An experimental and theoretical study has been performed to investigate changes in a laser photoacoustic signal near a hole in metal plates of aluminum alloy D16. The process of photoacoustic signal generation from metals is analyzed in the framework of the classical theory of thermoelasticity, which takes into account only the thermal effects of a laser pulse on lattice deformation in metal. A comparison is made of photoacoustic experimental and theoretical results for an aluminum alloy plate with a hole in the presence of mechanical stresses. The effect of external mechanical stresses on the behavior of laser photoacoustic signals near a hole in D16 alloy plates was studied experimentally and theoretically. It was found that the classical theory of thermoelasticity is not enough to correctly describe the stress dependence of the photoacoustic signal near a hole in aluminum alloy plates. In order for the obtained experimental and theoretical results to agree, along with the thermal effects of laser irradiati