FAA 8130-3
Traceability

FAA Form 8130-3 Airworthiness Approval Tag

In plain terms: 8130-3 is the chain of custody document for an aircraft part. It links the fastener in your hand to the specification it was manufactured under, the batch it came from, and the authority that signed off on its airworthiness condition.

For surplus hardware specifically, it answers the question your IA will ask: "How do we know this bolt is what it claims to be?" The answer is the 8130-3. Without it, the part is undocumented and cannot legally be installed on an FAA-certificated aircraft.

8130-3 is required by 14 CFR Part 43 for maintenance work on certificated aircraft and is the industry standard for Part 145 repair stations, MRO facilities, and commercial operators. EAB builders technically operate under different rules, but experienced builders use 8130-3 documentation anyway — it's the difference between hardware you can verify and hardware you're guessing at.

The surplus documentation problem

The aircraft surplus market has a documentation problem. Inventory changes hands multiple times — from original equipment manufacturers to overhaul shops to distributors to brokers — and at each step, paperwork can be lost, separated, or simply never transferred.

By the time a fastener reaches a surplus listing, it may be photographically identical to a certified part but have zero documentation linking it to an approved source. That part cannot be legally installed on a certificated aircraft, regardless of how it looks or measures.

Aerospace Spec Bolt sources only from inventory where the documentation chain is intact. We verify traceability before we buy, not after. Hardware that we can't document doesn't enter our inventory.

Documentation included with every order

• FAA Form 8130-3 Authorized Release Certificate — Airworthiness Approval Tag confirming condition and conformance to approved design data
• Certificate of Conformance (C of C) — confirms the part meets the applicable AN, MS, or NAS specification
• Full chain of custody records — received → inspected → stored → shipped, with dates and responsible parties at each step
• Lot traceability — identifies the manufacturing batch, enabling full backward traceability to the original production run
• Supplier verification summary — name, FAA certificate number, verification status, and date reviewed
• Material certifications — alloy composition and heat treatment records where applicable (standard for structural fasteners)

These documents ship with the hardware. They are not available "on request for an additional fee." They are part of what you're buying. If a part's documentation doesn't meet your facility's requirements, contact us before ordering and we'll tell you exactly what we have on file.

For FAA inspectors and IAs requesting documentation: every part in our system has a complete trace package that can be exported immediately. Contact service@aerospacespecbolt.com with the part number and your contact information — we'll provide the full inspector-ready PDF bundle within one business day.

Cert sample requests

We understand that some facilities require documentation review before a purchase order is issued. QA departments, Part 145 shops, and commercial operators often need to see the actual 8130-3 on file before approving a supplier.

Any part's cert package can be requested before purchase. Go to any product detail page, find the Documentation panel below the specs, and click "Request cert sample for this part." Fill in your name and email — we'll send the 8130-3 sample within one business day.

No account required. No commitment to buy. We'd rather you review the documentation and decide it meets your standards than discover after the fact that it doesn't.