Practical guide · Quality management
AS9100 in plain language: what it adds to ISO 9001 and what an aerospace auditor checks
Short answer
AS9100 is the quality management standard for the aerospace industry. It is published by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), it includes all of ISO 9001, and it adds aerospace requirements such as product safety, counterfeit parts prevention, configuration management and control of key characteristics.
AS9100 asks an aerospace supplier to run an ISO 9001 quality system and then control the things that decide whether a part is safe to fly: the risks, the configuration of the product, the suppliers, and the characteristics the customer marks as critical. The edition in use is AS9100D, the 2016 release, and certification is done by an accredited certification body. The IAQG has said the next revision will be renamed IA9100. We could not confirm from the IAQG's own pages that it has been published or what its transition dates are, so ask your certification body before you plan around a date.
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What is AS9100 and who needs it?
AS9100 is an aerospace quality management system standard. It was developed by the IAQG with aerospace companies around the world and is known as AS/EN/JISQ 9100 where it is issued as a European or Japanese standard. The current release, AS9100D, is the 2016 edition, which was aligned with ISO 9001:2015.
The people who need it are suppliers to aerospace manufacturers. Certification to ISO 9001 or AS9100 is often called a ticket to trade, and aerospace customers commonly require AS9100 certification before they will buy. The 9100 series also has companion standards, 9110 and 9120, so check which one your customer names.
AS9100 does not replace ISO 9001. It includes every ISO 9001 requirement and adds aerospace ones, so a plant that already runs an ISO 9001 system has most of the frame in place. Read ISO 9001 in plain language first if you do not know the base standard, because the clause structure of 4 to 10 carries over.
Which edition applies now, and what is IA9100?
AS9100D, the 2016 release, is the edition in use. Under a 2022 agreement between the IAQG and SAE International, new IAQG documents and revisions take the prefix IA, so the next revision of AS9100 will be renumbered IA9100. The IAQG released a first draft in November 2023, and NASA's Safety and Mission Assurance office reported in April 2024 that the IAQG estimated publication for the fourth quarter of 2026, to stay in step with the ISO 9001 revision.
That is where our checking stops. The IAQG's website refused automated access when this page was written, and we found no official notice of publication, a release date or a transition period. Consultancy pages guess at a window of two to three years, but they disagree and none is an IAQG source. Treat any date you read as unconfirmed until it is on iaqg.org or your certification body gives it to you in writing.
What it means today: an AS9100D certificate stays your certificate. When the transition rules are published they will say how and when to move. The ISO 9001 edition and its dates, which the IAQG has aligned with before, are on the ISO 9001:2026 page. The last time round, in 2018, the AS9100 transition deadline was set to match the ISO 9001 one, which is a reason to watch both.
What AS9100 adds to ISO 9001
The standard is paid, so the table gives the areas AS9100 adds and what an auditor tends to look at, not the clause text. The list follows a certification body's comparison of AS9100 with ISO 9001.
| Area | Plain meaning | What an auditor looks at |
|---|---|---|
| Risk management | A process to prevent and reduce risk across design, development and manufacturing. | A risk record for the product and the process, and the actions taken. See risk assessment |
| Product safety | Assess and reduce safety risk across the life of the product. | How safety is considered when the product or process changes |
| Counterfeit parts prevention | Prevent counterfeit or suspect parts from entering the product. | Purchasing controls, receiving checks and what happens to a suspect part |
| Configuration management | Identify, document and track the configuration of the product through its life. | That the part on the bench matches the approved drawing and revision |
| Project management | Plan and carry out projects in a controlled way. | A plan, owners and a record of reviews for a new part or program |
| Special requirements, critical items and key characteristics | Find the items that need extra control, and keep traceability and accountability for them. | The list of key characteristics, how each is measured, and the records behind them |
| Supplier management | Assess and monitor suppliers to the same high standard. | Approval, monitoring and audit records. See supplier quality |
Based on a certification body's comparison of AS9100 and ISO 9001 and on reports about AS9100D. Aerospace customers add flow-down requirements of their own in the purchase order, so read those as well as the standard.
First article inspection is part of the same picture. Many aerospace customers ask for it, commonly to AS9102, and the report proves the first parts match every drawing requirement. Use the first article inspection report and check your customer's form.
A worked example: measuring key characteristics on a lot
The customer drawing for a bracket marks 3 of its 24 dimensions as key characteristics. The plant decides, in its control plan, to measure every key characteristic on every part in a lot of 40, and to check the other 21 dimensions on a sample of 5 parts. The numbers are illustrative, not a requirement of the standard.
| Group | Dimensions | Parts measured | Measurements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key characteristics | 3 | 40 | 120 |
| Other dimensions | 21 | 5 | 105 |
| Total | 24 | 225 |
Illustrative. 3 x 40 = 120 and 21 x 5 = 105, so 120 + 105 = 225 measurements, and 3 + 21 = 24 dimensions. Without the split, measuring all 24 on all 40 parts would be 24 x 40 = 960 measurements. The key characteristics get full attention and the plan stays workable. Every measurement needs a gauge that is in calibration, so keep a [gauge calibration log](/templates/gauge-calibration-log).
How certification works
An accredited certification body audits you against the standard and issues the certificate. The IAQG sets the rules of the scheme, and certification bodies work within them. Pick a body that is accredited for the aerospace scheme, and ask what it audits, how often, and which edition it will audit you to.
A route that works for many plants, and one that a certification body also describes, is a gap analysis against the standard, training for the people affected, updated documents and records, internal audits that cover the added requirements, and then the certification audit. Use the AS9100 internal audit checklist for the internal audit step.
How to get ready without a binder of procedures
- 1
Be sure of the ISO 9001 base
Close gaps against ISO 9001 first. Run the ISO 9001 internal audit checklist if you have no recent result.
