DOA and POA: Design and Production Organisations

This Subpart establishes the procedure for the approval of design organisations and rules governing the rights and obligations of applicants for, and holders of, such approvals. In this Subpart, the references to type-certificates include type-certificates and restricted type-certificates.

Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, Easy Access Rules for Initial Airworthiness, 27 Nov 2025 revision.

(a)The design organisation shall establish, implement and maintain a design management system that includes a safety management element and a design assurance element with clearly defined accountability and lines of responsibility throughout the organisation.

(b)The design management system shall:

1.correspond to the size of the organisation and to the nature and complexity of its activities, taking into account the hazards and associated risks inherent in those activities;

2.be established, implemented and maintained under the accountability of a single manager appointed pursuant to point 21.A.245(a).

(c)As part of the safety management element of the design management system, the design organisation shall:

1.establish, implement and maintain a safety policy and the corresponding related safety objectives;

2.appoint key safety personnel in accordance with point 21.A.245(b);

3.establish, implement and maintain a safety risk management process that includes the identification of aviation safety hazards entailed by its activities, their evaluation and the management of the associated risks, including taking actions to mitigate the risks and verify their effectiveness;

4.establish, implement and maintain a safety assurance process that includes:

(i)the measurement and monitoring of the organisation’s safety performance;

(ii)the management of changes in accordance with points 21.A.243(c) and 21.A.247;

(iii)the principles for the continuous improvement of the safety management element;

5.promote safety in the organisation through:

(i)training and education;

(ii)communication;

6.establish an occurrence reporting system in accordance with point 21.A.3A in order to contribute to continuous improvement of safety.

(d)as part of the design assurance element of the design management system, the design organisation shall:

1.establish, implement and maintain a system for the control and supervision of the design, and of design changes and repairs, of products, parts, appliances, UAS, CMUs or CMU components covered by the terms of approval; that system shall:

(i)include an airworthiness function responsible for ensuring that the design of products, parts, appliances, UAS, CMUs or CMU components or the design changes and repairs, comply with the applicable type-certification basis, the applicable operational suitability data certification basis and the applicable environmental protection requirements;

(ii)ensure that the design organisation properly discharges its responsibilities in accordance with this Annex and with the terms of approval issued under point 21.A.251;

2.establish, implement and maintain an independent verification function of the demonstration of compliance on the basis of which the organisation declares compliance with the applicable airworthiness, operational suitability data and environmental protection requirements; and

3.specify the manner in which the design management system accounts for the acceptability of the parts, appliances, or CMU components that are designed, or the tasks that are performed, by its partners or subcontractors according to the methods which are the subject of written procedures.

(e)The design organisation shall establish, as part of the design management system, an independent monitoring function to verify compliance of the organisation with the relevant requirements of this Annex as well as the compliance with and adequacy of the design management system. Monitoring shall include feedback to the person or the group of persons referred to in point 21.A.245(b) and to the manager referred to in point 21.A.245(a) to ensure, where necessary, the implementation of corrective action.

[…]

Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, Easy Access Rules for Initial Airworthiness, 27 Nov 2025 revision.

This Subpart establishes:

(a)the procedure for the issuance of a production organisation approval for a production organisation that shows the conformity of products, parts, appliances, CMUs or CMU components with the applicable design data;

(b)the rights and obligations of the applicant for, and holder of, such approvals.

Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, Easy Access Rules for Initial Airworthiness, 27 Nov 2025 revision.

Pursuant to the terms of approval issued under point 21.A.135, the holder of a production organisation approval may:

(a)perform production activities under this Annex or Annex Ib (Part 21 Light);

(b)in the case of complete type-certified aircraft and upon presentation, for aircraft and UAS, of a statement of conformity (EASA Form 52) issued under point 21.A.174 and 21.A.204 of this Annex or under points 21L.A.143(c) and 21L.A.163 of Annex Ib (Part 21 Light), obtain an aircraft certificate of airworthiness and a noise certificate without further showing;

(c)in the case of other products, parts, appliances, CMUs or CMU components, issue authorised release certificates (EASA Form 1) under Subpart G of this Annex or under Subpart G of Annex Ib (Part 21 Light) without further showing;

[…]

(f)maintain a new aircraft that it has produced and issue a certificate of release to service (EASA Form 53) in respect of that maintenance;

(g)under procedures agreed with its competent authority for production, for an aircraft it has produced and when the production organisation itself is controlling under its Production Organisation Approval the configuration of the aircraft and is attesting conformity with the design conditions approved for the flight, to issue a permit to fly in accordance with point 21.A.711(c) including approval of the flight conditions in accordance with point 21.A.710(b).

Quoted word for word from Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, Easy Access Rules for Initial Airworthiness, 27 Nov 2025 revision.