Form FAA 8130-3, Authorized Release Certificate, Airworthiness Approval Tag

FAA Form 8130-3, Authorized Release Certificate, Airworthiness Approval Tag, is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) document that lists released items and certifies either that they were manufactured in conformity to design data or that work on them was done and they are approved for return to service.

The form is a single page of numbered blocks. Block 1 names the approving civil aviation authority and country, printed as FAA/United States, and Block 3 holds the form tracking number. Block 4 gives the organization name and address, and Block 5 the work order, contract or invoice number. Blocks 6 to 11 describe each item: item number, description, part number, quantity, serial number and status or work. Block 12 is for remarks.

The certification itself is split in two. Block 13a certifies that the items were manufactured in conformity to approved design data and are in a condition for safe operation, or to non-approved design data specified in Block 12. Block 14a certifies that the work in Block 11, described in Block 12, was accomplished under 14 CFR 43.9 and part 43 and that the items are approved for return to service, or follows another regulation specified in Block 12. Each side has its own signature, approval number, typed name and date.

The tag is not an installation approval. The form says its statements in Blocks 13a and 14a do not constitute installation certification. The FAA's document page lists the form as active, with an edition date of 2014-02-01, under the office AIR-632, Production and Airworthiness Systems.

The form is completed by the organization or authorized person releasing an item: the block layout asks for an organization name and address (Block 4), an authorized signature with an approval, authorization or certificate number (Blocks 13b-13c and 14b-14c), a typed or printed name and a date.

• Manufacturing release: use Block 13 when the items were manufactured in conformity to approved design data, or to non-approved design data specified in Block 12.
• Return to service: use Block 14 when work described in Blocks 11 and 12 was accomplished under 14 CFR 43.9, or under another regulation specified in Block 12, and the items are approved for return to service.
• Users and installers: they receive the tag and carry the responsibilities printed at the bottom of the form. The tag alone does not give authority to install an aircraft engine, propeller or article.

Where a user or installer works under the regulations of an airworthiness authority other than the one named in Block 1, the form says that person must make sure that authority accepts the items from the authority of the Block 1 country.

The FAA's document page directs U.S. customers to the FAA Field Office serving their area: for manufacturing activities the Certification Management Section (CMS), and for airworthiness activities the CMS or a Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). Foreign customers are told to contact their Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The form is completed when the items are released: at manufacture, when Block 13a applies, or when work is finished and the items are approved for return to service, when Block 14a applies. The form prints no due date and no filing window of its own.

The tag then travels with the items. The user or installer must keep in mind that aircraft maintenance records must contain an installation certification issued under the national regulations before the aircraft may be flown, because the statements in Blocks 13a and 14a are not installation certification. For questions about timing in a specific case, the FAA's document page sends U.S. customers to their local FAA Field Office.

The form prints no mailing address, portal or appointment process, and it names no agency office to which it must be sent. It is a release tag that identifies the items it covers, and the user or installer receives it with them.

• Questions about use: the FAA's document page tells U.S. customers to contact the FAA Field Office serving their geographic area. For manufacturing activities that is the Certification Management Section (CMS); for airworthiness activities it is the CMS or a Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). To find an office, visit www.faa.gov and enter "locate an office" in the search bar.
• Foreign customers: contact your Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
• Form policy contact: the page lists the AIR-600 Policy & Innovation Division at [email protected].

Before the aircraft flies, the aircraft maintenance records must contain an installation certification issued under the national regulations. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.