Reference
PPAP levels 1 to 5: what each one actually asks for
Levels do not decide whether you need a record. They decide where it goes: into the submission, or onto your own shelf. Here is what that means at each level – and why level 3 is the default.
Submit or keep on file
A common misreading is that level 1 means less work. It does not. The records for your part have to exist, be current and be yours to produce on request, whatever the level. What the level governs is how much of that travels with the package.
“On file” is not a polite suggestion. The customer may ask at any time, and an auditor will. “We never wrote one” is a finding – at level 1 as much as at level 3.
The five levels, one at a time
Level 1 – the PSW only
Simple parts, minor changes, suppliers with a long record.
Level 2 – PSW, sample parts and selected supporting data
Which data is up to the customer – usually drawing, dimensional results and material.
Level 3 – PSW, sample parts and complete supporting data
The industry default. If the order says nothing, this is what is meant.
Level 4 – PSW and whatever the customer specifies
The scope lives in the customer's requirement matrix, not in the manual.
Level 5 – PSW; complete supporting data available for review at the supplier
Nothing is shipped – the customer reviews on site. Completeness is still mandatory.
Why level 3 is the default
Level 3 is the industry's resting position: warrant, sample parts and the full set of supporting data. When the order is silent, that is almost always what is meant – but ask in writing before you measure. The answer costs one email; a second submission costs days.
Level 5 is not a relief, it is a tightening: you ship almost nothing, and an auditor comes to you instead. Level 4 is the special case – the requirement matrix decides, and for a single characteristic it can ask for more than level 3 does.
Work out your own scope
Which of the 18 elements apply is not only a question of level. A design FMEA drops out when you build to the customer's drawing; an appearance approval is rare on turned parts; checking aids exist only if you built some.
The PPAP scope planner does that for you: pick the level, answer three questions, download the list. No sign-up, no upload – it runs in your browser.
And the German Vorlagestufen?
The German procedure has the same idea under the name Vorlagestufe. The numbers do not map onto PPAP levels, and some customers run a scale of their own. Never translate “level 3” silently into “Vorlagestufe 3”: your customer's matrix governs.
What goes wrong with levels
- Level carried over from the last project. Same customer, different plant, different matrix.
- Level 1 treated as “keep nothing”. A year later the customer asks for the process flow diagram and nobody ever wrote one.
- Non-applicable elements left blank. Write “not applicable” with the reason on the warrant. A blank field draws more questions than a clear reason does.
Sources
- Production part approval process, Wikipedia, retrieved 11 September 2026: the five submission levels and their scope.
- Our own research into practice at German suppliers (September 2026): that level 3 is the resting position, and the mistakes listed here, describe common practice – not the text of any standard.
Standards are copyrighted and sold by their publishers. We give their content in our own words; what governs is the standard in its current edition and your customer's requirements. No AIAG or VDA form is reproduced here.