends on the kind of training and on how many years of experience the test asks for.

For a student, the practical result is that an accredited program supplies 1 year of the 2 years the A1 to A9 tests ask for, and the rest can come from hands-on work. The program has to be completed in its entirety and has to be ASE-accredited at the time the student completes it. The credits cannot be combined with each other, and ASE keeps the right to evaluate every request for credit.

A manufacturer co-op program counts for more. ASE lists GM ASEP, Ford ASSET, Toyota T-TEN, Honda PACT, Chrysler CAP, Mercedes-Benz DRIVE and BMW ADP as examples of accredited OEM-sponsored co-op programs, and a student gets the 2 years of credit for taking part in the co-op work experience portion. 120 ranked programs carry a manufacturer program; the guide to manufacturer training programs covers what each one is.

The accredited programs ranked here are in three trades: automotive, diesel and collision repair. The automotive ranking and the diesel ranking list them by cost, graduate earnings, completion and track record.

ASE Certification vs. ASE Accreditation

The two words describe different things, and mixing them up is the most common error in the field. ASE certifies individuals. The ASE Education Foundation accredits training programs in three areas this site uses: Automobile, Medium/Heavy Duty Truck, and Collision Repair and Refinishing. Programs earn accreditation and technicians earn certification.

The ASE Education Foundation also describes an ASE Entry-Level Certification for students completing a technical training program, a mark of workforce readiness. Those tests are given in schools and are not the same as the professional tests. Passing three or more of them is one of the ways ASE counts training toward experience, at 1 year of credit for a 2-year test.

Aviation maintenance sits outside both. The FAA certificates mechanics and certificates the schools that train them under 14 CFR Part 147, and the aviation ranking is built from that list. The aircraft mechanic career page covers the FAA route.

Recertification and Master Status

ASE certification credentials are valid for five years. Before the fifth year ends, a technician takes the matching recertification test, which for the A series (A1R to A9R) is about half as long as the initial test. Recertifying early does not carry over the time left: the new expiration date is five years from the date of the recertification.

For the A series, ASE also offers a Renewal App: a technician who earns 8 credits extends that certification area by 1 year, for an annual subscription of $52 regardless of how many certifications the technician holds. ASE says the app is not a test or a replacement for traditional certification testing. Master Technician status is not for life: every certification in the series has to stay current to keep it.

EPA 609 Is a Separate Credential

Anyone who repairs or services a motor vehicle air conditioning system for pay must be trained and certified under section 609 of the Clean Air Act by an EPA-approved program. ASE runs one of the approved programs, a refrigerant quiz of 30 questions that takes 24 correct answers to pass, for an online test fee of $23. The lifetime certificate it earns is recognized only as EPA certification and is not equivalent to ASE technical certification.

So the two work side by side: section 609 is the federal credential for refrigerant handling, and ASE certification is the industry credential for technical skill. The guide to online mechanic courses covers the 609 test, which is taken online.

Related Pages

• Most Common Manufacturer Programs at Ranked Schools How often each carmaker and equipment-maker training program appears among the accredited programs this site ranks, and the states where they cluster.
• Auto Mechanic Schools ASE accredited automotive programs, ranked nationally 415
• Diesel Mechanic Schools ASE accredited diesel and heavy truck programs 76
• Auto Body and Collision Repair Schools ASE accredited collision repair and refinishing programs 59
• Manufacturer-Sponsored Programs Accredited programs with a manufacturer training partnership 120
• Auto Mechanic Inspects, maintains and repairs cars and light trucks. Median $50,620, BLS May 2025.
• Manufacturer Training Programs T-TEN, ASEP, ASSET, CAP, PACT and the ranked schools that carry them
• What Mechanic School Costs Yearly and whole-program prices by trade and school type