Type certificate

A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (type design). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance with applicable airworthiness requirements established by the national air law.

For up to three seats, primary category aircraft certification costs around US$1 million, US$25 million for a general aviation aircraft and hundreds of millions of dollars for a commercial aircraft; certification delays can cost millions of dollars and can decide a program's profitability.