PPAP: the Production Part Approval Process explained
What the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) is, the 18 elements a submission can include, the Part Submission Warrant (PSW), and the five submission levels.
The Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) is the automotive industry’s standardized way for a customer to confirm that a supplier understands the requirements for a part and can make it consistently at production volume. A PPAP submission is a package of evidence, summarized by a signed warrant. This guide covers what PPAP contains, its elements, the warrant, and the submission levels.
What PPAP is for
PPAP answers a simple question with documented evidence: can this supplier, with this process, make this part to the drawing, every time? It is submitted at defined trigger points: a new part, an engineering change, a new tool or source, or a process change. PPAP is the output of the planning discipline (APQP) that precedes it, and it pulls together several of the quality documents covered elsewhere in this cluster.
The 18 elements
A full PPAP can include up to 18 elements. The exact set required depends on the submission level and the customer, but the package commonly draws on:
- Design records and any authorized engineering change documents
- A process FMEA and the control plan derived from it
- Measurement system analysis (MSA) and dimensional results
- A first-article / dimensional inspection against the ballooned drawing
- Material and performance test results, akin to a Certificate of Analysis
- Initial process studies (capability, Cpk) and a sample part
- The Part Submission Warrant (PSW) that summarizes and signs off the package
The Part Submission Warrant and submission levels
The Part Submission Warrant (PSW) is the cover document: it identifies the part, the reason for submission, and the results, and it is signed by the supplier and dispositioned by the customer. How much of the 18-element evidence actually accompanies the PSW depends on the submission level:
| Level | What is submitted |
|---|---|
| Level 1 | PSW only (and appearance approval where applicable) |
| Level 2 | PSW with product samples and limited supporting data |
| Level 3 | PSW with samples and complete supporting data (the common default) |
| Level 4 | PSW and other requirements as defined by the customer |
| Level 5 | PSW with samples and full data reviewed at the supplier’s site |
Level 3 is the most common default: full supporting data submitted with samples. The customer sets the level, so confirm it before you build the package.
Producing a PPAP package
Because a PPAP pulls together many controlled documents that must stay consistent with each other and with a specific part revision, it rewards a structured, version-controlled approach over a folder of loose files. Several of its elements (FMEA, inspection results, material certificates) are documents you can standardize once and reuse. DataSheets Pro provides structured starting points for those documents; assembling a compliant PPAP to your customer’s level and requirements remains your responsibility.
Start from the templatePPAP template: free & editable
Assemble a PPAP submission (the part, the evidence and the PSW) for customer approval, then export a print-ready PDF, free to start.
Open the template →Standardize this in DataSheets Pro
Turn what you just read into a repeatable, on-brand template, with no design tools required.