Two-minute brief
AS9100, AS9110 and AS9120 requirements explained: video brief
A two-minute brief on the IAQG 9100 family: what AS9100, AS9110 and AS9120 add to ISO 9001 for design and production, maintenance and distribution.
Key takeaways
- AS9100 covers design and production, AS9110 maintenance and AS9120 distribution.
- All three keep the ISO 9001 clause structure and add aerospace requirements.
- AS9100 additions include configuration management, counterfeit-part prevention and first article inspection.
- AS9110 expects a culture in which maintenance errors are reported rather than hidden.
- Certificates for all three are recorded in OASIS.
One family, three kinds of aerospace organisation
The International Aerospace Quality Group's 9100 family has three members. AS9100 is written for organisations that design, develop or produce aviation, space and defence products and services at any tier. AS9110 is written for maintenance, repair and overhaul organisations. AS9120 is written for distributors that procure and resell parts. All three keep the ISO 9001 structure, clauses 4 to 10, and add aerospace requirements inside it. This short film brings the three together.
For AS9100, most additions sit in clause 8, where the product is designed, sourced, made, inspected and released: product safety, configuration management, prevention of counterfeit parts, control of special processes, first article inspection and traceability from raw material onwards. Leadership is expected to make sure product conformity and on-time delivery are measured and acted on, and context includes the customer and regulatory quality requirements that apply.
What AS9110 and AS9120 add
AS9110 reads each clause the way a maintenance organisation meets it: a maintenance scope covering stations and the aviation authorities whose requirements apply; management accountable for conforming, on-time maintenance and for a culture in which errors are reported rather than hidden; facilities, calibrated tools, qualified and authorised staff and controlled maintenance data; and control of the work from contract review through planning, parts and material sourcing, subcontracting, task performance, inspection and release of the maintained product.
AS9120 applies the same structure to distribution: the product lines and warehouses covered, risks in sourcing, storage and shipment, suitable storage conditions, and control of the processes that deliver customer orders, including external providers. For all three, certification is audited and decided by an accredited certification body under the IAQG scheme, with the result recorded in OASIS.
Choosing the right member of the family is the first decision: a business that both manufactures and distributes, or maintains and manufactures, may need more than one standard in its scope.
AS9100 at a glance
- Purpose
- An aerospace quality management system: the whole of ISO 9001 plus the aviation, space and defence requirements for product safety, configuration, counterfeit-part prevention, special processes and first article inspection
- Relevant to
- Organisations that design, develop or produce aerospace and defence products or services at any tier of the supply chain; maintenance organisations use AS9110 and distributors AS9120
- Edition
- AS9100 Rev D (9100:2016), built on ISO 9001:2015; EN 9100:2018 and JIS Q 9100:2016 carry the same requirements. The next revision, IA9100, is linked to ISO 9001:2026 and slated by the IAQG for the first quarter of 2027
- Certification
- Assessed and decided by an accredited certification body under the IAQG certification scheme (ICOP), by IAQG-authenticated auditors, with the certificate recorded in OASIS
- Sterling's role
- Consulting with your team, Effivity, training, internal audit and certification readiness, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for an AS9100 aerospace QMS depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 6 to 12 months
AS9100: questions people ask
What is the difference between ISO 9001 and AS9100?
AS9100 contains the complete text of ISO 9001 and adds the aviation, space and defence requirements: operational risk management, configuration management, product safety, prevention of counterfeit parts, critical items, special processes, first article inspection, foreign object prevention, stronger control of external providers and human factors. It is also certified under a separate scheme, with IAQG-authenticated auditors, the 9101 audit method and the OASIS database. An ISO 9001 certificate does not satisfy a customer that asks for AS9100.
Do we need AS9100, AS9110 or AS9120?
AS9100 is for organisations that design, develop or produce products and services. AS9110 is for maintenance organisations. AS9120 is for distributors and stockists that procure and resell parts without altering them. Your customer's flow-down usually names the one it expects; where it does not, the choice follows what you actually do to the product.
Is AS9100 certification mandatory?
No law requires it, but aerospace and defence primes and their tier-one suppliers make it a condition of supplier approval and verify the certificate in OASIS. For a supplier that wants aerospace work it is the entry ticket.
Does Sterling issue the AS9100 certificate?
No. Sterling consults. A certification body accredited for the IAQG scheme audits with IAQG-authenticated auditors, decides and records the result in OASIS. Anyone offering to implement and certify in one contract is selling paper.
What is OASIS, and do we have to be listed?
OASIS, the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System, is the IAQG's database of organisations certified under the scheme, the accredited certification bodies and the authenticated auditors. Your certification body reports your audits into it and your certificate is recorded there, which is where your customers verify it. A certificate that cannot be found in OASIS will not be accepted by a prime.
Keep exploring
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The complete guide
Everything on AS9100
Start with the AS9100 page · AS9110 · AS9120, or go straight to the guide you need.
On the AS9100 page
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