What does AC 20-152A add to DO-254?
FAA AC 20-152A, Development Assurance for Airborne Electronic Hardware, recognizes DO-254 and equivalent EUROCAE ED-80. It adds guidance for custom devices, commercial intellectual property within them, commercial devices and circuit board assemblies. The FAA lists the AC as Active, issued on 7 October 2022.
Its scope covers hardware aspects of type certification and Technical Standard Order authorization. Applicability distinguishes hardware assurance levels A, B and C; using the AC is not required for level D. It describes an acceptable means rather than the only means, with applicable provisions to be followed when that route is chosen.
Separate the hardware layers in a claim
Imagine a hypothetical equipment brochure containing three statements: “Our FPGA design has assurance data”; “the processor is commercially available”; and “the board has passed testing.” Those statements concern different objects and different evidence. Combining them into “the hardware is certified” would hide the relationship that the reader needs to understand.
A useful explanation would identify the device or board behind each statement, then show how the stated evidence relates to the equipment being discussed. This fictional example is not an assessment of any product. It illustrates why a recognizable standards acronym cannot do the work of a clear description of scope.
AC 00-72 explains the configuration records
The companion AC 00-72 provides selected best practices and illustrations. Its configuration discussion distinguishes the hardware item from the environment used to develop it. The hardware index identifies items such as programming files, source versions, commercial IP and build instructions. The environment index describes relevant development hardware, operating systems and tools.
This distinction gives a reader two concrete evidence questions: which design is being discussed, and what environment allows it to be reproduced? For example, two reports could use the same product name while referring to different programming files. A name alone cannot establish that the reports concern identical configurations.
Simple does not mean physically small
AC 00-72 also explains the simple-versus-complex classification. Design content matters regardless of the proposed verification method: applying a powerful analysis tool does not itself make a complex custom device simple. Its examples consider functions, interfaces, clocks and state machines. This is a classification about the design, rather than an everyday description of how compact or familiar a component appears.
That is useful context when a product description calls a design “simple.” The adjective may express a usability benefit or a marketing comparison. It only becomes a technical assurance claim when the relevant classification and its justification are made clear.
Use the current hardware review order
FAA Order 8110.105B, issued on 20 February 2024, superseded 8110.105A. It guides FAA personnel applying DO-254 with AC 20-152A. Its revision removed material that duplicated or conflicted with the newer hardware ACs. This makes revision B the relevant current companion for understanding the authority’s review process.
The order describes desk and on-site reviews of life-cycle processes and data. Their purpose includes visibility into implementation and evidence that development follows approved plans. Review involvement depends on project characteristics, experience and other factors, including complex commercial devices and IP. A reader should consequently expect an account of the evidence examined, rather than assume every project follows an identical sequence of meetings.
An explicit boundary: single-event effects
AC 20-152A explicitly excludes single-event effects and assessment of susceptibility to them. Allowing related certification considerations to appear in the hardware certification plan does not expand that scope.
A hardware assurance reference can therefore be highly relevant while leaving another question unanswered. When reading a product claim, retain the distinction between the object, the evidence and the property being claimed. A precise description of those three is more informative than a longer list of standards identifiers.
Based on public FAA documents and catalogue checks on 30 October 2026. DO-254/ED-80 is discussed through the FAA’s recognition and explanations; the paid standards were not inspected. This is a document guide, not a determination of compliance, certification eligibility, radiation tolerance or military suitability for any product.
Read the evidence.
- 01Development Assurance for Airborne Electronic Hardware — AC 20-152AFederal Aviation Administration · 7 Oct 2022
- 02FAA catalogue: current status and scope of AC 20-152AFederal Aviation Administration · 7 Oct 2022
- 03Hardware design assurance best practices and examples — AC 00-72Federal Aviation Administration · 7 Oct 2022
- 04Current FAA hardware review guidance — Order 8110.105BFederal Aviation Administration · 20 Feb 2024