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FAA 8130-3 Tag Field Guide: What Each Field Means and What to Check

The FAA 8130-3 is the Authorized Release Certificate that travels with many aircraft parts and says who released them, in what condition and on what basis. This guide lists each field, what belongs in it and what a receiving inspector should check before the part goes into stock.

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Field	What belongs there	What a receiving inspector checks	Common error	Appears on
Approving authority	The civil aviation authority and country that approved the issuing organization	Matches the authority the issuer actually works under	Blank or an abbreviation nobody can identify	Both
Form title	Authorized Release Certificate, with the form identifier	Correct form for the situation, not a shop traveler	Using a plain work order as a release	Both
Form tracking number	A unique number assigned by the issuing organization	Unique, legible, and not reused on another document	Duplicate or handwritten over	Both
Organization name and address	The company issuing the release, with its address	Matches the approval number in the signature block	Name does not match the approval holder	Both
Work order, contract or invoice number	The reference that ties the tag to a job	Can be matched to your purchase order or the repair order	No reference, so the tag cannot be linked to the order	Both
Item	Line item number when more than one part is listed	Every part on the tag is numbered and accounted for	Items missing or added by hand after signing	Both
Description	Name of the part or assembly	Consistent with the part number and with your order	Description that conflicts with the part number	Both
Part number	The part number of the item being released	Exact match to the physical part and the purchase order, including dash numbers	Dash number or revision letter mismatch	Both
Eligibility	The aircraft, engine or product models the part is eligible for	Covers the type and configuration you intend to fit it to	Left blank, or a vague entry such as 'all'	FAA 8130-3 only
Quantity	Number of items released	Equals the quantity physically received	Short shipment against a full-quantity tag	Both
Serial or batch number	Serial number, batch or lot number, or 'N/A' where none exists	Matches the data plate or label on the part	Serial number transposed or missing	Both
Status or work	Work performed, for example new, overhauled, repaired, inspected or modified	Consistent with what you ordered and with the remarks	'Repaired' when overhaul was ordered	Both
Remarks	Regulatory basis, repair or overhaul data used, airworthiness directive or bulletin compliance, life data and limitations	Contains the data you need to carry the part into your records	Empty remarks on a part that has a life limit	Both
Certification statement	The block where the signer states the basis for release, which differs by form and release type	The correct box is marked for the data basis used	Wrong box or both boxes marked	Both
Authorized signature	Signature of the person authorized by the issuing organization	Present, original or accepted electronic signature	Unsigned, or a stamp not allowed by the issuer's procedures	Both
Approval or authorization number	The certificate or authorization number of the issuing organization or signer	Present and consistent with the organization named	Missing number or a number from another company	Both
Name of signer	Printed name of the person signing	Legible and matches the signature	Illegible, so authority cannot be verified	Both
Date	Date of signing	Not later than receipt, not before the work was completed	Date in the future or before the work order date	Both
Reverse side notes	Standard notes about the use of the form	Read once so the team knows the limits of the document	Treating the tag as a release to service for the aircraft	Both
Copies and reissued tags	Duplicate or replacement certificates	Cross-referenced to the original tracking number	Two tags in circulation for one part	Both
Electronic tags	Electronically produced and signed certificates	Accepted in your procedures and verifiable with the issuer	Printing a PDF and altering it	Both
Tag does not equal release to service	The tag certifies a part, not the installation	The aircraft certificate of release comes from the installing organization	Using the part tag as proof the aircraft is serviceable	Both

Block numbers and wording differ between form revisions and between the FAA and EASA versions, so this guide uses field names. Always read the field against the current form and your authority's guidance. It is a training aid, not a regulation.

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How to use the field guide

Search for a field name, or for a symptom such as serial number or remarks, and read the check column. The guide is arranged in the order you read the tag: authority and identification, then the part, then status and remarks, then the signature. Keep it open at the receiving bench or print it as a one-page aid. If you find an error, do not correct the tag yourself. Contact the issuing organization and ask for a corrected or reissued certificate, and keep the original with your discrepancy record.

What the tag is and is not

An 8130-3 is a part-level document. It tells you who certified the part, what work was done and what data was used, and it lets the receiving shop treat the part as eligible for installation, subject to its own checks. It does not by itself release an aircraft to service, and it does not guarantee that the part is eligible for your aircraft configuration. The eligibility entry, the remarks and your own technical data decide that. EASA Form 1 plays a similar role under European rules, with a slightly different field layout, so if you handle both, compare them side by side.

Check the part number against the tag character by character
Check the serial or batch number against the plate
Read the remarks for directive compliance and life data
Confirm the signer and approval number match the organization

Worked example

A hydraulic actuator arrives with a tag showing status overhauled, a serial number and remarks that cite the overhaul manual revision and list directive compliance. You match the part number and serial to the plate, confirm the quantity is one, confirm the signer's approval number belongs to the named shop, and note the remarks for your records. Everything agrees, so the receipt is accepted. If the remarks were empty on a part with a life limit, you would hold it and ask the shop for the missing data before stocking.

Common mistakes

Inspectors often check the part number and stop there. Most real discrepancies are elsewhere: a serial number that differs from the plate by one digit, a quantity that does not match, a tag signed by an organization whose approval number is missing, or a status that does not match what was ordered. Another frequent mistake is accepting photocopies without a procedure for verifying them. A good rule is that every field on the tag should either be consistent with the order and the part or be explained in the remarks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an 8130-3 the same as an EASA Form 1?

They serve a similar purpose as authorized release certificates but are issued under different authorities and have different field layouts. Bilateral agreements allow acceptance in many cases, subject to conditions. Check your approval, the agreement terms and any customer requirements before treating one as the other.

Does the 8130-3 release the aircraft to service?

No. The tag covers the part or work it describes. The organization that installs the part and performs maintenance on the aircraft issues its own certificate of release to service, and it records the installed part numbers and serial numbers in the aircraft records.

What should I do if a tag is wrong?

Do not alter it. Quarantine the part, document the discrepancy, and ask the issuing organization for a corrected or reissued certificate. Keep the original and the correspondence with the receiving record. Treat a part without a corrected tag as unserviceable until your quality system accepts it.

Can an 8130-3 be electronic?

Yes, electronic certificates exist and are accepted when the issuer's procedures and the receiving organization's procedures both allow them, and when authenticity can be verified. Altering a printed copy is never acceptable. Confirm your own rules for storage, signatures and retrieval of electronic records.

If your receiving team keys tag data into the ERP by hand, we can help validate it on entry against the order. Netray builds private tools around SAP, Infor and other ERPs for aerospace shops.

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