AS9102 Form 2 is used to record product accountability for the first article: the raw materials, material specifications, special processes, and functional testing required by the design record or purchasing requirements. It is not where every dimensional characteristic is recorded. Those characteristic-level results normally belong on AS9102 Form 3.
In practical terms, Form 2 should show what material, processing, and testing evidence supports the part or assembly being presented for First Article Inspection. The exact entries depend on the drawing, bill of materials, specifications, customer flowdowns, purchase order requirements, and any site-specific FAI procedure.
Typical Form 2 content
Common entries include:
- Part identification: part number, part name, serial number if applicable, and the FAI report identifier.
- Raw material: material type or name, applicable material specification, and relevant certification or certificate of conformance reference.
- Special processes: processes such as heat treat, plating, anodizing, welding, chemical processing, coating, nondestructive testing, or other processes called out by the design record or customer requirements.
- Specification references: the specification number and, where required by the procedure or customer, the revision level used to verify the material or process.
- Supplier or processor: the organization that supplied the material or performed the special process.
- Customer approval verification: evidence that an approved processor or source was used when the customer, drawing, specification, or purchase order requires it.
- Certificate references: certificate of conformance, material certification, process certification, test report, or other objective evidence identifiers.
- Functional test information: required functional test procedure, acceptance report, or test record reference, if functional testing is required.
- Comments and preparation information: clarifications, preparer, and date, as required by the form and internal procedure.
What should not be forced onto Form 2
Form 2 should not be used as a substitute for Form 3 characteristic accountability. Dimensions, drawing notes, tolerances, and inspection results are normally ballooned and recorded on Form 3 unless they specifically relate to material, processing, or functional test accountability.
It also should not be treated as a generic attachment list. Supporting certificates and reports should be controlled and traceable, but Form 2 should reference the evidence clearly rather than becoming an uncontrolled document dump.
Common failure modes
The most common problems are missing certificate references, unclear processor identification, use of an unapproved special process source, omitted functional test evidence, or mismatches between the drawing revision, specification revision, purchase order, and submitted certificates.
Another common issue is relying on ERP, MES, PLM, or supplier portal data without confirming that the data is current, revision-controlled, and traceable to the actual first article lot, batch, serial number, or work order. In brownfield environments, material certifications, process certs, routing records, and FAI packages often live in different systems. The FAI record has to reconcile those sources; it should not assume they agree.
Site-specific controls still matter
AS9102 defines the structure and intent of the form, but customer requirements and internal procedures often add expectations for naming conventions, attachments, revision capture, electronic signatures, supplier approval evidence, or Net-Inspect-style submission rules. Those requirements should be handled under document control and change control, not by informal local practice.
Completing Form 2 correctly does not guarantee customer acceptance, audit results, or compliance outcomes. It provides traceable evidence for the material, special process, and functional test portions of the First Article Inspection package, subject to the quality system, customer requirements, and the validity of the underlying records.