A machine shop with an ISO 9001 certificate gets its first aerospace RFQ, and the owner asks the obvious question: AS9100 vs ISO 9001, which one do we need? Start with the purchase order, not the standard. For most production work with aircraft OEMs and tier-1 suppliers, the buyer will expect an accredited AS9100 certificate listed in the IAQG's OASIS database. Some aerospace purchase orders and some federal contracts can still be met with ISO 9001. Which one applies to you is written into the quality clauses your customer flows down.
This guide covers what AS9100 Rev D adds to ISO 9001 in plant-floor terms, who requires what, when ISO 9001 is enough, what certification costs in time and auditor days, and how to time the project now that ISO 9001:2026 is out and the aerospace successor standard is still pending.
What is the difference between AS9100 and ISO 9001?
AS9100 Rev D is ISO 9001:2015 with aerospace requirements added on top. Registrar Amtivo puts it plainly: "AS9100 contains all of the compliance requirements within ISO 9001 and additional ones that address issues specific to the aerospace industry." As of late September 2026, consultancy JBird QMS notes that "AS9100D is still the current revision, and it is still built on ISO 9001:2015."
For an ISO 9001 shop, that is the most useful fact in the whole decision. You are not replacing your quality system. You are adding clauses to it. The work is in finding which of those clauses your shop already handles informally and which ones need new discipline on the floor.
What AS9100D adds, clause by clause
The clause numbers below follow the breakdown published by ISO 9001 Expert. The "typical gap" column is our reading of where a disciplined ISO 9001 job shop usually stands. It is not a requirement list. Your gap analysis will differ.
| AS9100D clause | What it covers | Typical gap in an ISO 9001 job shop | | --- | --- | --- | | 8.1.1 Operational risk management | Identifying and controlling risks to delivering the product, at the operational level | Risk is often handled at the management-review level, not job by job. Expect a documented process and records. | | 8.1.2 Configuration management | Controlling the configuration of the product, drawings and specifications through its life | Revision control exists, but tying every traveler, program and inspection plan to the correct customer revision may be informal. | | 8.1.3 Product safety | Planning and controlling processes that affect product safety | Usually new. Requires defined responsibility and awareness, not only inspection. | | 8.1.4 Prevention of counterfeit parts | Keeping counterfeit or suspect parts out of the product | Purchasing and receiving procedures typically need new controls and training. | | 8.4 Purchasing, sub-tier flow-down | Flowing customer requirements down to your suppliers | Outside processors (plating, heat treat, NDT) must receive the same requirements you received. Often the biggest paperwork lift. | | 8.5.1.1 Production equipment, tools and NC programs | Control of production process equipment, tooling and numerical control machine programs | Shops often lack formal NC program revision control, approval and storage rules. | | 8.5.1.2 Special processes | Validation and control of special processes such as welding and heat treating | New if you run these in-house. If outsourced, it becomes a supplier-control issue. | | 8.5.1.3 Production process verification | Verifying the production process, with first article inspection per AS9102 | Many shops do first-piece checks. AS9102 FAI is a defined, documented format and takes inspection capacity. | | 8.5.2 Identification and traceability | Traceability, including key characteristics | Lot and material traceability through every operation, plus extra control of characteristics the customer flags as key. |
Quality-One also lists human factors, ethics training and monitoring of supplier delivery performance as AS9100D emphases beyond ISO 9001:2015.
How large that gap turns out to be depends on how the shop already runs. When Coastal Machine & Supply of Carencro, Louisiana moved from oil and gas into aerospace after the 2020 downturn, quality manager Karl Crow told Modern Machine Shop that a gap analysis showed the company already met 95% of the requirements. "We needed more checklists and documentation, and some of our forms required more specific wording," he said.
Is AS9100 required for aerospace suppliers?
Not by law, but by almost every customer. Amtivo: "Although you're not legally required to implement AS9100 if you operate in the AS&D sector, almost every client will demand certification." The requirement reaches you through the contract.
Boeing
Boeing's supplier quality requirements are in document D6-82479. Its QMS approvals page describes appendices for 9100 (manufacturers), 9110 (maintenance organizations) and 9120 (distributors). Initial approval is "by Industry Controlled Other Party certification recognition, Boeing 2nd Party assessment or a combination of these two processes."
Boeing's supplier FAQ says certified quality systems to AS9100, AS9110 and AS9120 may be used for approval if the certification body is accredited by ANAB (or an international equivalent) and the supplier is listed in OASIS. The same FAQ also says: "Boeing contractually flows QMS standards (ISO 9001, AS9100, AS9110, AS9120) and expects suppliers to obtain accredited QMS certification." Boeing decides which quality appendix applies and imposes it in the purchase contract or order. So at Boeing, ISO 9001 is a contractual option for some supplier types. Your PO tells you which one you are.
