Last reviewed: October 2026
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This free first article inspection checklist is for quality engineers, inspectors and supplier quality teams at manufacturers and their suppliers, in aerospace and beyond. One run is one first article inspection (FAI) of one part or assembly, in the AS9102 style or to your customer’s or your own procedure, from the trigger to release. It records why the FAI is needed, full or partial, and who owns each part. Then it collects the design records and balloons every characteristic, accounts for every part number, material, special process and functional test, checks the measuring equipment and measures each characteristic on the first production part. A failed characteristic adds the nonconformance and correction tasks. The FAI report goes to the customer where they must approve it, and the quality manager approves the report and decides between release and a partial FAI.
A first article inspection (FAI) checks the first part made by a new or changed production process against every requirement in its design records: each dimension and note on the drawing, each specification, material and special process, and each functional test. It is planned before the part is made and recorded in a report that someone with authority approves. In aerospace the requirements for performing and documenting an FAI are set out in SAE’s AS9102, and customers add their own clauses to their purchase orders. Other industries run FAIs to their customers’ requirements or their own procedures.
An FAI answers a different question from the other checks a part goes through. A factory acceptance test is different again: it proves a machine at its builder’s works before it ships, in the Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) Checklist.
Asks: does the first part made by the production process meet every requirement in the drawing, the specifications and the order?
When: for a new part, and again after a design change, a new process, program, tooling, location or source, a lapse in production or when the customer asks.
Output: an FAI report that accounts for every part number, material, special process, test and characteristic, approved by your quality manager and, where required, the customer.
Asks: can the supplier’s process make the part to every requirement, consistently, at the production rate?
When: automotive customers ask for it before production shipments, in the PPAP Submission Checklist.
Output: up to 18 elements from a significant production run, including gauge studies and capability, a signed Part Submission Warrant and the customer’s decision. An FAI looks hard at one first part; a PPAP looks at a production run.
Asks: does this delivery, batch or finished lot meet its specification?
When: on every receipt, at hold points in production and before shipping, in the Product Inspection Workflow and the Manufacturing Quality Control Checklist.
Output: sampled results and an accept or reject decision for that batch. It assumes the process was proved first, which is what the FAI did.
Eight phases follow one first article inspection of one part, from the trigger to release. The first task records the part, the reason, whose requirement applies and who runs each part. Aerospace adds a task for the customer’s notice requirements and an automotive customer a task to agree how the FAI fits the PPAP; a partial FAI adds a task to set its scope; a part made by a supplier adds the tasks to flow the requirement down and check their report; special processes add their records and approvals. Any characteristic that does not conform adds the nonconformance, disposition and correction tasks, and Phase 7 appears only when the customer must approve the report. The quality manager approves the report and decides between release and a partial FAI.
The FAI lead records the part, why an FAI is needed and who runs each part of it. Enter the day the first production part will be ready for inspection first: the planning tasks count back from it, and the inspection, report and customer tasks count forward from it. The requirement, FAI type, maker, special process and customer approval answers add the tasks this FAI needs.
Account for every requirement before the first part is made. Each characteristic on the drawing, the model, the specifications and the order gets a number, and each number will get a result in the report.
Identify the part being inspected and account for every part number inside it. Each detail part and sub-assembly needs its own FAI report, or a recorded reason why it does not.
Prove the part is made of the right materials, through approved processes, and passes its functional tests. Special process tasks appear only when the part goes through one.
Measure each ballooned characteristic on the FAI part and record the actual result, not just a tick. Any characteristic that does not conform adds the tasks to raise a nonconformance, decide what happens to the part and correct the cause.
Bring the records together into one report and check it before anyone approves it. When a supplier made the part, check their report and measure some of their characteristics yourself.
Applies only when the customer must approve the FAI report. Hidden when the first task says the report is approved internally.
The quality manager approves the FAI report and decides what happens next. A complete FAI shows the release tasks; open or rejected items show the tasks for a partial FAI. Release and close-out count from the approval.
An FAI report has to account for everything the design records ask for, not only the dimensions. The table below is a plain-English map of what the report covers and the evidence kept with it. The exact forms and fields depend on the standard and the customer: AS9102 sets out its own report forms, and many customers ask for their portal or format, so check your purchase order before you plan.
| Area | What is checked | Evidence kept with the report |
|---|---|---|
| Design records | The drawing, model, specifications and order notes at the revision the FAI is performed against | The list of records and revisions |
| Characteristics | A unique number for every dimension, tolerance, note and call-out | The ballooned drawing or model |
| Part numbers | The part itself and every detail part, sub-assembly, standard part and bought-in item in it | Lower-level FAI reports, or the reason none is needed |
| Raw materials | Each material specification, traced to the part | Certificates of conformity and test reports with heat or lot numbers |
| Special processes | Heat treatment, plating, painting, welding, non-destructive testing and the like, done by approved processors | Process certificates and processor approvals |
| Functional tests | Each test the design records call for | Test procedures and results |
| Results | Every numbered characteristic measured or verified, with the actual value | The results, the instruments used and their calibration |
| Nonconformances | Each failure reported, dispositioned and corrected | Nonconformance reports, dispositions and re-inspection results |
| Approval | The report complete and accurate | The quality manager’s approval and, where required, the customer’s |
Full or partial. A full FAI verifies every requirement. A partial FAI, sometimes called a delta FAI, verifies only the characteristics and requirements affected by a change, and refers back to the earlier full FAI. Customer clauses and quality systems commonly ask for a new full or partial FAI after a design change affecting form, fit or function, a change of manufacturing process, program, tooling, location or source, a lapse in production, or nonconformances that show a requirement was missed. The length of lapse that triggers one is set by the standard or the customer.
