Abstract: This paper is an experimental andtheoretical study of changes in a laser-induced photoacousticsignal near a hole in metal plates of D16 aluminum alloy. Theprocess of photoacoustic signal generation from metals isanalyzed within the classical thermoelasticity framework, withaccount for only the thermal effect of laser irradiation onmetal lattice deformation. A comparison is made of photoacousticexperimental and theoretical results obtained for a mechanicallystressed aluminum alloy plate with a hole. The effect ofexternal mechanical stresses on the behavior of laserphotoacoustic signals near the hole is studied experimentallyand theoretically. It is found that the classical theory ofthermoelasticity is not enough to correctly describe the stressdependence of the photoacoustic signal near a hole in aluminumalloy plates. In order for the obtained experimental andtheoretical results to agree, along with the thermal effect oflaser irradiation on the lattice, it is necessary to account forthe additional effect of the electron gas. A calibrationprocedure of the laser photoacoustic signal with respect tostress is described. It is shown that internal stresses inmetals can be estimated by the photoacoustic method incombination with the hole drilling method.