How to Get ASE Certified in 2026: 9 Tests, Fees, Experience

Key takeaways

• How to get ASE certified comes down to two things: a passing test score and documented hands-on experience. One without the other is not certification.
• Nine tests make up the A Series, A1 to A9, each of 40 to 50 scored questions and 60 to 90 minutes, plus 10 research questions that carry no score.
• For A1 to A9 ASE asks for two years of full-time experience. An accredited program covers one of those years, an OEM-sponsored co-op both.
• Expect $34 per order plus $62 per general test in 2026, and 90 days from the purchase date to sit it.
• Certification runs five years, and the recertification test that follows is about half the length of the original. For A1 to A9 the ASE Renewal App is the other way to stay current, a year at a time.

How do you get ASE certified?

You pass an ASE test and you document the work experience ASE asks for. Nothing is certified until both are done. ASE's own FAQ says it in one line: "To become ASE Certified, you must pass an ASE test and have full-time, hands-on work experience (or a combination of formal training and experience)."

Either half can come first. Put the pieces together and the path runs like this:

1. Pick the test that matches the work already in your hands: for cars and light trucks, the A Series, A1 to A9.
2. Create a myASE account and buy the test.
3. Schedule it at a Prometric test center and sit it.
4. Submit your work experience, if you have not already.
5. ASE approves the experience and the certification goes live.

A technician on r/MechanicAdvice put it this way: "go to www.myase.com and follow the instructions. just because you pass the test doesnt mean you are ASE certified. you need 2 years of experience in field to have them go live."

Which ASE test should you take first?

Take the one covering the work you do every week. Where two of them fit, the shorter test is the kinder start. A3 Manual Drive Train and Axles and A4 Suspension and Steering each run 40 scored questions in 60 minutes on ASE's A Series page. The longest sitting in the series is A6 Electrical/Electronic Systems: 50 questions, 90 minutes.

Those counts leave the research questions out. The same page spells out what that means at the keyboard: "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." They sit in your session on the same clock as the rest.

Technicians say much the same. One on r/mechanics wrote: "Go to ASE.com and read through all the tests they offer. The A4 suspension/steering and A5 brakes are easier than the rest. They are NOT easy, they are easier. YOU WILL NEED TO STUDY."

How much work experience does ASE require, and what training counts?

Two years of it, full-time, for every test in the A Series. ASE's work experience instructions set the A1 to A9 requirement at "2 years full-time (or part-time equivalent)", so part-time hours count on that equivalent basis.

Formal training buys some of that back. Against a two-year requirement, ASE credits:

• an ASE-accredited training program: 1 year;
• an OEM-sponsored co-op program: 2 years, the whole requirement;
• three or more ASE Entry-Level Certification Tests passed: 1 year;
• other relevant formal training: up to 1 year, at two months of training for each month of credit.

The fine print on those matters: "These substitutes cannot be combined, and do not apply to the Service Consultant, Parts Specialist, or Collision Damage Estimator work experience categories." A graduate of an accredited program, then, still owes a year of shop time. Accredited can mean either of two things here. The ASE Education Foundation says it works to "certify career-ready students, accredit schools to meet industry demands, and connect education with real-world transportation careers." ASE's own Find Accredited Training page lists training programs "that have been evaluated through a quality-assurance process and earned the distinction of being an ASE Accredited Training Provider."

Can you take the test before you have the experience?

Yes, and the same page says so:

"You can take most ASE tests even if you do not have the required work experience. You will receive a score report, but you will not earn certification or receive a certificate until you fulfill the related experience requirement."

Test now, certify once the hours are in.

How long the review takes, ASE does not publish. A form that seems stuck is a question for ASE's customer care line and nobody else.

How do you register for an ASE test in myASE?

All of it runs through myASE, which ASE describes as "the easy and convenient online portal to register and schedule your ASE certification tests". The account comes first, and both the purchase and the appointment happen inside it afterwards. Employers can be linked to it. Your test history stays there. Buying happens inside a registration period, and ASE lists four for 2026: January 10 to March 31, April 10 to June 30, July 10 to September 30, and October 10 to December 31. Each one opens on the tenth, which leaves the first nine days of January, April, July and October outside.

Buy, and a clock starts.

