1.6 AKTRs, Retakes, and the DME Transition

Treat the AKTR as a Source Document

The Airman Knowledge Test Report (AKTR) is the official record of each knowledge-test result, issued for AMG, AMA, and AMP. Under the current testing framework, the AKTR for these tests prints the Aviation Mechanic Airman Certification Standards (ACS) codes corresponding to the subject areas where you answered incorrectly. These codes are not random — each maps to a specific knowledge element in the ACS, so the report tells you precisely which areas to shore up.

This is why the AKTR is a source document, not merely a pass/fail receipt. Even on a passing test, the codes flag your weak spots. Keep every AKTR: you need it to schedule and pass the O&P (the DME reviews it), you need it within the 24-month window, and after a failure you need it to retest. Treating it as a disposable slip is a costly habit — a lost AKTR can force an unnecessary retake.

The Retake Rule Under 14 CFR 65.19

Failures happen, and 14 CFR 65.19 (Retesting after failure) governs what comes next. The default rule is a 30-day waiting period: an applicant who fails a written, oral, or practical test may reapply for that test 30 days after the date of the failure.

There is one way to skip the wait. The applicant may retest before the 30 days expire if they present a signed statement from an airman who holds the certificate and rating sought, certifying that:

1. The airman has given the applicant additional instruction in each of the subjects failed, and
2. The airman considers the applicant ready for retesting.

Note the precision: the statement must come from a properly certificated and rated airman, must address each failed subject, and must affirm readiness — a generic note or a self-written statement does not qualify. A 'one year' wait or 'immediate retest with no documentation' are common distractors and are both wrong.

Surrendering the Failed AKTR

There is an administrative step candidates often miss: when retesting after a failure, the applicant must submit the failed AKTR to the testing center before the retest. The testing system uses the failed report to confirm the retake and to apply the 65.19 rule (verifying the 30-day period has passed or that a valid early-retest statement is present).

Practically, this means:

• Do not lose the failed AKTR — you must produce it to retest.
• Bring it, along with your authorization document and FTN, to the retest appointment.
• If you are using the early-retest option, bring the signed instructor statement as well; without it, the proctor must enforce the 30-day wait.

The failed report and the readiness statement work together: one documents the failure being retaken, the other documents that the 30-day wait is being waived. Arriving with the wrong combination is exactly the kind of avoidable setback this orientation chapter is meant to prevent.

From AKTR Codes to the DME's Oral

The ACS codes on your AKTRs do double duty. First, they are your retake study map: drill the elements those codes name before reattempting a failed test. Second — and just as important — they become the DME's questioning targets during the oral test. Because the FAA testing system is built on a single integrated ACS, a code that flags a weak knowledge area on your written report is a natural area for the examiner to probe orally. Examiners commonly use the AKTR codes to focus the oral, ensuring the applicant has since mastered the subjects they missed on the written test.

So the transition from written tests to the Oral & Practical with a DME is not a clean break — it is a continuation. Carry your AKTRs forward, study every flagged code as if the DME will ask about it (because they likely will), and you turn a list of missed questions into a focused O&P preparation plan. This closes the orientation loop: eligibility, FTN, authorization, the three knowledge tests, and finally the DME-administered O&P that issues the certificate.

What the DME Actually Does

A Designated Mechanic Examiner is a private individual the FAA designates to conduct oral and practical tests on its behalf — they are not FAA employees, and they charge their own fee for the test, separate from the PSI knowledge-test fees. At the O&P, the DME first verifies your paperwork: passing AKTRs for every required test (all within the 24-month window), your authorization basis, your FTN, and identity. Only then does the testing begin.

The oral portion is a conversation in which the examiner probes your understanding across the ACS subject areas — often steered by your AKTR codes — and the practical portion requires you to actually perform maintenance tasks to ACS standards, such as inspecting, measuring, troubleshooting, or making a logbook entry.

Bringing the Orientation Together

19 if needed, and finish with the DME's O&P. Every item in this chapter is a link in that chain. Get them in order and the certification process is straightforward; skip or misorder one — testing without authorization, letting an AKTR expire, losing a failed report before a retake — and you create the avoidable delays that this orientation is designed to help you sidestep.