After Months of Safety Review, FAA Allows Boeing to Resume Issuing Certificates for New Airplanes

Decision follows eight months of data demonstrating consistent production quality

WASHINGTON-The FAA will allow Boeing to resume issuing airworthiness certificates at the end of the production process for all 737 MAX and 787 airplanes. The decision follows months of thorough data and safety review demonstrating consistent production quality and reflects the FAA's confidence in Boeing's ability to issue airworthiness certificates under FAA oversight.

In September 2025, the FAA allowed Boeing to resume issuing airworthiness certificates for some 737 MAX and 787 airplanes. Boeing and the FAA issued the certificates on alternating weeks. During the past eight months, the FAA has seen comparable production quality findings when Boeing issued airworthiness certificates and when the FAA issued them.

Based on these results, the FAA determined it can safely return this responsibility to Boeing. The FAA will continue inspections, audits, and monitoring of Boeing's production system including critical assembly activities, production quality trends, and compliance with approved type design and engineering requirements.

The decision is effective Monday, July 20, 2026.

"Safety drives everything we do, and this step forward is only possible because we are confident it can be done safely," said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. "Our inspectors will continue rigorous oversight of Boeing's production while focusing more of their time where it has the greatest impact-identifying and addressing potential risks earlier in the manufacturing process."

The FAA's ongoing oversight will include closely observing and assessing Boeing's Safety Management System (SMS) and safety culture.

Additional information:

The FAA's Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program allows authorized organizations to perform certification functions on behalf of the FAA, such as issuing airworthiness and production certifications for aircraft. Boeing's ODA unit is an independent group within the company that represents the FAA. In May 2025, the FAA renewed Boeing's ODA for three years.

The FAA stopped allowing Boeing to issue airworthiness certificates for 737 MAX airplanes in 2019 following the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes, and for Boeing 787 airplanes in 2022 because of production quality issues.

An airworthiness certificate confirms an aircraft is safe to operate and is the last stage of the production process.