Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMCs) - FAQ

1. General

Community law in the area of civil aviation generally defines safety objectives at the level of essential requirements and implementing rules, whereas detailed implementation aspects are included as Certification Specifications (CS) or Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC). This provides flexibility, eases the understanding of the safety objectives and ensures resilience of the regulatory material in times of fast evolving technology and increasing complexity in civil aviation.

2. Definition

AMCs are defined as non-binding standards adopted by the Agency to illustrate means to establish compliance with the Basic Regulation and its Implementing Rules.
The AMCs issued by the Agency are not of a legislative nature; therefore they cannot create obligations on the regulated persons, who may decide to show compliance with the applicable requirements using other means. However, as the legislator wanted such material to provide for legal certainty and to contribute to uniform implementation, it must commit competent authorities so that regulated persons complying with an Agency AMC must be recognised as complying with the law. This is the reason why the adoption of such material by EASA is subject to an open rulemaking process as prescribed by Article 52 of the Basic Regulation.

3. Can competent authorities accept other means of compliance?

Regulated persons may propose an alternative means of compliance to the Agency AMC to their competent authority, and, provided they can demonstrate that an equivalent level of safety to that established by the Agency AMC can be ensured, the competent authority may approve such alternative means of compliance. It is important to note that this approval will be granted on an individual basis: Other applicants wishing to make use of the same alternative means of compliance must obtain individual approval for that from their competent authority. The burden of proof of compliance fully rests with the applicant.

4. Is EASA the only body entitled to issue AMCs?

The fact that the Agency has a mandate by law (cf. Regulation Article 19) to develop AMCs does not mean that national aviation authorities should not participate in this process. In domains where they are themselves the competent authorities to implement Community law, they may where necessary develop such material based on their own understanding or by using material issued by EASA. Whenever a competent authority decides to issue their own national alternative means of compliance, such means only commit itself. Other competent authorities are not required to follow them. Moreover, such alternative means of compliance issued by the competent authority do not in any way alter the presumption of compliance provided by the Agency AMCs. The Agency will monitor that competent authorities properly manage the process of issuing their own means of compliance through EASA standardisation inspections.

5. If a competent authority intends to accept other means of compliance than those adopted by the Agency or if it intends to develop its own means of compliance, is there any obligation on the competent authority to submit these means of compliance to EASA for approval?

There is no such obligation: Except in cases where the Agency is itself the competent authority, the implementation of rules rests within the sole remit of Member States. It is however the role of the Agency through the EASA standardisation inspection system to check that competent authorities properly implement the alternative means of compliance. In the future, with the entry into force of the new Authority Requirements in the Regulations on Aircrew and Air Operations (following on from Agency Opinions No 03/2011 and No 04/2011), competent authorities will be required to notify the Agency of the content of all alternative means of compliance they have approved or that are used by themselves. This requirement will later on be included in Section B requirements of the airworthiness regulations (Regulations (EC) No 1702/2003 and No 2042/2003) by way of separate rulemaking tasks. 
The Agency will use the information received for the purpose of standardisation and for its rulemaking process. Alternative means of compliance of general interest may be proposed to be adopted as Agency AMCs, through the regular rulemaking process to ensure proper stakeholder consultation.

6. Is there any obligation on competent authorities to translate the AMC in the national language, if they decide to implement them?

This is an internal issue related to each national administrative order. Moreover it is up to each competent authority to organise its own internal processes to help its regulated persons complying with Community law. This will dictate, on a case by case basis, what to do with the EASA AMCs. The internal documents are therefore in the language the competent authorities chooses. It is recommended however that competent authorities systematically use EASA AMCs to produce guidance to persons under their jurisdiction.