This is an orientation, not a substitute for the standard. AS9102 is published by SAE International (and as EN 9102 and JISQ 9102 in Europe and Japan). For anything you'll be audited on, read the official text and your customer's purchase order requirements.
A little background
AS9102 defines the requirements for first article inspection of aerospace parts: a complete, documented verification that a production process makes a part that meets every engineering requirement. The standard is maintained by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG). Rev B was published in 2014 and was the version most shops worked with for nearly a decade. Rev C followed in 2023.
What stayed the same
If your FAI process works under Rev B, most of it carries straight over:
- The three forms and their roles. Form 1 for part number accountability, Form 2 for materials, special processes and functional testing, Form 3 for characteristic accountability.
- Accountability for every characteristic. Every design requirement is identified (ballooned), verified, and recorded with objective evidence.
- Full and partial FAI. A full FAI for a new part, and a partial (delta) FAI covering the characteristics affected by a change. See Full vs partial FAI.
- Detail and assembly FAI. Assemblies still reference the FAIs of their sub-assemblies and detail parts.
- Nonconformances are documented, not hidden. A failing characteristic is recorded as measured, with a reference to its nonconformance record.
What changed
Form 1's sign-off block
The most visible change for anyone filling in the forms is at the bottom of Form 1. The Rev C form asks two explicit questions before the signatures: does the FAI report include documented nonconformances (yes or no), and is the FAI complete or not complete. The signature, review and customer approval fields follow, which shifts their field numbers. A reviewer can now see at a glance whether the report is clean, rather than reading every Form 3 row to find out.
The practical effect: a Rev B template doesn't map field-for-field onto Rev C. If your customer requires Rev C, update your template rather than relabelling the old one.
Form 2 and Form 3 refinements
Forms 2 and 3 keep their structure, with refinements to field wording and layout. Form 2 carries its own preparer and date fields. If you've built your own spreadsheets, compare them field by field against the Rev C forms rather than assuming they still match.
Clearer requirements and definitions
Much of the revision is in the text rather than the forms: clarified definitions, and clearer statements of when an FAI or partial FAI is needed and what has to be documented. The intent is fewer arguments between suppliers and customers about what "complete" means. If your quality manual paraphrases AS9102, re-read those sections against Rev C.
Fit with the wider standards family
Rev C sits more comfortably alongside the rest of the aerospace quality standards, in particular AS9145, which covers advanced product quality planning (APQP) and the production part approval process (PPAP). For shops that already do PPAP-style approvals for some customers, the FAI is increasingly seen as one piece of that larger approval, not a standalone document.
Digital product definition
More customers now define parts in 3D models (model-based definition, or MBD) rather than fully dimensioned 2D drawings. Rev C better accommodates requirements that live in the model. If you receive MBD packages, make sure your ballooning method can trace characteristics to the model, not only to a PDF.
What to do about it
- Check your customers' flow-downs. Which revision does each customer's purchase order or supplier quality manual call for? During a transition, different customers can want different revisions.
- Update your templates. Use Rev C forms for customers who require them. Our free AS9102 templates follow the Rev C field numbering.
- Don't redo approved FAIs just because the standard changed. Generally, a new revision of the standard doesn't by itself require new FAIs on parts already approved. FAIs are triggered by changes to the part, process or production, but confirm with your customer if their requirements say otherwise.
- Brief your inspectors and approvers on the new Form 1 questions, so nonconformances are declared up front and incomplete FAIs are marked as such.
- Update your quality procedures where they quote or paraphrase AS9102.
- Buy the standard. A copy of AS9102 Rev C from SAE is cheaper than one rejected report.
How Deburr handles it
Deburr produces Forms 1, 2 and 3 to the Rev C layout and field numbering, as a PDF with the ballooned drawing attached, as Excel, and as CSV. The Form 1 nonconformance question is answered from your recorded results, so it can't drift out of step with Form 3. If a customer still requires a Rev B or customer-specific form, the Pro plan can fill their Excel template instead.
The quickest way to see it is on one of your own drawings: the free AI ballooner numbers every characteristic and gives you a Form 3 spreadsheet back.
From the blog: AS9102 Form 1, field by field · AS9102 Form 2 explained · First article inspection checklist