AS9100 to IA9100: A Practical Transition Guide

If your organization holds an AS9100D certificate, the next revision of the aerospace quality management standard will arrive under a new name: IA9100. This guide explains what is happening, the expected timeline, and a step-by-step approach to transitioning without disrupting day-to-day operations.

This is consulting commentary from Paradygm Consulting, not a reproduction of the standard. Always work from the official published document and the transition rules issued by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG).

Why AS9100 is becoming IA9100

The AS9100 family has been developed for many years through the IAQG and published regionally by bodies in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The move to an "IA" identifier reflects the IAQG's intent to present the aerospace quality standards as a single international family. The planned naming follows the same pattern across the series:

• AS9100 (design and manufacturing) → IA9100
• AS9110 (maintenance, repair and overhaul) → IA9110 — see our IA9110 brief
• AS9120 (stockist distributors) → IA9120 — see our IA9120 brief

The renaming coincides with a technical revision. Like previous editions, the aerospace standard is built on top of ISO 9001, which is itself being revised. Read more about that relationship in IA9100 and ISO 9001:2026.

Expected timeline (estimate only)

Based on IAQG information as summarized in May 2026, the expected sequence is:

These are estimates and may change. The IAQG is the authority on publication dates and transition requirements, and your certification body (CB) will set the practical scheduling for your audits. Confirm the dates that apply to you directly with your CB and check the IAQG's published guidance.

One point worth stressing: earlier, now-obsolete timelines circulated online. If you see a different date in an older article or presentation, treat it with caution and verify it against current IAQG communications.

What is likely to change

The detailed requirements are set by the published standard, but the themes discussed by the IAQG and the industry point to several areas where organizations should expect to do work:

• Alignment with the revised ISO 9001 structure and wording, including any new or clarified expectations on topics such as organizational context, quality culture and change management.
• Operational planning — stronger links between planning activities and risks such as foreign object damage (FOD), measurement system capability, information security and advanced product quality planning (APQP). See our commentary on operational planning themes.
• Counterfeit and suspect unapproved parts — continued emphasis on prevention, detection and supply chain controls. See counterfeit parts prevention.
• Product safety, human factors and ethical behaviour — topics introduced or strengthened in AS9100D that are expected to keep maturing.
• Supplier and external provider controls, including flow-down of requirements.

For a summary, see IA9100 key changes. For a clause-by-clause view, see our deep dive at paradygm.co/ia9100.

A step-by-step transition plan

Step 1: Get the official documents

Purchase the published IA9100 standard (and IA9110 or IA9120 if relevant) from an authorized source once it is available. Download any IAQG transition guidance and your CB's transition notice. Avoid building your plan around unofficial summaries, including this one.

Step 2: Appoint a transition lead and team

Name one person accountable for the transition, usually the quality manager or management representative. Add people from operations, engineering, purchasing, maintenance or warehouse (as applicable) and IT/security. Transitions go faster when the people who own the processes are involved from the start.

Step 3: Brief leadership

Top management needs to understand what is changing, what it will cost in time and resources, and when the audit is expected. A short awareness session helps leadership make decisions and demonstrate the commitment auditors look for. We offer this as part of our IA9100 training.

Step 4: Run a gap assessment

Compare your current AS9100D system against IA9100 requirement by requirement. A good gap assessment looks beyond documents: it tests whether processes actually work the way the new standard expects, and records evidence. The output should be a prioritized list of gaps with owners and target dates. See IA9100 consulting and gap assessment.

Step 5: Build and run an action plan

Group gaps into practical work packages — for example, updating risk and opportunity tools, revising operational planning templates, strengthening counterfeit parts controls or refreshing supplier requirements. Fold the work into existing routines such as management review, corrective action and document control rather than running a separate project system.

Step 6: Train the people affected

Update awareness training for all staff and give focused training to those whose processes change. Internal auditors need to understand the new requirements well enough to audit them, not just recite them.

Step 7: Update documented information

Revise your quality manual (if you keep one), procedures, forms and records. Keep changes proportionate: the goal is effective processes and objective evidence, not more paperwork.

Step 8: Run an internal audit and management review

Before your transition audit, perform a full internal audit against IA9100 and hold a management review that considers the results. Auditors will expect to see that your system has been operating to the new requirements for a reasonable period, with records to prove it. Independent internal audit support can help here.

Step 9: Schedule the transition audit with your CB

Talk to your CB early. Ask how they will conduct the transition (during surveillance, recertification or a special audit), how many extra audit days may be needed and what their cut-off dates are. See IA9100 certification: what to ask your CB.

Step 10: Close findings and maintain

Address any nonconformities within the timeframes your CB sets, then keep the system improving. A transition is a good moment to remove procedures nobody uses and simplify what remains.

How long does a transition take?

It depends on the size and complexity of your organization, the maturity of your current system and how many sites are in scope. A small, well-run single-site manufacturer may need a few months of part-time effort; a multi-site group may need a year or more. The single best predictor is how early you start the gap assessment.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Waiting for the last year of the transition window. CB auditor availability tends to tighten near deadlines.
• Treating it as a document rewrite. Auditors look for evidence that processes have changed in practice.
• Ignoring the ISO 9001 changes. IA9100 includes the ISO 9001 base requirements; changes there are part of your transition too.
• Relying on out-of-date timelines. Confirm dates with the IAQG and your CB.
• Leaving internal auditors untrained. They are your early-warning system before the CB visit.

How Paradygm Consulting can help

Paradygm Consulting has supported ISO-based management systems for more than 25 years, including the AS9100 family and ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and R2. We provide gap assessments, implementation support, training and internal audit support. We are not a certification body and do not issue certificates — our role is to help you be ready for your CB.

Ready to plan your transition? Call 1-855-702-9001, email info@paradygm.co, or use the contact section (see our privacy notice).

Related pages: Key changes · FAQ · Glossary · Consulting

Timeline dates are provisional estimates. The IAQG is the authoritative source; confirm with your certification body.