EASA Part-145 / Part 21 · Maintenance, production and design approvals
EASA Part 145 approval and Part 21 readiness for maintenance, production and design organisations.
Aviation authorities approve organisations, not documents, and Sterling's expert and experienced consultants help you build the management system, manuals and evidence that an EASA or national authority audit expects to see working. We help our clients put it into practice and prove it.
- Fixed scope, one proposal: consulting, Effivity software and Sterling Academy access in one proposal
- A team of expert and experienced consultants working on quality and safety management systems since 2003
- The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements. Sterling does not approve organisations; EASA or the competent authority audits and decides
8,100+ client engagements in 60+ countries.
Client experience across sectors
What it is
What are EASA Part-145 and Part 21?
Part-145 and Part 21 are European Union aviation safety requirements published by EASA, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. Part-145 governs maintenance organisation approvals and belongs to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 on continuing airworthiness. Part 21 belongs to Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 on initial airworthiness and covers, among other things, design organisation approvals (DOA) and production organisation approvals (POA), the latter under Subpart G.
EASA supports both with Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material (AMC and GM), which explain how the requirements are usually met. An approval is granted to an organisation that shows, at audit, that its system, people and facilities meet the rules in practice.
Recent changes. Regulation (EU) 2021/1963 introduced safety management system requirements into Part-145, and EASA's compliance guide for Part 21 reflects amendments including Regulation (EU) 2022/201. EASA publishes consolidated Easy Access Rules; always work from the current version on easa.europa.eu.
Who it is for
Who needs an EASA Part-145 or Part 21 approval?
The need is set by what you do on which aircraft, engines or components, and by who your customers are. Organisations come to Sterling from three starting points:
- Maintenance organisations. Organisations maintaining aircraft or components within EASA's system, including foreign Part-145 organisations outside the EASA Member States approved by EASA.
- Manufacturers of aircraft, parts and appliances. Producers preparing for a production organisation approval, or building supply-chain controls a POA holder will audit.
- Design organisations. Engineering firms seeking a design organisation approval, or adapting their system after a change in scope.
The benefit is a system that keeps the approval: findings closed on time, changes managed and people who know their responsibilities.
Requirements
What does an EASA Part-145 or Part 21 approval require?
The official point structure is not reproduced here because we have not verified it at title level from EASA's summaries; the list shows what Sterling's preparation work covers.
- Organisation manual: the document the authority reviews, describing how your organisation meets the applicable requirements
- Management and safety management system: including the safety management requirements Regulation (EU) 2021/1963 brought into Part-145
- People and competence: responsibilities, qualifications, training and the authorisation of those who release work
- Facilities, tools, equipment and data: suitable for the approved scope and controlled
- Procedures and records: work, release documentation, occurrence reporting and records retained as required
- Internal audit and findings: independent monitoring of compliance, with findings closed and evidence kept
What does useful approval evidence look like?
A current manual that matches practice, training and authorisation records for each person, tool calibration and control records, occurrence reports with follow-up, and internal audit findings closed with evidence. We keep these in Effivity, so the authority audit reviews a system that is already running.
Your engagement
What your EASA Part-145 or Part 21 engagement includes
The route is regulatory approval: EASA or the competent authority audits and grants the approval, and Sterling does not approve or recommend organisations. We prepare your organisation for that audit and support you through it.
Scope and gap assessment
Against the applicable regulation and the related AMC and GM, with an agreed plan and owners.
Manuals, procedures and safety management
Written with your post holders and staff, for the way your organisation works.
Effivity ISO & GRC software
Records, audits, occurrences and actions in one workspace, included with the engagement at no additional cost.
Training, internal audit and mock audit
Awareness and role training, an internal audit and a mock authority audit, with findings closed before the real one.
Approval decisions remain with EASA or the competent authority of the EASA Member State concerned.
Often combined with
Standards organisations pair with EASA Part 145 / Part 21
- AIAG core toolsAutomotive core tools implementation and training: APQP, Control Plan, PPAP, FMEA, MSA and SPC applied on your live parts.
- AQAP 2110AQAP 2110 compliance for defence suppliers: what the NATO contract requirement covers, AQAP 2105 quality plans, government quality assurance and an all-inclusive proposal.
- AS9100AS9100 certification consulting for aerospace and defence suppliers: ISO 9001 plus product safety, configuration and FAI, ready for an IAQG scheme audit.
- AS9110AS9110 certification for aviation maintenance organisations: the 9110 requirements, the IAQG audit route, cost and timeline factors, and Sterling's support.
- AS9120AS9120 certification for aerospace distributors and stockists: requirements, the IAQG audit route, OASIS listing, cost and timeline factors, with Sterling.
