When is a PPAP submission required?

By Yamm Labs · Updated September 2026 · 6 min read

A machining plant in Manesar moves one CNC cell to a second shed across the road to free up floor space. Same machine, same operator, same drawing. Three weeks later the customer’s supplier quality engineer asks a single question on a call: where is the PPAP for the new location? Nobody at the plant thought a move of two hundred metres counted as a change. The customer did.

Which events make a PPAP submission required?

The base rulebook is the AIAG Production Part Approval Process manual, now in its fourth edition. It treats PPAP as proof that your process makes parts to the design record, consistently, at production rates. Anything that could change that proof reopens the question. The table below shows how most customers handle the common triggers. Your customer’s own requirements always win.

What does an OEM’s own PPAP rulebook add?

OEMs publish customer-specific requirements that sit on top of the AIAG manual. IATF Global Oversight hosts the current documents for Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz Group, Volkswagen, Volvo Group, Renault Group, IVECO Group and Geely. Two examples show how specific they get.

• Ford’s trigger list. Ford’s customer-specific requirements for PPAP, written for use with the AIAG fourth edition, require a submission for all new tooled parts, design changes to an existing part including running changes, any change in the supplier’s operating pattern, any change in the manufacturing process after approval, any additional or modified production tooling or equipment, and a Ford capacity requirement above the supplier’s verified capacity. The list says “not limited to”, so treat it as a floor.
• Ford’s approval before change. Ford requires its suppliers to get approval through its supplier engineering approval request process before implementing any change started by the supplier or by a sub-tier supplier.
• General Motors’ written approval rule. GM’s customer-specific requirements for IATF 16949 send suppliers to the AIAG PPAP manual for product approval. They also require written approval from the authorised customer representative, or a waiver of that approval, for every design change, including changes the supplier proposes, before production implementation.

If the customer would want to know about the change, the customer will want a PPAP for it.

Who decides whether a PPAP is needed: AIAG, IATF or the customer?

The customer decides. The AIAG manual sets the common method. IATF 16949 gives the quality system a product approval requirement, and each OEM’s customer-specific requirements say how that requirement applies to its suppliers. For a supplier in Pune or Chennai, the purchase order and the customer’s supplier quality manual are where the answer sits. If either names a submission level, that level applies. The industry default is Level 3, which means the signed warrant travels with the product samples and the full supporting data.

PPAP rules come from the automotive industry and its customers. The governing bodies here are the AIAG, the IATF and the OEMs. Treat their documents with the same weight a bank treats a regulator’s circular, because a missed PPAP can stop a shipment at the customer’s gate.

How should a plant plan the timeline around a change?

The rule that drives the design of the plan is simple: approval comes before the changed parts ship. That fixes the order of the work.

1. Notify first. Write to the customer’s supplier quality contact before the tool, location, material or process changes. Ask which submission level they want.
2. Run the trial on production conditions. Use production tooling, people, gauges and rate. A trial on the old cell does not prove the new one.
3. Build the pack. Update the process flow, PFMEA and control plan for the change, then attach fresh dimensional results, material and performance test results, capability studies and measurement system studies as the level requires.
4. Sign the warrant. The supplier’s responsible official signs the Part Submission Warrant. A consultant or documentation desk cannot sign it.
5. Ship only after approval. If the launch date cannot wait, ask for interim approval. Ford, for one, requires an approved engineering or build deviation before it grants an interim warrant approval.

For a longer list of short answers on levels, elements and the warrant, see our PPAP Documentation FAQ. For why the paperwork load keeps growing as plants add capacity, read why India’s auto-component boom needs shorter PPAP paperwork.

What goes into a PPAP submission for a change?

A change PPAP is not a smaller version of a new-part PPAP. It is a focused one. The pack has to show that the changed process still makes parts to the design record, so every document the change touches gets updated, and every result the change could affect gets measured again.

For the common Level 3 case, the documents to revisit are the ones named in the timeline above:

• Process flow: updated to show the new tool, line, location, material source or process step.
• PFMEA: reviewed for new failure modes the change could introduce, with actions recorded.
• Control plan: revised so the controls match the changed process.
• Dimensional results: fresh measurements from parts made under the changed conditions.
• Material and performance test results: repeated where the change could affect them, for example a new material source.
• Capability and measurement system studies: repeated where the equipment, gauges or people have changed.
• Part Submission Warrant: signed by the supplier’s responsible official, with the reason for submission stated.

Your customer’s requirements may add to this list or ask for less. When in doubt, ask the supplier quality engineer which elements they expect for this change, and record the answer.

Common PPAP submission mistakes

The Manesar example at the top of this article is the most common mistake of all: a change the plant did not recognise as a change. Here are the others we see, and how to avoid each one.

Treating a move as housekeeping. Moving a cell, even a short distance, changes the set-up and often the gauges and people. Most customers want notice before the move and a PPAP submission after it. Ask first, in writing.

