AS9102 Forms 1, 2 and 3 explained: a plain-English guide to the aerospace FAI package
By Rajadurai R — Founder, 14 years plant-head experience
Your first aerospace purchase order just landed, and the quality clause says one thing you have not dealt with before: submit a First Article Inspection report per AS9102. You open the standard and find three forms — Form 1, Form 2 and Form 3 — with dozens of numbered fields each. Which form captures what? What happens if you leave a field blank? And why does the customer keep bouncing the package back?
Here is the short answer. AS9102 splits the FAI package into three forms so that part identity, material and process evidence, and dimensional results each live in their own place. Form 1 proves which part you inspected, Form 2 proves the material and special processes behind it, and Form 3 proves that every characteristic on the drawing was measured and passed. Get the split right and the review is smooth. Get it wrong and you rework the whole submission.
What AS9102 actually is
AS9102 is the aerospace industry standard published by SAE International that defines how a supplier proves the first production part meets every drawing and specification requirement. It is mandated across the aerospace and defence supply chain — primes flow it down to Tier-1 suppliers, who flow it to Tier-2 and Tier-3. The current revision in wide use is Rev C (2020), which replaced Rev B. If your customer has not updated their clause, you may still see Rev B referenced; the three-form structure is the same, but a few fields changed.
Form 1: Part Number Accountability
Form 1 answers a single question: exactly which part, at which revision, are we talking about? It sits at the top of the package and every other form must trace back to it.
Key fields on Form 1:
- Part number and revision — must match the drawing exactly, including any dash number or suffix.
- Part name and drawing number — the released engineering drawing under inspection.
- FAIR number — your internal identifier for this report.
- Full or partial FAI — a partial FAI covers only the characteristics that changed since the last full FAI.
- Baseline part number and index — for assemblies, a list of every sub-component FAIR referenced.
- Signature and date — the person certifying accountability.
The most common Form 1 rejection is a revision mismatch: the FAIR says Rev A but the parts shipped against Rev B. Auditors check this in seconds.
Form 2: Product Accountability
Form 2 covers everything about the part that is not a dimension on the drawing — the materials, the special processes, and the functional tests. This is where you prove the metallurgy and the process pedigree.
Form 2 captures:
- Materials — grade, specification (for example AMS 4045 for 7075 sheet), heat/lot number, and the certificate of conformance reference.
- Special processes — anodising, heat treat, NDT, passivation, plating — each with the process specification, the supplier, and their Nadcap or approval reference.
- Functional tests — pressure tests, proof loads, electrical checks called out on the drawing.
- Non-conformance references — any approved deviation or waiver tied to the part.
Form 3: Characteristic Accountability
Form 3 is the big one and the reason ballooning exists. Every dimensioned feature, every tolerance, every note, and every general-tolerance default on the drawing gets a unique characteristic number — a balloon — and one row on Form 3.
Each Form 3 row records:
| Column | What it holds | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Char. no. | Balloon number on the drawing | 17 |
| Reference location | Sheet and zone | Sht 1, Zone C4 |
| Requirement | Drawing spec with tolerance | ⌀5.00 +0.05/-0.00 |
| Results | Actual measured value | 5.021 |
| Designation | Pass / Fail / N-A | P |
| Inspection method | How it was measured | Pin gauge |
A part with 200 characteristics means a 200-row Form 3, usually running to six or more continuation pages. Two rules trip up new submitters: the balloon count on the drawing must exactly equal the row count on Form 3, and the inspection method must be capable of the tolerance — listing a caliper (0.01 mm resolution) against a ±0.005 mm feature is an instant flag. For a deeper walkthrough of the datum and GD&T side of these rows, see our first article inspection checklist.
The three forms side by side
| Form | Name | Proves | Filled from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 1 | Part Number Accountability | Part identity and revision | Drawing title block |
| Form 2 | Product Accountability | Material, special processes, tests | Certs, process specs |
| Form 3 | Characteristic Accountability | Every dimension measured and judged | Ballooned drawing + inspection |
What changed from Rev B to Rev C
If you are moving from AS9102 Rev B to Rev C, the structure is unchanged but a few things tightened. Rev C clarified digital product definition (model-based drawings), refined how a design characteristic is defined so nothing is missed, and adjusted several field names for consistency across the three forms. If your customer specifies Rev C, do not submit a Rev B template — the field mismatches alone can trigger a rejection. When in doubt, compare the two standards directly in our AS9102 vs PPAP comparison.
Common mistakes across all three forms
- Revision drift — Form 1 says one revision, the parts or Form 3 reference another.
- Missing characteristics — the drawing has 247 features, Form 3 lists 245. Auditors count.
- Method-tolerance mismatch — under-resolution gauges on tight tolerances.
- Blank sub-tier evidence — Form 2 with no reference to the forging or heat-treat supplier.
- Unsigned forms — an unsigned Form 1 invalidates the whole package.
How CadNexa builds all three forms for you
Most of the pain in AS9102 is not judgement — it is transcription. You are copying the same part number, revision and drawing number across three forms, and hand-numbering hundreds of balloons for Form 3. CadNexa removes that. Open the PDF drawing in the auto-ballooning tool, and Smart Detect plus Box+Balloon OCR reads the dimensions, tolerances and GD&T frames off the drawing and places numbered balloons for you. From that ballooned data, CadNexa generates Forms 1, 2 and 3 pre-populated — you review, enter the actual measured values on Form 3, attach your certs on Form 2, and export the package as PDF or CSV.
Build your AS9102 FAI package free
Balloon a drawing and auto-generate Forms 1, 2 and 3 in one browser tab. No installation, no credit card.
Start Your FAI Report — Free →Frequently asked questions
Are all three AS9102 forms always required?
For a full FAI, yes — Forms 1, 2 and 3 together make up the FAIR. For a partial FAI (only some characteristics changed), you still submit all three forms, but Form 3 covers only the affected characteristics and Form 1 references the baseline FAIR.
What is the difference between AS9102 Form 2 and Form 3?
Form 2 is about material and process pedigree — grades, certs, special processes and functional tests. Form 3 is about dimensions — every ballooned characteristic on the drawing with its measured result and pass/fail. Form 2 answers "is it made of the right stuff?"; Form 3 answers "is it the right size and shape?"
Do I need a ballooned drawing to fill Form 3?
Effectively yes. AS9102 requires every design characteristic to be uniquely identified with traceable results, and a ballooned drawing is how the industry does that. Most primes expect one in the package. You can create a full FAI report template with ballooning built in rather than numbering by hand.
Is AS9102 Rev C mandatory?
It depends on your customer's flow-down clause. Many aerospace primes now specify Rev C, but some contracts still reference Rev B. Always inspect to the revision your purchase order names, and match your form template to it.
How long does an AS9102 FAI take to prepare?
Manually, a 200-characteristic part can take a full day for ballooning plus several hours for the forms. With auto-ballooning and auto-generated forms, the same package drops to under an hour — the time then goes into the actual measurement, which is where it belongs.