What Is 14 CFR Part 5?
Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 5 is the FAA’s SMS regulation. Originally published in 2015 for Part 121 airlines, it was significantly revised in April 2024 to extend SMS requirements to Part 135 operators, Part 91.147 air tour operators, and Part 21 design and manufacturing organizations. Part 5 does not tell operators exactly how to build their SMS. Instead, it defines the outcomes and processes that an SMS must achieve — identifying hazards, assessing risk, monitoring safety performance, training personnel, and maintaining documentation. The “how” is left to each operator to determine, scaled to their size and complexity. Advisory Circular 120-92D provides acceptable means of compliance.Applicability to Part 135 Operators
The revised Part 5 applies to all Part 135 certificate holders, regardless of size. This includes large charter operators with dozens of aircraft and single-pilot operations flying one airplane. The FAA recognized that nearly 1,850 Part 135 operators would be affected and designed the regulation to be scalable.New Part 135 applicants submitting after May 28, 2024, must have an SMS in place as part of their initial certification. Existing certificate holders have until May 28, 2027, to comply.
Key Subparts
Part 5 is organized into six subparts, each addressing a component of the SMS framework:Subpart A — General
Defines who must comply and establishes the core requirement: certificate holders must develop, implement, maintain, and continuously improve their SMS. Key definitions are established here, including “hazard” (a condition that could foreseeably cause or contribute to an aircraft accident) and “risk” (the composite of predicted severity and likelihood).Subpart B — Safety Policy
Requires a written safety policy that includes safety objectives, a code of ethics, and a non-punitive reporting policy. The policy must be signed by the accountable executive and communicated to all employees. This subpart also defines the accountable executive role — a senior manager with final authority over operations who retains ultimate responsibility for the SMS. This responsibility cannot be delegated.Subpart C — Safety Risk Management
Establishes when and how SRM must be applied. Operators must analyze systems, identify hazards, assess risks against defined criteria, and develop controls when risk exceeds acceptable levels. SRM must also be applied when interfacing with other organizations, and hazards must be communicated to affected parties.Subpart D — Safety Assurance
Requires continuous monitoring of safety performance, including operational processes, organizational characteristics, external events, internal reporting, regulatory compliance, and employee safety concerns. When monitoring reveals that controls are ineffective, the operator must take corrective action.Subpart E — Safety Promotion
Mandates competency-based training on SMS processes and safety communication methods to disseminate lessons learned and safety information across the organization.Subpart F — Documentation and Recordkeeping
Defines what must be documented and how long records must be retained. This subpart ensures that SMS activities are traceable and available for FAA review.The Declaration of Compliance
The Declaration of Compliance (DOC) is the formal submission that affirms your organization has developed and implemented an SMS meeting Part 5 requirements. It is submitted to your local FAA Certificate Management Office (CMO). The DOC must include your organization’s legal name and certificate number, an affirmation that your SMS meets Part 5 requirements, the accountable executive’s signature, and contact information for your SMS point of contact. After submission, the FAA updates its internal records and validates your SMS during routine surveillance.Record Retention Requirements
Part 5 Subpart F establishes specific retention periods:| Record Type | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| SRM outputs (risk assessments, controls) | As long as the control remains relevant |
| Safety Assurance findings | 5 years |
| Training records | 24 months after employee departure |
| All SMS records | Available to the Administrator upon request |
Single-Pilot Exemptions
The FAA recognized that applying every Part 5 requirement to a sole-individual operator would be impractical. Section 5.9(e) defines a “single-pilot organization” as one where a single pilot is the sole individual performing all functions related to safe aircraft operation. These operators are exempt from requirements that presuppose multiple people — employee reporting mechanisms, cross-organizational coordination, communication to employees, management representative designation, and safety committee formation, among others.Exempted sections for single-pilot operators
Exempted sections for single-pilot operators
- 5.21(a)(4) — Employee reporting mechanisms
- 5.21(a)(5) — Coordination across organization
- 5.21(c) — Communication to all employees
- 5.23(a)(2) — Safety management personnel designation
- 5.23(a)(3) — Management representative
- 5.25(b)(3) — SMS implementation team
- 5.25(c) — Designation of required personnel
- 5.27(a) — Emergency response coordination
- 5.27(b) — Emergency response planning
- 5.71(a)(7) — Employee safety concern processes
- 5.93 — Safety communication
- 5.97(d) — Communication records