(a) This subpart prescribes --

(1) Procedural requirements for the issue of Technical Standard Order authorizations;

(2) Rules governing the holders of Technical Standard Order authorizations; and

(3) Procedural requirements for the issuance of a letter of Technical Standard Order design approval.

(b) For the purpose of this subpart --

(1) A Technical Standard Order (referred to in this subpart as "TSO") is issued by the Administrator and is a minimum performance standard for specified articles (for the purpose of this subpart, articles means materials, parts, processes, or appliances) used on civil aircraft.

(2) A TSO authorization is an FAA design and production approval issued to the manufacturer of an article which has been found to meet a specific TSO.

(3) A letter of TSO design approval is an FAA design approval for a foreign-manufactured article which has been found to meet a specific TSO in accordance with the procedures of §21.617.

(4) An article manufactured under a TSO authorization, an FAA letter of acceptance as described in §21.603(b), or an appliance manufactured under a letter of TSO design approval described in §21.617 is an approved article or appliance for the purpose of meeting the regulations of this chapter that require the article to be approved.

(5) An article manufacturer is the person who controls the design and quality of the article produced (or to be produced, in the case of an application), including the parts of them and any processes or services related to them that are procured from an outside source.

(c) The Administrator does not issue a TSO authorization if the manufacturing facilities for the product are located outside of the United States, unless the Administrator finds that the location of the manufacturer's facilities places no undue burden on the FAA in administering applicable airworthiness requirements.