Certificates are not interchangeable

The NAA roadmap hosted by the FAA says a type certificate is a design approval issued when the applicant shows that a product complies with the applicable regulations. The UK CAA says it issues a type certificate or a restricted type certificate at the end of that compliance process. Until that document is issued, a company can be "in certification" without holding a type certificate.

Other papers get confused with it:

Production. EHang says its CAAC production certificate, issued April 7, 2024, means the factory's quality system can build aircraft that match the approved type design. PAL-V says its EASA production organisation approval authorises manufacture. all-electronics.de wrote that the PAL-V approval is not a completed type certificate. XPulse says the CAAC accepted Aridge's production-certificate application on May 9, 2025. Acceptance of an application is earlier than an issued certificate.
One aircraft. EHang says a standard airworthiness certificate, such as the EH216-S certificate it dates to December 21, 2023, confirms that a particular aircraft matches the type design. Electrek reported an FAA special airworthiness certification for Alef by 2023. all-electronics.de reported a 2022 Slovak experimental-category certificate for an earlier AirCar prototype, and said it was not an EASA type certificate for the later production version.
The operator. EHang says the air operator certificates of March 30, 2025 went to two companies that would operate flights. Those certificates are not the aircraft's type certificate.
A permit. Vertical said the UK CAA expanded its permit to fly on July 10, 2026. XPulse describes a September 10, 2025 UAE special flight permit for Aridge. Both allow specific flying. Neither source calls them a type certificate.
A step in the program. BETA said on August 12, 2026 that the FAA had accepted the CX300's compliance requirements. Archer says the GCAA moved Midnight into a restricted type certificate program on May 7, 2026, and does not say the certificate has been issued. Vertical's 2029 type-certification year is a target the company stated on July 13, 2026.

The regulation tracker uses those categories. A row that is not a type certificate is labelled as something else.

Sources