When a characteristic fails. The FAI is not complete while a requirement is not met. The nonconformance is reported and dispositioned, the cause is corrected, and the affected characteristics are inspected again, often on the next part made, as a partial FAI.
The standard. AS9102, “Aerospace Series - First Article Inspection Requirements”, is published by SAE International; revision C, published on 28 June 2023, is current and was revised to strengthen FAI planning, evaluation and re-accomplishment. It is a paid document. This checklist follows the common structure of an FAI and does not reproduce the standard or its forms.
The FAI lead, quality manager, manufacturing engineer, inspection lead and supplier quality engineer are chosen on the first task, and each record is assigned to the person who owns it. Approving the FAI report is assigned to the quality manager alone, and nothing after that approval step can be completed until they approve.
A partial FAI adds its scope task, a supplier-made part adds the flow-down and report checks, special processes add their certificates and approvals, and a customer who approves the report adds Phase 7. A characteristic that fails adds the nonconformance, disposition and correction tasks. Rules show and hide each one from the answers given.
Due dates count from the day the first part is ready, and release and close-out from the quality manager’s approval. Overdue alerts go to the task’s assignees. The Reports Grid lists every FAI with its answers, such as the part, the FAI type and whether all characteristics conform, with filters and export. Analytics shows how long FAIs take and where work runs late, by template, person and step.
CheckFlow does not balloon drawings or run your measuring programs. Do those in your inspection software and attach the ballooned drawing and the results to the task that asked for them. CheckFlow runs the FAI around them: who prepares each record, by when, with what evidence, and who approved the report. CheckFlow’s manufacturing checklist software shows how plants run their other quality routines the same way.
Approve production parts for automotive customers with the PPAP Submission Checklist, check new suppliers with the Supplier Audit Checklist and keep the instruments in calibration with the Calibration Management Checklist. Run day-to-day inspection with the Product Inspection Workflow, investigate a failed characteristic with the Root Cause Analysis (8D) Checklist, and run the engineering change that triggers a new FAI with the Manufacturing Change Order Process Checklist.
PPAP Submission Checklist
Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) Checklist
Product Inspection Workflow Checklist
Supplier Audit Checklist
Calibration Management Checklist
Describe the process in a sentence and the AI checklist generator drafts the phases and tasks for you.
A first article inspection is a complete, documented check of the first part made by a new or changed production process against every requirement in its design records. It covers each dimension and note on the drawing, the materials, the special processes, the functional tests and every part number in an assembly. Its purpose is to show that the production process, as planned, can make a part that meets all of them. The results go into an FAI report, which is approved before production continues.
AS9102, “Aerospace Series - First Article Inspection Requirements”, is the SAE International standard that sets out the requirements for performing and documenting an FAI in the aerospace industry. Revision C, published on 28 June 2023, is current; it was revised to strengthen FAI planning, evaluation and re-accomplishment and aligned with the 9100 quality management standard. Its requirements add to customer and regulatory requirements rather than replacing them, so aerospace customers usually add their own FAI clause to the purchase order. The standard is a paid document.
For the first production run of a new part, and again when something changes that could affect the part. Customer clauses and quality systems commonly name a design change affecting form, fit or function, a change of manufacturing process, method or program, new tooling or equipment, a new location or supplier, a lapse in production, and nonconformances showing a requirement was missed. Your purchase order and the standard it names decide which apply and how long a lapse can be.
A full FAI verifies every requirement on the part: every characteristic, part number, material, special process and test. A partial FAI, often called a delta FAI, verifies only what a change affects and refers back to the earlier full FAI report. Partial FAIs follow design changes, process changes and corrective actions. If a change affects most of the part, or the earlier records are incomplete, run a full FAI instead.
A copy of the drawing or model on which every characteristic carries a unique number in a circle, or balloon: each dimension, tolerance, note, material and process call-out and marking requirement. The same numbers are used in the FAI report, so every requirement can be traced to a result and nothing is left out. Some customers require ballooning and accept a compliance matrix only for requirements that apply to many parts, such as material and process specifications.
The FAI is not complete. Each nonconformance is reported and the part is dispositioned: rework, repair, use as is or scrap, with the design authority’s or customer’s approval where a repair or use-as-is needs it. The cause is corrected in the process, and the affected characteristics are inspected again, usually as a partial FAI on the next part made. Some customers also want to be told in writing about any nonconformance found during an FAI.
An FAI verifies one first production part against every requirement. A Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), used by automotive customers, takes its evidence from a significant production run and adds process documents, gauge studies, capability, a signed Part Submission Warrant and the customer’s approval. In aerospace, SAE’s AS9145 sets out requirements for advanced product quality planning and PPAP and works alongside AS9102. Run a PPAP with the PPAP Submission Checklist.
Put the FAI requirement and its revision on the purchase order, and ask for the reports of the supplier’s own sub-tier suppliers too. When the report arrives, check that every balloon has a recorded result, the certificates are attached and the report is signed, then measure some of the key characteristics yourself on receipt. This checklist adds those tasks when you say the part is made by a supplier.
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