EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3 is a question about regulators, not about paperwork. Both are authorized release certificates for a component. However, each one certifies work against a different rulebook, under a different approval. So a component shop needs the form its customer’s authority accepts, and sometimes it needs both.
What is an EASA Form 1 and who issues it?
EASA calls the sheet the Authorised Release Certificate, EASA Form 1. One form does two jobs. A production organization issues it for a new part under Part 21. A maintenance organization issues it after maintenance. The completion instructions for that use sit in Appendix II to Part-M of the Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness. This post covers the maintenance use only.
Under Part-145, point 145.A.50(d) makes the EASA Form 1 the component certificate of release to service (CRS). Appropriately authorized certifying staff issue it on behalf of the organization. They do so once the ordered work on an off-aircraft component is complete. So the signature belongs to a named person, but the release belongs to the organization.
A shop that maintains a component for its own use may skip the Form 1. Its maintenance organisation exposition (MOE) must say so. Appendix II states the purpose in its first line: to declare the airworthiness of maintenance work on products, parts and appliances.
What is FAA Form 8130-3 and who may sign it?
The FAA form carries a longer name: Authorized Release Certificate, FAA Form 8130-3, Airworthiness Approval Tag. Two FAA documents now govern it. FAA Order 8130.21J covers the form under Part 21, for new production and export. AC 43-9D, issued in September 2025, covers approval for return to service after maintenance. This post covers the second.
Who signs? Paragraph 7.2 of AC 43-9D says anyone authorized by 14 CFR 43.7(b) to (e) may issue it for work they did under Part 43. For a component shop, that is the Part 145 repair station. Certificated mechanics and Part 121 or 135 air carriers may issue it too.
Then 14 CFR 145.213(d) narrows the signer. Except at a repair station outside the United States, only an employee certificated as a mechanic or repairman under Part 65 may sign off a maintenance release.
For a domestic FAA release, the 8130-3 is recommended but not required. Paragraph 23.2.3 of AC 43-9D says so, and the form’s content must still meet 14 CFR 43.9(a) and 91.417(a). For an EASA component release, 145.A.50(d) makes the Form 1 the CRS itself. In our experience, US customers still expect the tag, so few repair stations skip it.
When does a component shop need an EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3?
The customer’s authority decides, not the shop. Appendix II says the certificate is acceptable to many airworthiness authorities. However, that acceptance may depend on bilateral agreements and the authority’s policy.
EASA publishes a table of the release documents an EU-based Part-145 organization may accept. For a used part from the EU system, the row reads “EASA Form 1 SINGLE”. For a used part from the US system, it reads “FAA Form 8130-3 DUAL (EASA and FAA)”. No single-release 8130-3 appears in that used-part column.
So the EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3 choice turns on where the part goes next, and on which approvals the shop holds.
| Customer installs under | Release the shop needs for a used component | Where the rule sits |
|---|---|---|
| EASA Part-145 or Part-M, EU-registered aircraft | EASA Form 1, single release | 145.A.42(a)(i); EASA acceptance table |
| FAA Part 43 and Part 145, US-registered aircraft | FAA 8130-3, or the 43.9 record entry alone | AC 43-9D, paragraph 23.2.3 |
| Both markets, from a shop holding both approvals | One certificate with both block 14a boxes ticked | AC 43-9D, paragraph 23.6.2; EASA table |
Where does dual release fit in?
A dual release ends the EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3 choice by ticking both boxes in block 14a. It has its own wording rules and legal basis, which we will cover in separate posts on dual release and the EASA MAG. Because 145.A.42(b) requires an acceptance procedure for incoming components, the receiving shop is the one that rejects a wrong form. So ask the customer’s quality department before the work order opens, not at shipping.
EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3: which blocks differ?
Both forms use the same block numbers, 1 through 14e. The EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3 table below pulls them from Appendix II and from Appendix B of AC 43-9D.
| Block | EASA Form 1 (Appendix II to Part-M) | FAA Form 8130-3 (AC 43-9D, Appendix B) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Authority | Name and country of the competent authority; “EASA” alone when the Agency is the authority | “FAA/United States”, preprinted |
| 11 Status/Work | One term only: Overhauled, Repaired, Inspected/Tested, Modified | Same four terms; the standard used goes in block 12 |
| 12 Remarks | Data used, with revision status and reference; “in accordance with the CMM” alone is unacceptable | Data required by 43.9, with reference and revision status |
| 14a Boxes | “Part-145.A.50 Release to Service” or “Other regulation specified in block 12”; at least one | “14 CFR 43.9 Return to Service” (left box), or both; at least the left box |
| 14c | Certificate or approval reference issued by the competent authority | Certificate number of the 14 CFR 43.7 entity, such as the repair station |
| 14e Date | Date block 14b is signed, dd mmm yyyy | Date the work was completed; the shipping date may come later |
The date rule surprises people: EASA dates the signature, the FAA dates the completion of the work.