- CMMC 2.0CMMC 2.0 certification consulting for defence contractors handling FCI and CUI: controls, SPRS score and evidence ready for self or C3PAO assessment.
Effivity · ISO and GRC software, included in every engagement
How Effivity helps you run, automate and simplify an EASA Part-145 or Part 21 system.
Every Sterling EASA Part-145 and Part 21 engagement includes Effivity, the ISO and GRC automation platform built by the Sterling group and used in 50+ countries. Your consultant sets up the workspace within the agreed scope, so documents, competence, audits, occurrences, findings and corrective actions sit together and the system runs in daily work. Sterling consulting clients get their Effivity subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost.
Approval scope and responsibilities
Ratings, sites and post holders recorded, with changes tracked.
Manual and procedures
Versions, approvals and distribution, so staff use the current revision.
Competence and authorisations
Qualifications, training and authorisations per person, with due dates.
Tools and calibration
Calibration status and control of tools and equipment.
Hazards and occurrences
Hazard log, occurrence reports and follow-up actions.
Supplier and subcontractor control
Evaluations and oversight of the organisations you rely on.
Internal audit and findings
Audit programme, findings, root cause and closure evidence.
Your own forms and reports
Fields, workflows and reports shaped to your organisation, without code.
What this means at the authority audit
The inspector asks for the manual, the authorisation records, the audit programme, the open findings and the occurrence reports. In Effivity each of those is a screen with dates, owners and evidence attached. After approval, Sustain™ runs in the same workspace, so continued oversight finds a system that never stopped.
In your engagement
- Subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost
- Set up by your Sterling consultant within the agreed scope
- Existing records and registers migrated, not retyped
- Admin and user training for your team
- Modules for QMS, OHSMS, ISMS and more when you integrate other standards
Sterling Academy · EASA Part-145 and Part 21 e-learning
Train everyone in the organisation, not just the quality team.
Sterling Academy delivers e-learning for the whole workforce and for the people who run the programme: video lessons with practice checkpoints, a final exam and a numbered Certificate of Completion for each learner, verifiable online. Sterling consulting clients benefit from preferential Sterling Academy course access and special pricing through their Sterling consultant, including complimentary awareness training for their people as part of the engagement.
- Awareness for every employee of the system and their part in it
- Deeper learning for post holders, auditors and process owners
- Internal auditor training for the people who will audit the system, as part of the engagement
- Learner progress by department and a training status report for the authority audit
- New hires trained as they arrive, so records stay current
Keep exploring
Explore more about EASA Part 145 / Part 21
EASA Part-145 and Part 21 resources
Services for EASA Part 145 / Part 21
Why Sterling
Why choose Sterling for EASA Part-145 and Part 21?
Approval systems work when the manual describes what people actually do. Sterling builds the system with your staff and connects it to any AS9100 or ISO 9001 system you already hold, so one set of records serves both.
Management system work in 60+ countries since 2003
8,100+ client engagements across sectors and every region we serve, with one engagement team accountable across your sites.
All-inclusive proposal
Consulting, Effivity and Academy access in one proposal, with authority fees identified separately.
A system your people can use
Manuals and procedures written for the hangar, shop floor and design office, not for the shelf.
Expert and experienced consultants
Consultants who have advised on quality and safety management systems since 2003 and prepare you properly for the authority audit.
The Sterling Promise
What the Sterling Promise means for your EASA approval
We stay with you until your agreed approval readiness outcome is achieved, supporting implementation, preparation and the response to authority findings. Clear explanations, practical delivery, included software and employee learning turn the investment into lasting capability.
The engagement identifies the scope, outcome and responsibilities. Your organisation supplies accurate information and puts the agreed controls into use. EASA or the competent authority assesses compliance and retains its approval decision. Our commitment concerns the agreed support, not a promise about any regulatory decision.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions about EASA Part-145 and Part 21
Who issues an EASA Part-145 approval?
EASA or the competent authority of an EASA Member State, depending on where the organisation sits. EASA itself approves foreign Part-145 organisations located outside the EASA Member States.
What is the difference between Part-145 and Part 21?
Part-145 covers organisations that maintain aircraft and components, under the continuing airworthiness regulation (EU) No 1321/2014. Part 21 covers initial airworthiness under Regulation (EU) No 748/2012, including the approval of design organisations and production organisations.
Is AS9100 certification the same as an EASA approval?
No. An AS9100 or ISO 9001 certificate is issued by a certification body and is not a regulatory approval. Many organisations use the same management system as the backbone for both, which keeps records and audits in one place.
Talk to a consultant
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