Joby FAA Certification Status: Stage 4 Explained

Joby Aviation has not completed Stage 4 of its FAA type-certification process and has not received an FAA type certificate for its S4 electric air taxi.

The company has nevertheless reached an important point: its first FAA-conforming aircraft for Type Inspection Authorization, registration N547JX, began flight testing in March 2026. Joby pilots are performing initial work before FAA pilots conduct “for credit” aircraft-level tests.

Joby’s latest published certification chart, dated May 1, 2026, reported:

Joby certification stage	Joby progress	FAA progress
Stage 1: Certification Basis	100%	100%
Stage 2: Means of Compliance	100%	97%
Stage 3: Certification Plans	82%	75%
Stage 4: Testing & Analysis	15%	6%
Stage 5: Show & Verify	Not separately quantified in the published chart	Not separately quantified in the published chart

Joby cautions that these percentages may change as documents are edited and resubmitted. They are a company-reported measure of document completion and FAA acceptance, not a promise of certification by a particular date.

Did Joby clear FAA Stage 4?

No. Joby’s own May 2026 filing contradicts that claim.

The confusion likely comes from several milestones occurring close together:

• Joby began flying its first FAA-conforming aircraft for Type Inspection

Authorization on March 11.

• The company completed its third of four System Review audits with the FAA.
• Joby described itself as entering the final phase of aircraft-level

evaluations.

• Joby was selected for early-operation opportunities under the federal eVTOL

Integration Pilot Program.

None of those events equals completion of Stage 4 or issuance of an FAA type certificate.

Joby reported Stage 4 Testing & Analysis at 15% complete on its side and 6% accepted by the FAA as of May 1. FAA pilots were still expected to begin for-credit Type Inspection Authorization flight testing later in 2026.

What happened on March 11, 2026?

Joby announced the first flight of N547JX, its first FAA-conforming aircraft built for the Type Inspection Authorization campaign.

“Conforming” matters because the aircraft and components were built to approved designs and signed off under FAA-approved test plans. Certification evidence must come from hardware that represents the design Joby is asking the FAA to approve.

Initial flights are being conducted by Joby pilots. Joby said this work would prepare the aircraft for FAA pilots to conduct the tests needed to validate it for commercial service.

This is more significant than a demonstration flight, but it remains a step on the certification path rather than final approval.

What is Type Inspection Authorization?

Type Inspection Authorization, commonly shortened to TIA, is the point at which the FAA authorizes formal inspections and tests needed to show that an aircraft design complies with its certification basis.

For Joby, the aircraft-level campaign follows extensive component, system, structural and ground testing. FAA pilots will eventually fly conforming aircraft during for-credit evaluations.

Successful tests generate compliance evidence. The FAA must review that evidence and resolve open findings before it can issue a type certificate. Beginning TIA testing therefore does not mean the aircraft has passed every test.

Joby’s five-stage certification framework

Joby reports progress using a five-stage framework:

1. Certification Basis: define the airworthiness standards that apply to

the novel powered-lift design.

1. Means of Compliance: agree on how Joby will demonstrate compliance

with each requirement.

1. Certification Plans: establish the detailed test and analysis plans.
2. Testing & Analysis: perform the inspections, analyses and tests that

produce compliance data.

1. Show & Verify: present the completed evidence and have the FAA verify

compliance.

This company framework should not be confused with the FAA’s general public explanation of aircraft certification, which uses seven phases from standards through production. Different labels do not mean Joby has skipped regulatory work; they organize the same broad process in different ways.

What Joby has completed

Joby and the FAA have completed the company’s Stage 1 certification basis. Joby also reports its side of Stage 2 as complete, with the FAA at 97%.

As of May 1, the company reported:

• Stage 3 Certification Plans at 82% submitted by Joby and 75% accepted by

the FAA

• Stage 4 Testing & Analysis at 15% completed by Joby and 6% accepted by the

FAA

• completion of the third of four System Review audits
• the first FAA-conforming TIA aircraft in flight
• components for additional conforming aircraft in production

That is measurable progress, but the remaining work includes both unfinished plans and substantial testing.

What must happen before U.S. passenger service?

An FAA type certificate is necessary, but it is not the only approval Joby needs for routine commercial passenger flights with the S4.

The remaining path includes:

Complete certification testing and compliance findings

Joby must finish its planned analyses, ground tests and flight tests. FAA specialists must accept the compliance evidence and close applicable findings.

