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Certification

FAA certifies the Boeing 737 MAX 10

The FAA issued the 737 MAX 10's type certificate on 20 October 2026, clearing Boeing to start building toward 2027 deliveries of its largest single aisle jet.

20 October 2026

Boeing 737 MAX
A Boeing 737 MAX, for illustration. Not the aircraft in this story. Photo: AVA Navigate, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The FAA issued an amended type certificate for the Boeing 737 MAX 10 on 20 October 2026, the agency said in a newsroom release, confirming the certification that Reuters and other outlets had reported was imminent the day before. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the decision during a visit to Boeing's Everett, Washington plant. Boeing confirmed the certificate in its own statement, carried on PR Newswire, and said it also covers an updated Production Limitation Record authorizing manufacture of the variant.

In plain terms

A type certificate is the FAA's formal finding that an aircraft design meets safety standards and may be built and sold. Until it is issued, an airline cannot take delivery of the type.

The FAA said Boeing met the requirements of the 2020 Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act in full, the law Congress passed after the two 2018 and 2019 MAX accidents. Aviation Week reported that the review included updates to the aircraft's flight control system. The MAX 10 completes the MAX family alongside the smaller MAX 7, which the FAA certified in August 2026.

Boeing said the MAX 10 has orders from more than 30 customers, with United, Alaska, Delta, American and Ryanair among the largest. Fox Business put the total order count at 1,555 aircraft, citing Boeing's figures, while Reuters had previously reported the backlog at close to 1,500. Boeing said deliveries are still expected to begin in 2027, since production readiness and customer acceptance, not the certificate date, now set the pace.

On the line

Certification changes nothing for in service MAX 7, 8 or 9 aircraft. It starts Boeing's production ramp for the MAX 10, which operators should track through Boeing's own delivery schedule rather than this date. Full background on the MAX program and production rate is on the 737 MAX page.

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