AS9102 Rev B vs Rev C
AS9102C replaced Rev B in 2023. The headline is that the structure did not change: there was no reinvention. But the clarifications are real, and they land on exactly the things suppliers get argued with about.
The headline
AS9102C was released on 28 June 2023 and is the current revision. Rev B remains relevant in practice, because legacy FAIs were performed to it and because customer contracts specify which revision applies.
The three-form structure survived intact:
| Form | Title |
|---|---|
| Form 1 | Part Number Accountability |
| Form 2 | Product Accountability |
| Form 3 | Characteristic Accountability |
So do the fundamentals: the purpose of FAI, the expectation that it forms part of your controlled production process with records held under your quality system, and the requirement that drawings, ballooned characteristics, inspection results and objective evidence all link up.
What Rev C clarified
| Area | Nature of the change |
|---|---|
| When a FAI is required | Refined language around when a FAI is required, partial versus full FAI, and when a FAI must be repeated. This narrows some of the interpretation latitude that existed under Rev B. |
| Definitions and terminology | Tightened or updated, for example around design characteristics, key characteristics, traceability expectations, and when planning changes trigger a FAI. |
| Form instructions | The Form 1, 2 and 3 model is unchanged, but guidance on completing the forms is clearer and more prescriptive in places. |
| Alignment with AS9100 | Tuned to fit more cleanly with current AS9100 expectations and common customer requirements, reducing grey areas around configuration control and change. |
Summarised from published commentary on the revision. The authoritative statement of what changed is the standard itself.
Where it bites in a real plant
FAI trigger logic
If your internal trigger matrix was built to a loose reading of Rev B it probably needs revisiting. The clarified language around engineering changes, process changes, tooling changes and supplier changes is the single most common area requiring a procedure update. Trigger conditions in detail.
Hard-coded forms
Any Rev B form baked into a spreadsheet, a PLM or QMS template, an MES, or a specialist AS9102 tool may need its field names, default text and instructions adjusted to match Rev C wording. That is a documentation-control exercise rather than a redesign, but it has to be done deliberately instead of being discovered during an audit.
Flowdown and supplier coordination
Clarified definitions usually require tighter agreement with suppliers about when they must perform a FAI and what evidence they must provide. The clarification does not remove the need for agreement; it moves the conversation earlier.
Training
Experienced inspectors learned the grey areas of Rev B. Where Rev C closed a gap, that accumulated interpretation has to be explicitly retired, or it quietly persists.
Mixed revisions are normal
A brownfield aerospace plant rarely switches cleanly, so in practice you may be running both:
- Legacy FAIs performed to Rev B remain part of the product record. Re-performing them purely because the standard was revised is uncommon unless a customer requires it.
- Whether you must adopt Rev C, and on what timeline, is driven primarily by customer contracts and purchase order terms. Many primes and tier-1s specify the required revision.
- If you exchange packages through portals, verify that field mappings and exports still match the portal’s expectations under Rev C.
- Your quality system should describe how mixed baselines are handled, and how traceability to the applicable revision per contract is demonstrated.
What this means if you are assembling forms
A revision change rarely means new data. It means the same data in a slightly different form, with clearer instructions about what belongs where. The assembly work — getting characteristic data into a structured spreadsheet — does not go away. And if your template changed, that is precisely the moment you are most likely to be moving data between two layouts.
Routes from Form 3 into Excel.
Frequently asked questions
When was AS9102 Rev C released?
AS9102C was released on 28 June 2023. Rev B remains relevant because legacy FAIs were performed to it and because customer contracts specify which revision applies.
Did the three-form structure change in AS9102 Rev C?
No. Form 1 (Part Number Accountability), Form 2 (Product Accountability) and Form 3 (Characteristic Accountability) are retained. Rev C clarifies definitions and form instructions rather than replacing the structure.
Do I have to redo existing Rev B FAIs when moving to Rev C?
Re-performing a FAI solely because the standard was revised is uncommon unless a customer explicitly requires it. Legacy Rev B FAIs typically remain part of the product record. Whether and when you adopt Rev C is driven mainly by contract and purchase order terms.
What usually needs updating for AS9102 Rev C?
Internal FAI trigger matrices and change-control checklists, hard-coded Rev B form templates in spreadsheets or quality systems, supplier flowdown agreements, and inspector training, because Rev C narrows some of the interpretation latitude that existed under Rev B.
Sources
- SAE International — AS9102C, Aerospace First Article Inspection
- ANSI Webstore — SAE AS9102C-2023
- Connect981 — Differences between AS9102 Rev B and Rev C
- Connect981 — When first article inspection is required
Standards are revised. Always work from the current published edition of AS9102 from SAE International. This page is orientation only and is not a substitute for the standard.