AS9100 is the quality management standard for aviation, space and defense. It contains all of ISO 9001 and adds aerospace requirements on top, such as product safety, configuration management, counterfeit parts prevention and first article inspection. If your customers are in aerospace or defense, they will usually require AS9100. If not, ISO 9001 is usually enough.
The short version
| ISO 9001 | AS9100 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A quality management system standard for any industry | The aviation, space and defense quality standard |
| Who publishes it | ISO | The International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG). In the US it is published by SAE as AS9100, in Europe as EN 9100 |
| Relationship | The base | Includes the full ISO 9001 text, with aerospace requirements added |
| Who it is for | Any organization | Aerospace and defense design and manufacturing organizations and their suppliers |
| Certification records | Held by the certification body | Also listed in the IAQG OASIS database, where customers can look you up |
What AS9100 adds
- Product safety. Planning and controls for the parts and processes that affect safety, and awareness of them on the floor.
- Configuration management. Knowing exactly which revision of a design, part and process was built and shipped.
- Counterfeit parts prevention. Controls to stop counterfeit or suspect parts entering the product, from sourcing through receiving.
- First article inspection. Verifying the first production part against every requirement, usually to AS9102, and repeating it after changes.
- Key characteristics and critical items. Identifying the characteristics that matter most and controlling them more tightly.
- On-time delivery and human factors. Measuring delivery performance, and considering human factors when looking for root cause.
Which one do you need?
- Aerospace or defense customers: they will usually require AS9100, or a related standard such as AS9120 for distributors.
- Everyone else: ISO 9001, or the sector standard your customers ask for, such as IATF 16949 for automotive.
ISO 9001 was revised in 2026 and IATF 16949 has a new edition planned. This page covers what holds across editions. Check your certification body and customer requirements for the edition and transition dates that apply to you.