🚗 Guide Autonomous Vehicles ⏱ 12 min April 22, 2026

eVTOL Certification Guide: FAA and EASA Pathways

Guide to airworthiness certification for electric VTOL aircraft — requirements, timelines, and current applicants.

Key Highlights

  • FAA Part 23 and Special Class certification
  • EASA SC-VTOL framework
  • Safety assessment methodology
  • Battery certification requirements
  • Current applicant status tracker

Overview

A comprehensive guide to certifying electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft under FAA and EASA regulatory frameworks. Covers type certification basis, safety standards, current applicant status, and timeline projections.

What's Inside

FAA Certification Pathway

The FAA is developing a Special Class airworthiness basis for powered-lift eVTOLs. We cover the type certification process, including issue papers, means of compliance, and the G-1/G-2 certification basis documents.

EASA SC-VTOL

EASA's Special Condition for VTOL provides a more defined regulatory path. We compare the EASA approach to FAA, covering safety objectives (10^-9 per flight hour), crashworthiness, and battery system certification.

Topics & Tags

eVTOLAviationCertificationFAAEASAAircraft

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