AuditsCompliance-in-a-Box: The Startup Guide to Audit-Ready DocsSVSid Varma · 12 min readFor quality leads at aviation, space and defense suppliers holding AS9100D while IAQG prepares the next 9100 revision. What must exist in writing, and what the certification auditor checks.
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Checked against primary sources on 18 October 2026.
Organizations that design, produce, maintain or supply products for aviation, space and defense, usually because primes and customers require the certificate in purchase terms.
Certification bodies operating under the IAQG Certification Scheme (9104/1) with IAQG-authenticated auditors; results are recorded in the IAQG OASIS database
Initial certification audit, then surveillance and recertification audits under the IAQG scheme rules in 9104/1, with audit data recorded in OASIS
AS9100D, part of the 9100:2016 series (equivalent EN 9100 and JISQ 9100 editions), 2016-09-20. Paid standard (US$208 for the digital download from SAE International, as listed on sae.org on 2026-11-06).
Each one needs an owner, an approval, and proof it reached the people it covers.
Clause 4.4.2
AS9100 expects documentation describing relevant interested parties, the scope and its boundaries, the processes with their sequence and interaction, and who is responsible for each.
Clause 7.5.3
Documented information is controlled for availability, suitability and protection, with arrangements for distribution, access, storage, change control and retention, including information held by external providers.
Clause 7.3
People are made aware of the quality policy and objectives, their contribution to product conformity and product safety, and the importance of ethical behavior.
Clause 8.1.1
The organization plans, implements and controls a process for managing operational risk, with assigned responsibilities, risk criteria, managed actions and defined acceptance of residual risk.
Clause 8.1.3
Processes needed to assure product safety across the product life cycle are planned and controlled, covering hazard assessment, safety-critical items and event reporting.
Clause 8.1.4
Processes to prevent use of counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts are planned and controlled, scaled to the organization and its products.
Citations are to the standard or regulation; wording is ours. IAQG has published no date for the next revision of AS9100 yet.
What reviewers sample about these documents and the people they cover.
Auditors ask operators and engineers about their contribution to product conformity and product safety and the importance of ethical behavior, then look at how that awareness was delivered and recorded.
Auditors request the counterfeit parts policy or plan, evidence of functional training for procurement, inspection and engineering staff, and how suspect parts are quarantined and reported.
Auditors sample controlled documents for current revision and approval, and check how documented information created or retained by external providers is specified, flowed down and kept.
Auditors trace the product safety and operational risk processes into real projects, looking for assigned owners, assessments, safety-critical item controls and records of escalated events.
Write each policy, send it through approval, and send it to the people it covers. Each acknowledgment is recorded by name, with the version, the date and the time.
When a policy changes, the new version is approved, its Editor sends it out again, and everyone it applies to is asked again. Export the record as a PDF or CSV, or give a reviewer Viewer access to the documents their tags allow.
Need help with the rest of AS9100? Find a consultant for your standard (opens in a new tab).
Your region’s laws, the standards your customers ask for, and your own house rules. Write each one as a policy, approve it, and send it to the people it covers.
As of 18 October 2026, IAQG lists the 9100:2016 series as its published standard and SAE lists AS9100D (20 September 2016) as the current revision. Publication and transition dates for the next revision should come from IAQG and your certification body.
Clause 8.1.4 requires planned and controlled processes to prevent counterfeit or suspect counterfeit parts, appropriate to the organization and product. IAQG evaluation guidance points auditors to a policy or plan, risk assessment, reporting and functional training for procurement, inspection and engineering staff.
Clause 7.3 adds awareness of the importance of ethical behavior to the ISO 9001 awareness items. IAQG guidance lists examples such as a code of conduct, confidential reporting routes and training programs as evidence an auditor may see.
Certification bodies in the IAQG scheme record certificates and audit data in OASIS, the Online Aerospace Supplier Information System, which IAQG describes as the only aerospace supplier certification and registration data system. IAQG also uses 9100 series audit data from OASIS for benchmarking through OASIS Insights.
AS9100D contains the ISO 9001:2015 text, and Global ACI's ISO 9001:2026 transition document names the aviation, space and defense 91XX series among schemes built on ISO 9001. IAQG sets the transition for its own standards, so 9100 dates come from IAQG.
Industries that hear about AS9100 most.
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