The FAQ adds that first-tier suppliers under D6-82479 must evaluate and select distributors based on their ability to conform to AS/EN/SJAC 9120. If you buy material through distribution, that requirement affects how you choose suppliers.
Federal contracts
FAR 46.202-4 lists example "higher-level" quality standards a contracting officer can impose: ISO 9001, ASQ/ANSI E4, ASME NQA-1, SAE AS9100, SAE AS9003 and ISO/TS 16949. It also lists SAE AS5553 for counterfeit electronic parts as a product- or process-specific standard. The contract clause, FAR 52.246-11 (Dec 2014), has the contracting officer insert the specific standard. The prime must flow it down to lower-tier subcontracts for critical and complex items, or where the subcontract requires control of design, work operations, in-process control, testing and inspection.
In practice, a federal prime's PO to you may name ISO 9001, may name AS9100, or may not apply a higher-level standard at all, depending on what you make.
Why does OASIS listing matter?
OASIS is where aerospace buyers look you up, and listing is mandatory for an accredited AS9100 certificate. The Online Aerospace Supplier Information System is an IAQG database holding supplier and audit data for every company with an accredited AS9100, AS9110 or AS9120 certificate. According to PRI, entry into OASIS is not optional for those certificate holders. The IAQG also requires certification bodies to revoke the certificate of any supplier that refuses to take part.
Two practical consequences follow. First, an AS9100 certificate from a registrar outside the accredited scheme will not show up where Boeing and other buyers check, so confirm accreditation before you sign with a registrar. Second, your audit history follows you. A messy surveillance audit is visible to customers who have access to your OASIS record.
Can a job shop supply aerospace with only ISO 9001?
Sometimes, when the PO names ISO 9001 or the prime's flow-down allows it. The openings are real but narrower than the AS9100 market:
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POs that name ISO 9001. Boeing says it contractually flows ISO 9001 for some suppliers. Federal contracting officers can name ISO 9001 under FAR 46.202-4.
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Subcontract work where the prime's flow-down permits it. Read the quality clauses, not the prime's marketing material.
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Non-critical, non-complex items. FAR 52.246-11 forces flow-down of the higher-level standard for critical and complex items. Simpler parts may carry lighter requirements.
There is also AS9003, SAE's Inspection and Test Quality System. Its scope line reads: "This document contains the minimum requirements for supplier Inspection and Test Quality System." It was first issued in October 2001 and revised in July 2012 (AS9003A). According to SAE, AS9003B has been stabilized since December 2021. It still appears in the FAR's list of examples, but a shop planning to grow in aerospace should not treat it as the main path.
The usual path looks like Jeco Plastic Products in Indiana. CEO Craig Carson told NIST MEP: "We started with ISO 9001 compliance which allowed us to go after more customers and that led to our newest and largest customer then requiring us to become AS 9100 certified." ISO 9001 got Jeco in the door until one large customer asked for more. Most job shops should expect the same.
Where does Nadcap fit?
Nadcap is a separate accreditation for special processes, on top of AS9100. Administered by the Performance Review Institute, Nadcap is an industry-managed program with 24 accreditations, including heat treating, nondestructive testing, welding, chemical processing, additive manufacturing and composites. AS9100 certification does not give you Nadcap accreditation. If your parts need any of those processes, whether in-house or through an outside processor, ask the customer early whether its flow-down calls for Nadcap.
How long does AS9100 certification take?
About 6 months to upgrade an ISO 9001 system plus 2-4 months for audits, according to consultancy American Quality Management (AQM). In a July 2024 post, AQM estimates a "9-12 month process to implement and integrate an AS9100 system prior to certification" for organizations new to formal quality systems. For ISO 9001-certified companies, "typically 6 months is sufficient to upgrade the system." Either way, add "2-4 months for scheduling/undergoing the stage 1 and stage 2 audits."
Photo: nist.gov
Shops with good systems can go faster. Coastal Machine & Supply had audits in November and January and was certified in February, under four months from audit to certificate, per Modern Machine Shop. The shop credited its ProShop ERP, adopted in 2019, which already held much of the documentation and traceability an auditor wants to see.
Small shops do not need to do it alone. R&M Machine Shop in Fyffe, Alabama, with 12 employees, earned AS9100 in 2021 with help from the Alabama Training Network, part of the MEP system. According to NIST MEP, the help covered the quality manual, procedures, forms, internal auditor training and Stage I/Stage II readiness. The shop reported $600,000 in new or retained sales and 12 jobs created or retained. "ATN was instrumental in getting certified to the AS9100 standard," said VP Jonathon Andrews. Jeco got AS9100D in August 2023, meeting a customer deadline, with grant-funded internal auditor training from Purdue MEP, and reported $2,000,000 in immediate new sales.