Switching a sub-tier supplier to save cost. A cheaper casting or a new steel source can look like a purchasing decision. To the customer it is a change to the part’s history. Ford, for example, wants approval before any change started by a sub-tier supplier is implemented.

Running the trial on the old set-up. A trial on the old tool or line proves the old process. The trial has to use production tooling, people, gauges and rate for the changed process.

Shipping while the pack is in review. Approval comes before the changed parts ship. If the date cannot move, ask for interim approval through the customer’s route rather than shipping and hoping.

Assuming a verbal waiver counts. Only the customer can waive a PPAP submission, and the waiver should be written. Keep it with the part’s records so an auditor can find it.

Updating the results but not the documents. Fresh dimensional results attached to an old process flow and control plan tell the reviewer the change was not thought through. Update the documents first, then measure.

A worked example: the Manesar cell move

Here is how the machining plant from the opening could have handled its move, using only the rules covered above.

Before the move. The quality head writes to the customer’s supplier quality engineer. The note names the part numbers, the old and new location, the planned date, and asks which submission level the customer wants. The customer replies with Level 3.

During the move. The plant keeps enough stock from the approved location to cover the gap, because the new location cannot ship until the PPAP submission is approved. The CNC cell is installed and the gauges are checked in the new shed.

The trial. The plant runs parts in the new shed with the production tooling, the regular operator, the production gauges and at rate. It does not reuse results from the old shed.

The pack. The process flow shows the new location. The PFMEA is reviewed for anything the move introduces, such as handling between sheds. The control plan is updated. Fresh dimensional results, capability studies and a measurement system study go in, and the responsible official signs the warrant.

The result. The supplier quality engineer’s question on the call never comes, because the answer arrived before the first part shipped.

How to catch every PPAP trigger with a change log

Plants miss PPAP triggers because changes start in different departments. Maintenance moves a machine, purchasing finds a new supplier, engineering tweaks a process setting. A single change log, reviewed by quality, catches them before they reach the customer’s gate.

1. One entry point. Every change to a tool, machine, location, material source, sub-tier supplier or process step is logged before it happens, whichever department starts it.
2. A screening question. For each entry, quality asks the question in the quote above: would the customer want to know? If yes, the customer is told before the change.
3. The customer’s answer on file. Record the submission level the customer asks for, or the written waiver, against the log entry.
4. A hold on shipment. Changed parts are held until the approval or interim approval is on file.
5. A monthly review. Quality reviews the open entries each month with production, purchasing and maintenance, so nothing sits unnoticed.

The log does not need software. A controlled spreadsheet with an owner works. What matters is that no change reaches the shop floor without passing through it.

Can an outside desk prepare a PPAP for a change?

Yes, the documentation part. Yamm Labs runs PPAP Desk from Gurugram and prepares the ballooned print, process flow, PFMEA, control plan and MSA formats, and drafts the warrant. The plant keeps the trial run, physical measurement, capability studies, Gage R&R trials, laboratory testing, samples, master sample and IMDS. Pricing starts at ₹2,000 per report, with no retainer.

People also ask

Does moving production to another building need a new PPAP?

Usually yes. A new location changes the equipment set-up, the people and often the gauges, so most customers expect notification before the move and a submission after it. Ask your customer in writing before the first part runs in the new place.

Can a customer waive a PPAP submission?

Yes, but only the customer can, and it should be in writing. GM’s requirements, for example, accept a written waiver from the authorised customer representative in place of approval for a design change. Keep the waiver with the part’s records.

Is a PPAP needed when a sub-tier supplier changes?

In most cases, yes. Ford, for example, requires approval before any change started by a sub-tier supplier is implemented. Plan for fresh material and test evidence from the new source, and check your customer’s requirements for who approves the sub-tier.

Is a PPAP submission required for a new revision of the drawing?

Yes, in most cases. A design change to the drawing or specification is one of the standard triggers, and the customer usually starts it. Ford’s list includes design changes to existing parts, including running changes. The customer names the submission level, and the changed parts wait for approval before they ship.

Does a PPAP submission need a new Part Submission Warrant?

Yes. Each PPAP submission closes with a Part Submission Warrant signed by the supplier’s responsible official. For a change, the warrant states the reason for submission. A consultant or documentation desk can draft it, but only the supplier’s own official can sign it.

What happens if parts ship before PPAP approval?

The customer can stop the shipment at its gate, and the supplier has broken the basic rule that approval comes before changed parts ship. The fix is prevention: notify the customer first, hold changed parts, and ask for interim approval through the customer’s own route if the launch date cannot wait.

Is a PPAP submission required for a repaired tool?

Ask your customer. Ford’s list covers additional or modified production tooling, and many customers treat a repair that changes the tool as a modification. A like-for-like repair may be handled differently. Get the customer’s answer in writing and keep it with the change log entry.

Who at the plant should decide whether a change needs a PPAP?

Quality should screen every change, but the customer makes the final decision. The plant’s job is to tell the customer before the change and ask which submission level applies. Recording that answer protects the plant if the question comes up later in an audit.