The licensed engineer who signs a certificate of release to service is doing something no pilot, manager or inspector can do in their place: legally returning an aircraft to flight. That signature is the whole career. Everything in the UAE aircraft maintenance path, the training, the module exams, the years of hands-on experience, the type ratings, exists to get you to the point where your name can go in that box, and then to widen the range of aircraft you can put it against.

This is how the licensed engineer path works under the UAE GCAA's CAR-66 framework in 2026, what each licence category lets you do, what the journey takes, and what it pays.

The categories are the map

CAR-66, the UAE's equivalent of the well-known EASA Part-66 system, divides the aircraft maintenance engineer licence into categories, and the category defines what you are legally allowed to certify. Getting this right early matters, because it determines the training you take and the jobs you can hold.

Category A, line certifying mechanic. Authorises certification of simple, specified line-maintenance tasks and straightforward defect rectification, within the limits of the tasks on your authorisation. It is the narrowest scope and the entry to certifying work.

Category B1, mechanical. The airframe-and-powerplant licence. It authorises certification of line and base maintenance on aircraft structure, engines, and mechanical and electrical systems. B1 is the backbone licence for most heavy-metal maintenance work and is subdivided by aircraft type, turbine aeroplanes being the relevant one for airline work.

Category B2, avionics. The electrical and avionics licence, covering the aircraft's electrical and electronic systems. As aircraft become more systems-heavy, B2 holders are increasingly in demand in their own right.

Category C, base maintenance. The licence that allows certification of a large aircraft after base maintenance, issuing the release to service at the whole-aircraft level. It is typically reached either through a relevant degree route or by building up from a B licence, and it sits at the senior end of the certifying hierarchy.