Training Guide
Online Mechanic Courses and What They Count For
Online mechanic courses award diplomas and certificates, and a few online credentials are real, but the work itself is hands-on and ASE counts it that way. This guide covers what the online courses award, how ASE treats training outside its accredited programs, and the one federal credential that is taken online.
By Trevor Rupe, Contributor at Savo Media Group
At a Glance
- Online mechanic courses award diplomas and certificates, such as the Automotive Repair Technician Career Diploma that Ashworth College describes for its partner school Penn Foster, which it says prepares students for the ASE exams.
- None of the 1,871 programs on the ASE Education Foundation's accredited program list has Penn Foster, Ashworth, online, distance or virtual in its name or description.
- ASE counts other training at 1 month of experience for every 200 program hours, up to up to 1 year; an accredited program counts as 1 year outright.
- The Foundation caps e-learning and work-based learning at 25 percent of an accredited program's instructional hours.
- The EPA 609 test is taken online through ASE's refrigerant quiz: 30 questions, 24 correct to pass, for $23.
What Online Mechanic Courses Award
The best-known online mechanic course is Penn Foster's Automotive Repair Technician Career Diploma. Ashworth College, a partner school, describes it as an accredited online program that prepares students for repair jobs in shops and dealerships and covers engine repair, automatic transmission and transaxle, manual drive train and axles, suspension and steering, brakes, and electrical and electronic systems. It also says the program prepares students for the ASE certification exams.
Two things in that description are easy to misread. The credential is a career diploma, not a degree. And "accredited" refers to the school's institutional accreditation: Ashworth itself is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, which the U.S. Department of Education recognizes. Preparing for the ASE exams is test preparation, which is a different thing from a program holding ASE Education Foundation accreditation. Ashworth's own automotive certificates, according to its pages, are closed to new enrollment, and it points students to Penn Foster.
Online Mechanic Courses and Program Accreditation
The ASE Education Foundation accredits automotive, diesel and collision repair programs, and the programs this site ranks hold that accreditation or, for aviation maintenance, FAA Part 147 certification. None of the 1,871 programs on the Foundation's list, as downloaded on October 23, 2026, has Penn Foster, Ashworth, online, distance or virtual in its school name, program name or description.
The Foundation's standards explain why. Its 2024 automobile program standards say a maximum of 25 percent of the instructional-hours requirement may be met by applicable work-based learning activities, e-learning activities, or a combination of the two. The remainder is the shop. The auto mechanic school ranking and the diesel mechanic school ranking list the accredited programs by cost, graduate earnings, completion and track record.
How ASE Counts Online and Other Training
ASE certification takes hands-on work experience as well as a passing score, and ASE credits training toward that experience on a scale. The line that matters for online courses is the last one: training that is not an ASE-accredited program counts as "all other training".
| Training | 1-year test | 2-year tests | 3-year tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete an ASE-accredited program | 6 months | 1 year | 1 year |
| All other training: 200 program hours equal 1 month of credit | Up to 6 months | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year |
So an online course counts, but at a rate: 200 program hours for each month of credit, up to a year for the 2-year tests. An accredited program is credited a year outright. Repairs done in a home garage are not accepted as work experience, so practice at home does not substitute for shop employment.
Online Training Beside an Accredited Program
Online lessons do have a place next to a campus program. Audi says a student enrolled in an accredited technical school or college can complete its Education Partnership requirements alongside normal coursework through self-paced online training modules, and it describes a separate 18-month apprenticeship at a local Audi dealership for graduates. That is manufacturer content layered on a school program, not a replacement for one. The manufacturer training programs guide covers the others.
The EPA 609 Test
One credential in the field is taken online and is real. 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, and ASE's refrigerant recovery and recycling program is one of the approved programs. The quiz has 30 questions and takes 24 correct answers to pass, with an online test fee of $23. BLS adds that no formal test preparation is required, though many trade schools, unions and employer associations offer training designed for the exam.
The lifetime certificate the quiz earns is recognized only as EPA certification, and it does not meet the section 608 requirements that apply to other kinds of air conditioning systems. It is also not an ASE technical certification: see the ASE certification guide for how that credential works.
Questions About Online Mechanic Courses
Can you take mechanic courses online?
Yes. Penn Foster offers an Automotive Repair Technician Career Diploma that Ashworth College describes as an accredited online program covering engine repair, transmissions, drive trains, suspension and steering, brakes and electrical systems, and preparing students for the ASE exams. The accreditation it refers to is the school's institutional accreditation, not accreditation of the program by the ASE Education Foundation.
Are there ASE accredited online mechanic programs?
None appears on the ASE Education Foundation's accredited program list. None of the 1,871 programs on the list read on October 23, 2026 has Penn Foster, Ashworth, online, distance or virtual in its school name, program name or description. The Foundation's 2024 standards also cap e-learning and work-based learning at 25 percent of an accredited program's instructional hours.
Does an online mechanic course count toward ASE certification?
A course that is not an ASE-accredited program falls under ASE's "all other training" line: 1 month of experience credit for every 200 program hours, up to up to 1 year toward the 2 years the A1 to A9 tests ask for. An accredited program counts as 1 year of the 2 years. Repairs done in a home garage are not accepted as work experience at all. The ASE certification guide has the table.
Can you get EPA 609 certified online?
Yes. ASE's refrigerant recovery and recycling program is an EPA-approved section 609 program. The quiz has 30 questions, takes 24 correct answers to pass, and has an online test fee of $23. The lifetime certificate it earns is recognized only as EPA certification, not as ASE technical certification.
Is Ashworth College still offering automotive certificates?
Ashworth's pages for its Automotive Engine Performance, Automotive HVAC and Automotive Automatic Transmissions certificates, read on October 23, 2026, say it is no longer accepting enrollments in them and point students to its partner school, Penn Foster.
Where do accredited mechanic programs teach the hands-on part?
On campus, in the shop. BLS says automotive programs combine classroom instruction with hands-on practice, and the ranked programs on this site are accredited by the ASE Education Foundation or certificated by the FAA. The automotive ranking and the diesel ranking list them.
Sources for Online Mechanic Courses and What They Count For
Ashworth College, ASE, EPA and Audi pages were read on October 23, 2026.
- Ashworth College, Automotive Engine Performance Certificate Enrollment notice and the description of Penn Foster's program.
- Ashworth College, Accreditation Institutional accreditation.
- ASE Education Foundation, 2024 Automobile Program Standards The e-learning cap.
- ASE, Work Experience Form Instructions Years by test and the training that substitutes for experience.
- ASE, Refrigerant Recovery and Recycling Program The EPA 609 quiz and its fee.
- U.S. EPA, Section 609 Technician Training and Certification Who must hold a section 609 certification.
- Audi, Education Partnership The program and its apprenticeship.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics 2025-35 edition.
This site earns money from sponsored school listings served by the education ad network Esyoh, which are marked as ads wherever they appear. Schools pay to appear in those listings, not in the rankings: a listing is not scored, and no listing can change a ranking. Rankings come from published records, and program details from each school’s own published pages.