ASE Master Technician: 8 Tests, 2 Years, 5-Year Clock

Key takeaways

• ASE Master Technician is the status for holding all eight A Series tests at once, A1 through A8. A9 sits outside the set, by ASE's own note.
• On ASE's table the eight run to 365 scored questions and 585 minutes, with 10 unscored research questions added to every sitting.
• Experience: two years full-time, no more for the title than for one test, part of it coverable by formal training.
• Each certification lasts five years, and one lapse breaks the set. Nothing here is permanent.
• No ASE pay figure exists for Master Technicians. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the occupation's median at $50,620 as of May 2025.

What is an ASE Master Technician?

One technician, eight current certifications, no exceptions. That is the whole definition, and ASE's FAQ states it across the program: "Master Technician status is earned when you achieve certification in all required testing areas for that series. For example, technicians certified in tests A1 through A8 are Master Automobile Technicians." ASE writes the title out as ASE-Certified Master Automobile Technician.

The eighth pass is the one that matters, and it only counts while the first seven are still in date. Seven certifications and no title is a real position to be in.

The word travels, too. Carmakers run Master Tech programs of their own, outside ASE, and nothing on ASE's pages governs those. As for how many techs hold the ASE version, A1 through A8, ASE publishes no count.

Which ASE tests do you need for Master status, and is A9 required?

"NOTE: A9 is NOT a requirement for Master Automobile Technician Status." That line, capitals and all, is ASE's own, printed on its A Series page. So the set is A1 through A8, and A9 Light Vehicle Diesel Engines stands on its own, worth holding and worth nothing toward Master.

What that means in questions and minutes, test by test, from ASE's own table:

In seat time that is 9 hours and 45 minutes, with 80 questions on top of what the table counts. The same page explains the extras: "ASE Certification tests include 10 additional research questions that are not counted for score. You will not be told which questions these are, so you should answer every question." Ten ride along in every sitting, unmarked, on the same clock as the rest. Eight tests is a long campaign, and the ASE Practice Test app is built for that shape of it: practice questions for A1 to A9 by test and by topic, each answer explained.

How much work experience does ASE require for Master status?

Two years, and not an hour more for the title than for one certification. ASE's work experience instructions put the A1 to A9 requirement at "2 years full-time (or part-time equivalent)", which is the clause that covers part-timers.

Training cuts into the two. ASE gives 1 year to an ASE-accredited program, both years to an OEM-sponsored co-op, 1 year to three or more ASE Entry-Level Certification Tests, and up to 1 year to other relevant formal training. One substitute only, because they cannot be combined.

The two-year rule gets argued over in the bays. One tech on r/AskMechanics wrote: "Technically you need two years of in shop experience but the tests are all easy. Honestly doesn’t mean you’re a good tech". The hours can also be filed after the test, an order the guide on getting ASE certified sets out in full.

How do you keep ASE Master Technician status?

All eight, current, each on a five-year clock of its own. ASE's FAQ spells out the consequence:

"However, Master Technician status is not for life. You must keep each one of those certifications current to maintain Master Technician status."

Eight separate clocks, then. The first one to run out sets your next test date.

The usual route is recertification, at roughly half the length of the original test: 23 questions in 30 minutes for A1, against 45 in 75 the first time round. The ASE Renewal App is the A Series alternative, credits rather than a sitting: "Earn 8 credits to extend that certification area by 1 year." Nothing on that page mentions Master status; it works certification by certification, which is exactly how the FAQ frames the duty to keep each one current.

What happens if one certification lapses?

"If you lose Master Technician status due to the lapse of one or more required certifications, it can be reinstated by taking and passing the Recertification Tests." ASE's FAQ says that much about the way back. The title goes, every in-date certification stays, and that plural only matters if more than one slipped.

Retest the lapsed area, nothing else. How fast ASE's paperwork follows is not published, so a status letter still reading wrong a week on belongs to ASE's customer care and nobody else.

Does ASE give Master status in its other test series?

Yes. Each series draws its own line, and in every one of them an optional test sits outside the required set.

Seven tests cover the truck side, T2 to T8, and ASE's T Series page states: "Those who are certified in tests T2 through T8 are recognized as ASE Certified Master Medium-Heavy Truck Technicians." T1 stays outside it: "T1 is not required for Master Medium-Heavy Truck Technician Status."

Collision work needs four, B2 to B5. ASE's B Series page recognizes technicians certified in B2 through B5 as "ASE Certified Master Collision Repair Technicians", while "B6 is NOT a requirement for Master Collision Repair Technician Status".

Six do it on the bus side. On ASE's S Series page, technicians certified in S1 through S6 are recognized as "ASE-Certified Master School Bus Technicians", with S7 left out: "S7 is NOT a requirement for Master School Bus Technician Status".

The remainder of the program, G1 through the L and P series, sits on ASE's test series index. Practice on this site stops at A1 to A9, so truck and collision techs will be studying somewhere else.

What do ASE and the Bureau of Labor Statistics publish about pay?

Nothing, on ASE's side. There is no median on ase.com, no range, no wage of any kind attached to the title, so a number circulating in ASE's name picked that name up somewhere else.

Federal data covers the job rather than the credential. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Occupational Outlook Handbook, "The median annual wage for automotive service technicians and mechanics was $50,620 in May 2025", with employment "projected to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations". On certification the same page goes no further than this: "Certification may be required."

Shop talk is blunter. After finishing A1 to A8 and asking how to approach the boss for a raise, one poster on r/mechanic got this reply in 2024: "Dealer tech outside Chicago. ASE makes no difference to us. Union shop, journeymen (after 5 year apprenticeship) start at about 43, with bumps depending on hours booked to 46." The eight tests buy a credential that travels with you. What it earns an hour gets decided shop by shop.

What ASE does not publish about Master status

Four blanks. Guesswork rushes in to fill them.

No passing score exists for any A Series test, in percent or in questions right, which rules out an honest target across the eight. Nor is there pay attached to the title. ASE has never released a count of the technicians currently holding Master Automobile Technician status, and the time its own review takes once a lapsed area is retested is nowhere on the site.

For anything on that list, the only answer comes from ASE's customer care.

The practice tests here match the scored length and the clock ASE publishes, test by test. Eight of them sit between a technician and the title. Work the one you plan to book next until every wrong answer has a reason you can name.