How much does AS9100 certification cost?
Registrar fees are the visible cost. Internal time is usually the bigger one. AQM says initial certification audits "generally take 2-5 days," surveillance audits "1-3 days," and "daily auditor fees range $1500-$3000 plus travel costs." On those figures, an initial audit of 2 to 5 days works out to roughly $3,000 to $15,000 in auditor fees before travel. The certificate is valid for three years, with annual surveillance audits and a full recertification audit at the end of each cycle, according to AQM. Budget for it as a recurring cost, not a one-time project.
The costs that do not show up on the registrar's invoice are where budgets go wrong. Quality manager and engineering hours to write and run new procedures. Inspection capacity for AS9102 first articles, which ties up a CMM and an inspector on every new part number or revision. Software or ERP work to carry traceability and NC program control. Training hours for internal auditors and the floor. For most job shops these internal costs will outweigh the audit fees. Estimate them in hours before you commit to a customer deadline.
Should you wait for ISO 9001:2026 or IA9100?
No. If a customer needs AS9100 now, certify to AS9100D and plan for a transition audit later.
ISO 9001:2026 was published on 16 September 2026, according to ISO/TC 176. The transition dates: accreditation bodies should be ready to assess by 31 March 2027. From 31 March 2028, new and initial accredited certifications may only be issued to ISO 9001:2026. Organizations certified to ISO 9001:2015 have until 30 September 2029 to transition. BSI summarizes the changes: ethical behaviour and quality culture become part of leadership responsibility, climate change and sustainability are explicitly part of organizational context, risk and opportunity are separated, a new Annex A of guidance is added, and awareness must cover quality culture and ethical behaviour.
On the aerospace side, AS9100D remains the current revision. Several consultancies, including Apex Quality Assurance, JBird QMS and CVG Strategy, report that the IAQG is renaming AS9100, AS9110 and AS9120 to IA9100, IA9110 and IA9120. They expect changes in quality culture, human factors, cybersecurity and information security, supplier and sub-tier controls, counterfeit parts and product safety. In its 24 September 2026 update, JBird QMS said it had found no announcement that IA9100 had been released and that "the transition window has not been announced."
Two planning points follow. First, waiting for IA9100 means turning away aerospace work for an unknown period, while an AS9100D certificate wins work today and will move through a transition audit like everyone else's. Second, the direction is consistent. Quality culture and ethics show up in ISO 9001:2026 and in consultancies' expectations for IA9100, and AS9100D already emphasizes ethics training and human factors. A shop that builds those into its system now will have less to redo later. If you stay on ISO 9001 only, note the dates: your 2015 certificate is good until 30 September 2029, but plan the transition into your surveillance cycle rather than leaving it for the last year.
Decision checklist for the operations VP
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Read the PO and the quality clauses. For Boeing work, find which D6-82479 appendix is imposed. For federal work, look for FAR 52.246-11 and the standard the contracting officer inserted.
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Classify the parts. Critical or complex items, key characteristics and special processes all raise the bar. Ask whether Nadcap applies to any process in the routing.
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Check OASIS. Confirm what your target customers' existing suppliers hold, and make sure any registrar you hire issues accredited certificates that will be listed.
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Run a gap analysis against the clauses above. Pay particular attention to configuration management, NC program control, AS9102 first articles, traceability and sub-tier flow-down.
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Estimate internal hours and auditor days. Use AQM's 2-5 initial audit days and $1,500-$3,000 day rates for the registrar side. Then estimate quality, inspection and software hours separately.
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Call your state MEP center. R&M Machine Shop and Jeco both used MEP help for manuals, procedures and internal auditor training.
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Don't wait for IA9100. Certify to AS9100D if a customer requires it, and budget a later transition audit.
Related reading
Sources
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CVG Strategy: IA9100 Series Standards Due for Release in 2026
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ISO 9001 Expert: ISO 9001 and AS9100 Rev D: What Aerospace Adds to QMS
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Boeing Suppliers: Quality Management Systems (QMS) Approvals
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American Quality Management: AS9100 Certification: Answering Your Top Questions
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Modern Machine Shop: Shop Moves to Aerospace Machining With Help From ERP
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NIST MEP: R&M Machine Shop Soars to New Heights with AS9100 Certification
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NIST MEP: AS9100 Certification Assistance by Purdue MEP Leads to Acquisition of New Client