Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Designee Management Handbook

1. PURPOSE.
This order establishes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) procedures to be used by the Aircraft Certification Service (AIR) and Flight Standards Service (AFS) for managing the FAA’s representatives of the Administrator (designee) program. In addition, this order provides geographic restriction procedures and authorized designee functions. These procedures are designed to ensure they are applied in an unbiased manner to all qualified private persons. Specific designee procedures covered in this order include the following areas:

a. FAA roles and responsibilities.
b. Initial selection and appointment.
c. Orientation, including designee authority and responsibilities.
d. Training.
e. Oversight.
f. Renewal.
g. Termination and appeals.

2. DISTRIBUTION.
This order is distributed to the Washington headquarters branch levels of the Aircraft Certification Service, Flight Standards Service, and the Regulatory Support Division; to the Aviation System Standards Office; to the branch level in the Aircraft Certification Service directorates and regional Flight Standards Service divisions; to all aircraft certification offices; to all manufacturing inspection district and satellite offices; to all flight standards district offices; to the Aircraft Certification Branch and Flight Standards Branch at the FAA Academy; to the Brussels Aircraft Certification Staff and Flight Standards Staff; to applicable representatives of the Administrator; and to all international field offices.

3. CANCELLATION.
This order cancels FAA Order 8100.8B, Designee Management Handbook, dated July 14, 2003, and its associated changes.

4. BACKGROUND.
A national Designee Standardization Team (DST) was chartered to establish a single, standardized, national management handbook for manufacturing, engineering, and maintenance designees. As a result, the DST evaluated new and existing criteria for training, oversight, renewal, and termination procedures for incorporation into this order. On the basis of a national evaluation conducted in 1998, the DST determined that it was not necessary to make significant changes to the existing processes. The primary goals of designee management are safe aircraft, continuous improvement, and process standardization.