"Once you have purchased a test, you will have 90 days from the original date of purchase to schedule an appointment and take your test." Plans change. ASE allows for that much: "ASE now offers a refund for any untaken, unexpired tests that are cancelled within 90 days of the original purchase."

The ASE Practice Test app holds practice questions for A1 to A9 by test and by topic, each answer explained, with a study plan that runs up to your test date in English or Spanish.

Where do you take the test: a Prometric center or remote testing?

In person, if it is your first certification test. ASE's test center policies put the network at "nearly 500 Prometric test centers across the United States and Canada". You pick the appointment from myASE. Take identification that satisfies this: "You are required to present a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID in good condition and in its original form that includes your photo and signature." Leave some slack in the morning, too, since ASE asks you to "arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment start time".

Testing from home is narrower than most guides let on. ASE's remote testing policy says the ProProctor option is "Available for recertification tests only", G1 excluded. So A5 Brakes the first time is a test center job, while the A5 recertification five years later can be done from a room at home that meets ASE's requirements.

Something else to know before you book. ASE's Spanish testing page states that "The Automobile/Light Truck Tests (A1 through A9) and the Auto Maintenance & Light Repair Test (G1) are available in Spanish." You do not sign up for a different test. A "Leer en español" button opens a split screen, the Spanish translation of the question on one side and the English version on the other. You answer on the English side.

How much does ASE certification cost?

$96 for your first test: $34 for the order and $62 for the test, at the fees ASE lists for the 2026 registration year. The rest of that page, read on November 1, 2026, looks like this.

Tests bought together share the one registration fee. Buy several at once and you pay it once. The eight behind Master status, A1 to A8, come to $496 in test fees plus the $34, or $530 in a single order. That $186 cap applies to recertification orders only and will not trim a first run at eight tests.

Nobody prints the other two costs on the invoice: your study hours, and the retake you might need. Fees move as well, so check ASE's registration page the week you buy rather than a figure quoted in some article from three years back.

What happens if you fail an ASE test?

You wait a month, then you buy it again. ASE's FAQ gives the wait exactly: "You must wait 30 full days before you can purchase and schedule the same test again." The fees come round a second time. A failed A8 means another $62, plus $34 if it goes in as a fresh order.

What ASE does not publish is the bar you missed. There is no passing score for any A Series test and no percentage behind one, so anyone quoting you one is guessing. The practice tests on this site treat about seven right answers in ten as a pass, which is our line and a sensible target rather than a reading of ASE's scoring. The research questions in that session were not flagged for you either, as ASE's A Series page says.

Which leaves the one response that works after a fail: practice tests at the real length and the real clock, run until you can say why each wrong answer is wrong.

How long does ASE certification last, and how do you recertify?

Five years. ASE's FAQ sets out both halves of that: "Certification credentials are valid for five years. If it has been five years or more since you took a test, it's time to take the corresponding Recertification Test." Going early costs you the balance, though: "If you recertify early, you will not be credited with the time remaining on your original certification." Letting one lapse is not fatal either, since "You may take the Recertification Tests even if your credentials have expired."

Recertification tests are shorter. A1 recertification comes to 23 questions in 30 minutes, against 45 in 75 the first time. Take them on ProProctor or at a test center. Fees stop at $186 an order however many you buy.

The A Series has a second route. The ASE Renewal App covers A1 to A9. ASE explains the mechanism in one line: "Earn 8 credits to extend that certification area by 1 year." Pricing does not scale: "A-Series annual subscription is $52, regardless of how many certifications you have."

What does it take to become an ASE-Certified Master Automobile Technician?

Eight tests, all of them current. ASE says technicians certified in tests A1 through A8 "are recognized as ASE-Certified Master Automobile Technicians", then adds the line that catches diesel techs out: "A9 is NOT a requirement for Master Automobile Technician Status." The two-year experience requirement applies exactly as it does to a single test.

Master status also needs upkeep. "Master Technician status is not for life," ASE's FAQ says. "You must keep each one of those certifications current to maintain Master Technician status." Let A7 slide and you are a technician with seven current certifications until you recertify it.

The practice tests here run at the length and the time ASE publishes for each of the nine. Nothing cheaper will tell you whether a test is ready to be booked.