FAR 21.55 — Type Certificate Licensing
FAR 21.55 explains the duties of type certificate holders who license their TC to manufacturers, including SMS compliance and written agreements.
FAR 21.55 sets the rules a type certificate (TC) holder must follow when they license another company to use that TC to build a new aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller.
In plain terms, if you own the design approval (the TC) and let someone else manufacture products under it, you don't get to step away from quality and safety oversight. You remain responsible for two things:
- Meeting the applicable requirements of Part 5 of this chapter — Part 5 is the FAA's Safety Management System (SMS) rule. The TC holder must have an SMS that addresses the licensed manufacturing activity.
- Providing a written licensing agreement to the manufacturer that is acceptable to the FAA.
Why it matters operationally: this rule keeps accountability with the original design holder, even when production is handed off. It ensures airworthiness, configuration control, and safety risk management aren't lost in the handoff between the design organization and the licensed builder — protecting pilots and passengers who fly the resulting product.