What goes in block 11 and block 12 on the EASA Form 1 and FAA 8130-3?
Block 11 is the one place where EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3 shows almost no difference. The EASA Form 1 takes exactly one term, the one that describes the majority of the work. The FAA asks for the term that reflects the kind of work performed.
“Overhauled” carries the heaviest meaning. Both definitions require the item to be at least disassembled, cleaned, inspected, repaired as necessary, reassembled and tested to the approved or accepted data. Anything less is “Repaired” or “Inspected/Tested”, and the applicable standard then belongs in block 12.
Block 12 is where releases succeed or fail. Both instruction sets ask for the maintenance data used, such as the component maintenance manual (CMM), with its reference and revision status. Both also list repairs, modifications, replacement parts, life-limited part status, shortages and deviations from the customer’s work order. The FAA adds batch or lot numbers. EASA’s guidance material calls a statement such as “in accordance with the CMM” unacceptable.
In a wheel shop, a typical block 12 for a repaired main wheel (an example, not a template) names the CMM chapter and revision, the NDT method, the bearing and seal part numbers installed, and any deviation from the work order. A record that flows from the job tasks to the certificate avoids the retyping behind the errors below. That is the point of the Part 145 workflow from receiving to release.
How should a customer read an EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3?
Read block 1 first, then block 14a. Block 1 names the authority behind the release, and 14a names the rulebook the signer worked to. If the “other regulation” box is ticked, block 12 must name that regulation on both forms. An empty 14a is not a release on either form.
Next, check that the approval reference in block 14c belongs to the organization in block 4. Then read the footer. Appendix II puts a user/installer statement on the EASA form: the certificate does not automatically constitute authority to install, and blocks 13a and 14a are not installation certification. Paragraph 23.2.1 of AC 43-9D says the same for the 8130-3. Installation is a separate certification, made in the aircraft maintenance records.
Which three mistakes get a release certificate rejected?
The EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3 rejection list is short, and both sides of the Atlantic share it:
- Block 12 names the manual but not the revision.
- Block 14a is wrong: no box ticked, or the “other regulation” box ticked with nothing in block 12 behind it.
- Block 11 says “Overhauled” for work that was a repair plus a bench test.
A fourth failure is the fix, not the form. Both instruction sets correct an error the same way: a new certificate, not an amended one. Appendix II requires a new tracking number, signature and date, plus a block 12 statement naming the certificate it corrects. Paragraph 23.2.9 of AC 43-9D sets the same route for administrative errors, and both certificates stay on file.
Retention differs too. Point 145.A.55 requires the organization to keep its copy of the CRS and the detailed records for 3 years from release. A US repair station keeps its records, 8130-3 included, for at least 2 years from the return to service, under 14 CFR 145.219(c). We compare the full record sets in Part 145 record-keeping for component shops.
Built on a real shop floor
AirOne MRO is developed inside a working EASA Part 145 wheel and brake shop. The EASA Form 1 vs FAA 8130-3 lesson our shop learned is simple: block 12 fails when someone retypes it. So the software generates the EASA Form 1 or FAA 8130-3 from the work order instead, and keeps every issued certificate in a searchable archive. The first ten Founding Shops get a full year free in exchange for honest feedback.
Frequently asked questions
No. Paragraph 23.2.3 of AC 43-9D recommends the form but does not require it. When it is used as a maintenance record, its content must still meet 14 CFR 43.9(a) and 91.417(a), so the maintenance record rules decide what it must say.
The receiving side’s rules apply. EASA’s acceptance table lists “FAA Form 8130-3 DUAL (EASA and FAA)” for a used part from the US system entering an EU Part-145 organization. For a used part from the EU system it lists “EASA Form 1 SINGLE”. So a US repair station that leaves the EASA box unticked ships a component the table does not list as acceptable.
Both forms define it the same way: a process that brings the item into complete conformity with the applicable service tolerances in the type certificate holder’s or manufacturer’s instructions, or in data approved or accepted by the authority. The item is at least disassembled, cleaned, inspected, repaired as necessary, reassembled and tested to that data.
14 CFR 145.213(d) says only an employee certificated as a mechanic or repairman under Part 65 may sign off final inspections and maintenance releases for the repair station. The one exception is a repair station located outside the United States. On top of that, AC 43-9D allows only specifically authorized persons to sign block 14b.