- 2
Read your customers' flow-downs
List the requirements each aerospace customer puts in its purchase orders and quality clauses, with an owner for each.
- 3
Mark key characteristics and critical items
Take them from the drawings and the customer's list, and trace each to its control plan line, its gauge and its record.
- 4
Check configuration and counterfeit controls on one live part
Follow one part from the purchase order to shipment. Does the revision match, is every supplier approved, and what happens to a suspect part?
- 5
Audit, then agree the edition
Run the AS9100 checklist, log each finding as an action, and ask the certification body in writing which edition and dates apply.
Common AS9100 mistakes
- Treating AS9100 as ISO 9001 with a new cover. The added areas need their own evidence.
- Using a drawing at the machine that is one revision behind the approved one.
- No list of key characteristics, so nobody can show how each was measured.
- Approving a supplier once and never watching it again.
- A first article report signed off without checking every drawing requirement.
- Closing a nonconformance with retraining alone. See CAPA for finding the cause.
- Planning around a rumoured IA9100 date instead of a notice from the IAQG or your certification body.
Go deeper
This page is the short version. These guides cover each part in full.
- FMEA in Manufacturing: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis Complete GuideThe long read on process risk analysis, the rating scales and the seven steps.
- Measurement System Analysis: Validating Gauge Reliability in ManufacturingHow to prove a gauge before it measures a key characteristic.
- Standard Work vs SOPs vs Work InstructionsHow the documents an auditor asks for differ and which one belongs at the machine.
- How to Audit Standard Work: A Verification GuideHow to check that the written method is the one in use, the core of a process audit.
All our articles on this subject are in the quality management topic.
Free templates and tools
- AS9100 internal audit checklist42 audit questions on AS9100D clauses 4 to 10 with the aerospace additions, the evidence to look for and a sample for each area, five grades, a finding and corrective action report, and a worked audit carried through to closure.
- ISO 9001 internal audit checklist (production area)46 audit questions for the production floor in 11 processes, each with its ISO 9001:2015 clause, what evidence to look for and the sample to take, plus five defined grades, a findings log, a finding report and a summary by clause.
- First article inspection report template (AS9102 forms)The three forms in the AS9102 layout (part number, product and characteristic accountability), 22 review checks, the full and partial FAI triggers, and a worked example with one failed characteristic.
- Control plan templateWhat is checked at each step, against which limits, how, how often, and what to do when a result is out.
- PFMEA template (process FMEA)Failure modes, effects and causes rated for severity, occurrence and detection, with RPN before and after action.
- Supplier audit checklistA supplier process audit of 32 questions scored 0 to 3, with section scores, a rating and the findings.
- Gauge calibration logA gauge register with next due dates and status, a calibration record with as-found and as-left readings, and the steps when a gauge fails.
- Non-conformance report (NCR) formA two-page NCR from the requirement against what was found to disposition and closure, and an Excel NCR log.
- CAPA log templateAn Excel CAPA tracker with status, days open, late flags and counts by source, plus a printable log and monthly review.
- Training matrix template with expiry datesPeople by required trainings with expiry dates, OK, due, expired and missing flags, compliance by person and area, cover per training and a renewal list.
- First pass yield (FPY) calculatorFirst pass yield at each step and rolled throughput yield (RTY) across the whole process.
- Process capability (Cp, Cpk) calculatorCp and Cpk against your specification limits, plus Pp and Ppk from pasted measurements, with a distribution chart.
Doing this in LeanSuite
Audit Management
Build, schedule and run any shop floor audit or inspection, and turn every finding into a tracked action. Walk into any internal or external audit with a time-stamped record of every check and corrective action.
See Audit ManagementCompetency Management
Shows who is qualified for each job, on every shift, with the evidence an auditor asks for: a trainer's observation, a passed quiz, a signed procedure or an outside certificate.
See Competency ManagementSOP management
Every SOP is versioned, routed for approval and signed, with a history of who changed what and when. Whether that meets a specific AS9100 requirement for your site is for you and your certification body to decide.
See SOP management
See it on your own lines
Bring the problem you are working on to a 45-minute demo. Or look around with sample data first, or pilot LeanSuite on your own lines for 90 days, with the setup done by our team.
FAQ
Questions about aS9100
AS9100 is the quality management system standard for the aerospace industry, developed by the International Aerospace Quality Group. It includes all of ISO 9001 and adds aerospace requirements such as product safety, counterfeit parts prevention, configuration management and control of key characteristics.
AS9100D, the 2016 release, is the edition in use. The next revision will be renamed IA9100, and the IAQG estimated publication for the fourth quarter of 2026. We could not confirm publication or transition dates from the IAQG itself, so ask your certification body which dates apply to you.
AS9100 includes every ISO 9001 requirement and adds aerospace ones, including risk management, product safety, counterfeit parts prevention, configuration management, project management, special requirements and key characteristics, and supplier management.
The standard itself is voluntary, but aerospace manufacturers often require it from their suppliers, so certification is commonly a condition of doing business. Read your customer contracts to see what is asked.
AS9100 includes all the requirements of ISO 9001, so a plant that already meets ISO 9001 has most of the frame in place. You still have to meet the added aerospace requirements and pass an audit by an accredited certification body.
Key characteristics are the features the customer or the design marks as needing extra control. AS9100 asks for traceability and accountability for them, together with special requirements and critical items, so each one needs a named measurement method and a record. Take the list from your drawing and your customer.
Related guides and tools
- ISO 9001 in plain language: the base standard AS9100 includes
- FMEA: the risk analysis behind the control plan
- CAPA: the corrective action steps for a nonconformance
- IATF 16949: the automotive standard built on the same ISO 9001 frame
- LeanSuite for aerospace and defense plants: audits, actions and records on the floor
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