General Facts About Authorized Release Certificate, FAA Form 8130-3, Airworthiness Approval Tag
What is the purpose of FAA Form 8130-3?
FAA Form 8130-3 may be used:
- To constitute a statement from the FAA that a new product or article produced under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Part 21, Certification Procedures for Products and Parts, conforms to its design and is in a condition for safe operation.
- To return to service a used product or article following inspection, maintenance, or alteration.
- When exporting products or articles to meet the requirements of bilateral agreements between the United States and other countries. This includes the shipment, not the export, of a prototype product or article to another country.
In all cases, the form is used to promote the identification and traceability of products and articles throughout the global aviation system.
What FAA Form 8130-3 cannot be used for?
FAA Form 8130-3 is not a delivery or shipping document, nor should it be used for administrative purposes between two persons.
FAA Form 8130-3 may not be issued by organizations or individuals other than those approved / authorized by the FAA within the scope of such an approval / authorization.
Aircraft are not to be released using FAA Form 8130-3.
FAA Form 8130-3 does not constitute approval to install the product or article on a particular aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller; however, it does assist the end user in determining the airworthiness approval status of a product or article.
A mixture of production-released and maintenance-released products and articles is not permitted on the same FAA Form 8130-3.
A mixture of products and articles released against approved and non-approved design data is not permitted on the same FAA Form 8130-3.
Who is authorized to sign an FAA Form 8130-3?
The following persons may issue FAA Form 8130-3 in accordance with the appropriate chapter of FAA Order 8130.21, Procedures for Completion and Use of the Authorized Release Certificate, FAA Form 8130-3, Airworthiness Approval Tag:
- FAA aviation safety inspectors (ASI);
- The following persons with the appropriate function codes in accordance with FAA Order 8100.8, Designee Management Handbook, when authorized by their Certificate of Authority (COA); or in accordance with FAA Order 8000.95, Designee Management Policy, as applicable:
- A Designated Manufacturing Inspection Representative (DMIR) may issue FAA Form 8130-3 for articles, domestic or export, at a PC holder’s distribution center;
- A Designated Airworthiness Representative for Manufacturing (DAR-F) may issue FAA Form 8130-3 for domestic shipments.
- An Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) unit may issue FAA Form 8130-3 for products and articles produced by the ODA holder. Each product or article must be inspected using FAA-approved design and the ODA holder’s approved quality system before being presented to the ODA unit. Prior to issuing an FAA Form 8130-3, the ODA unit must determine compliance with the applicable requirements of 14 CFR Part 21. The FAA Form 8130-3 must be issued in accordance with FAA Orders 8130.21 and 8130.2.
- Air agencies certificated under Part 145, or the holder of a U.S. air carrier certificate operating under Part 121 or Part 135, with an approved continued airworthiness maintenance program may issue an FAA Form 8130-3 for approval for return to service for a product or article maintained or altered under Part 43.
- A PAH may issue an FAA Form 8130-3 for approval for return to service after rebuilding, altering, or inspecting its product in accordance with §§ 43.3(j) and 43.7(d). The use of FAA Form 8130-3 for this purpose is optional, but the FAA recommends its use. This will help aviation authorities and industry to ensure complete traceability and ease the movement of products and articles through the aviation system.
Does a correctly completed FAA Form 8130-3 constitute an installation certification (eligibility) of that product/article on that aircraft?
No. FAA Form 8130-3 does not constitute approval to install a product or article on a particular aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller; however, it does assist the end user in determining the airworthiness approval status of a product or article. As stated on the bottom of FAA Form 8130-3, issuance of the form does not constitute installation certification (eligibility) of that product/article. The receiver or installer of that product/article makes that determination.
What if an FAA Form 8130-3 is lost? Can a copy be requested from the original issuer?
Yes. If a copy of an FAA Form 8130-3 is requested from the original issuer, correlation must be established between FAA Form 8130-3 and the applicable product(s) or article(s). The originator must retain a copy of each FAA Form 8130-3 issued to allow for verification of the original data. There is no restriction in the number of copies of FAA Form 8130-3 that may be sent to the customer or retained by the originator.
May the originator reissue an FAA Form 8130-3 because of an error?
Yes. The recipient of the incorrect FAA Form 8130-3 must provide a written request and a copy of the incorrect form to the originator. The request for a corrected FAA Form 8130-3 may be honoured without reverification of the product or article condition.
The reissued FAA Form 8130-3 is not a statement of current condition and must refer to the FAA Form 8130-3 being corrected. The corrected form must include the following statement in Block 12:
“This FAA Form 8130-3 corrects the error(s) in Block(s) [enter Block number(s) corrected] of the FAA Form 8130-3 [enter form tracking number] dated [enter issuance date] and does not cover conformity/condition/release to service.”
The original and corrected forms must be retained according to the retention period.
Can multiple items be listed on one FAA Form 8130-3?
Yes. When an FAA Form 8130-3 is issued, a single item number or multiple item numbers (for example, the same item with different serial numbers) may be used for the same part number. In such cases, the items must be numbered in sequence, although not necessarily beginning with the number “1” (for example, 0040, 0050, 0062, 0063).
If a separate listing is used, enter “List Attached”. If the shipment list contains the information required in Blocks 7 through 11, these respective blocks may be left blank if the list is attached to the form. In this case, the following statement must be entered in Block 12: “This is the certification statement for the products and articles listed on the attached document dated _________, containing pages ______ through ______.” In addition, the shipping list must cross-reference the form tracking number located in Block 3.
When is a date entered into Blocks 13e and 14e?
Enter the date that Block 13a is completed, or in the case of electronically generated forms, the date the conformity determination is made and the form is authorized to be issued. This does not need to be the same as the printing or shipping date, which may occur later. The date entered in Block 14e for approval for return to service will be the date the original work was completed (refer to 14 CFR Part 43, Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, Rebuilding, and Alteration, § 43.9).
What is the proper date format for Blocks 13e and 14e?
The date must be in the following format: two-digit day, first three letters of the month, and four-digit year, for example, 03 Feb 2008. The use of other formats such as “Feb 3, 2008,” or “Feb 03, 08” is not acceptable. The use of slashes, hyphens, or spaces in the date does not matter. This date format was adopted to prevent misinterpretation of dates among countries with different date formats.
What do I record in Block 10?
If 14 CFR Part 45, Identification and Registration Marking, requires the product or article to be identified with a serial number, enter the serial number in Block 10. Additionally, any other serial number not required by regulation also may be entered. If no serial number is entered in this Block, enter “N/A”. If a specific batch or lot number is used, refer to the instructions for Block 12 in FAA Order 8130.21.
Under what circumstances is a standard or commercial part eligible for issuance of FAA Form 8130-3?
Standard or commercial parts produced under a production approval are eligible for the issuance of an FAA Form 8130-3. Use of FAA Form 8130-3 for this purpose is recommended, but not mandatory. The inclusion of FAA Form 8130-3 helps document the airworthiness and traceability of these parts.
Could a commercial part be manufactured under an FAA production approval and still be considered a commercial part?
Yes, provided the article is listed on an FAA-approved Commercial Parts List (CPL) and is included in a Design Approval Holder’s Instructions for Continued Airworthiness (ICA).
Would producing a commercial part under an FAA production approval invalidate its classification as a commercial part?
No, provided that part is on the Commercial Parts List (CPL).
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