Receive the type certificate

The type certificate approves the aircraft design. It does not by itself approve an airline operation or every aircraft leaving a factory.

Establish approved production

Production approval addresses the ability to repeatedly manufacture aircraft that conform to the approved type design. Joby and Toyota formed a manufacturing joint venture in June 2026, but that commercial arrangement does not replace FAA production approval.

Add the S4 to commercial operating authority

Joby received a Part 135 air-carrier certificate in 2022 for operations using conventional aircraft. Its quarterly filing says it must comply with the FAA’s powered-lift operating rules as it adds the S4 to that certificate.

An existing Part 135 certificate therefore does not mean Joby can currently carry paying passengers in an uncertified S4.

Approve pilots, maintenance and operating infrastructure

Commercial service also requires trained and qualified pilots, approved maintenance programs, operational procedures, charging and landing infrastructure, and any necessary local or airport approvals.

Can Joby operate before full type certification?

Joby was selected as a partner in multiple projects under the federal eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, or eIPP. The program creates controlled opportunities to test and integrate advanced-air-mobility operations in the national airspace.

Joby said its selected projects could support early operations during 2026 in up to 11 states. Those activities should not be described as unrestricted commercial service under a completed type certificate. Their scope depends on program agreements, operating limitations and applicable FAA approvals.

The FAA’s July 2026 announcement about a medical-transport eIPP flight involved BETA Technologies and United Therapeutics, not Joby. It illustrates how eIPP can enable real-world testing without proving that Joby’s S4 has completed type certification.

What about Dubai?

Joby and Uber announced plans to carry Joby’s first passengers in Dubai in

1. That is a separate regulatory path from U.S. FAA type certification.

Joby’s SEC filing states that its agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority includes a roadmap for local approval by the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority that could precede FAA type certification.

A Dubai launch would therefore not mean the FAA had approved the S4 for U.S. commercial service.

Is Joby launching U.S. commercial service in 2026?

There is no verified FAA commitment guaranteeing routine U.S. commercial passenger service by the end of 2026.

Joby expects initial U.S. activity under eIPP and has said FAA pilots are expected to begin for-credit TIA testing during 2026. Certification timing depends on test results, document acceptance and the resolution of findings.

The responsible distinction is:

• Possible in 2026: controlled eIPP operations, continued Joby testing,

FAA TIA testing and passenger activity under a separate Dubai approval path

• Not yet achieved: FAA type certification of the S4 and routine U.S.

commercial S4 passenger service

Aircraft specifications

Joby describes the S4 as an all-electric powered-lift aircraft designed for a pilot and up to four passengers. It uses six tilting propellers to take off vertically and transition to wing-borne forward flight.

Joby’s February 2026 announcement listed:

• speed of up to 200 mph
• range of up to 100 miles on one charge
• six tilting propellers
• one pilot and up to four passengers

Older Joby material cited a maximum range of 150 miles. The more recent company announcement uses “up to 100 miles,” so that is the figure used here. Neither specification is an FAA-certified commercial performance guarantee until the type-certification process is complete.

What to watch next

The most meaningful next updates will come from Joby filings and FAA announcements rather than demonstrations or unsourced certification claims. Watch for:

• FAA pilots beginning for-credit TIA flights
• updated Stage 3 and Stage 4 completion percentages
• completion of the fourth System Review audit
• formal type-certificate issuance
• production-certificate progress
• authorization to add the S4 to Joby’s Part 135 operation
• defined eIPP routes, limitations and passenger authority

Bottom line

Joby is further along than it was at the beginning of 2026: an FAA-conforming aircraft is flying, the TIA campaign is approaching FAA-pilot testing, and the company has completed three of four System Review audits.

It has not, however, “cleared Stage 4.” Joby’s May 1 certification chart put Stage 4 Testing & Analysis at 15% complete on the company side and 6% accepted by the FAA. Type certification and routine U.S. commercial passenger service remain future milestones.

Related Aircraft Insider guides

• Garmin Emergency Autoland: certification and operation
• Boeing 737-10 certification status

Primary sources

• Joby Q1 2026 shareholder letter and certification chart
• Joby: first FAA-conforming aircraft takes flight
• Joby Q1 2026 Form 10-Q
• Joby and Uber: aircraft specifications and planned passenger service
• Joby–Toyota manufacturing agreement filing
• FAA: how aircraft certification works
• FAA: July 2026 eIPP medical-transport milestone

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Decision evidence

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