Certificate of Conformance vs EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3
The short answer
A Certificate of Conformance is a statement by the supplier that the goods match the purchase order. It is self-declared: its value depends entirely on how much you trust the company that signed it.
An EASA Form 1 or an FAA Form 8130-3 is an authorized release certificate. It is issued under an approval granted by an aviation authority, it identifies a specific part and batch, and it states the basis on which that batch was released. It is not self-declared, and it is traceable back to the approval that permitted it.
They are not interchangeable, and only the second is an airworthiness release.
What each one actually proves
| Certificate of Conformance | EASA Form 1 / FAA 8130-3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs it | the supplier or distributor | an organisation holding an authority approval |
| What it asserts | goods match the order | this batch was released under that approval |
| Batch-specific | often, but not always | yes |
| Verifiable against an approval | no | yes |
| Accepted as an airworthiness release | no | yes |
The distinction that matters to an auditor is the third and fourth row. A CoC can be perfectly honest and still tell them nothing they can check.
When a CoC is genuinely sufficient
Plenty of what moves through a maintenance organisation does not need an authorized release certificate, and demanding one where it does not apply just slows the order down. A CoC is normally the right document for:
- raw material and stock — sheet, bar, tube — ordered to a material specification
- consumables and chemicals, where the batch certificate and shelf life are the real content
- tooling, ground equipment and shop supplies
- anything not going onto an aircraft as an airworthy part
For chemicals in particular, the document you actually need alongside the CoC is the batch certificate with cure and expiry dates. That is what a shelf-life-limited material is judged on.
When it is not sufficient
If the part is being fitted to an aircraft as a serviceable component, a CoC on its own will not close the record. That is true whether the part is new, overhauled or repaired — the release document is what states which of those it is, and under whose approval.
This is also where the paperwork gets scrutinised hardest, because a missing or unverifiable release certificate is the single clearest signal of a part that should not be fitted. We wrote separately about how traceability prevents counterfeit components entering a fleet.
What a complete document pack looks like
For an airworthy component, expect to receive and file:
- the authorized release certificate — EASA Form 1 or FAA 8130-3 — identifying the part,
serial or batch, and the release basis
- the purchase and transfer records showing an unbroken chain from that release to you
- where applicable, the batch or material certificate
- for shelf-life materials, manufacture and expiry dates, and the storage condition
If any link is missing, the chain is broken, and a broken chain is not something a later document can repair.
Frequently asked
Is an EASA Form 1 better than an FAA 8130-3?
Neither is better. They are the equivalent documents of two authorities, and which one you need depends on the regulatory system your aircraft is maintained under. We compared them in EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3.
Can a distributor issue a Form 1?
Only an organisation holding the relevant approval can issue one. A distributor without that approval passes on the certificate issued upstream — which is why the transfer records matter as much as the certificate itself.
How do I check a certificate is real?
Verify it against the issuing approval rather than taking the document at face value. Certificates for parts we supply carry a verification link — see how to verify an EASA or FAA certificate and Angad Verified.
We only ever get a CoC from our current supplier. Is that a problem?
It depends entirely on what you are buying. For consumables, no. For components being fitted as serviceable, it is worth asking why.
Need the paperwork to arrive with the part? Angad Aviation supplies components with traceability and, where an authorized release certificate applies, an EASA Form 1 or FAA Form 8130-3 you can verify online at Angad Verified. Send us a part number and we will quote it with the documentation stated up front.