Earning AS9100 auditor certification means completing an accredited ISO 9001 lead auditor course, passing the Aerospace Auditor Transition Training, logging external audit experience, and submitting your credentials to Probitas Authentication for review. Two grades are available, and the requirements differ depending on which one you’re after. Plan for several months from your first course to approved status, and several thousand dollars in training and fees before your name appears in the OASIS database.
The Two Auditor Grades
The IAQG program recognizes two grades, and knowing which one you’re targeting shapes the rest of the pathway.
An Aerospace Auditor (AA) qualifies to work as a team member on aerospace audits under the direction of a lead auditor. The AA grade does not require aerospace industry work experience beyond the baseline QMS auditor qualifications.1Probitas Authentication. AS9100 AQMS Auditor Application User Guide
An Aerospace Experienced Auditor (AEA) is the lead grade and can head an audit independently. Reaching AEA requires either four years of direct aerospace work experience or a shorter tenure paired with additional training and witnessed audits.1Probitas Authentication. AS9100 AQMS Auditor Application User Guide
Both grades share the same training requirements and the same minimum audit experience. The AEA layer sits on top.
Aerospace Work Experience for the Lead Grade
If you’re pursuing AEA on work experience alone, you need four years of full-time aerospace employment within the past ten years. That work has to be in engineering, design, manufacturing, quality, or process control at an airframe manufacturer, prime supplier, auxiliary equipment supplier, or a civil, military, or space organization.1Probitas Authentication. AS9100 AQMS Auditor Application User Guide
The alternative route requires two years of aerospace experience within the past fifteen years, plus completion of an approved aerospace industry-specific course and two full AS9100 audits witnessed by a certified AEA.1Probitas Authentication. AS9100 AQMS Auditor Application User Guide Many candidates with strong quality management backgrounds but limited aerospace tenure take this route.
For the AA grade, aerospace industry work experience is not required. You do still need to qualify as a QMS auditor through a nationally recognized authentication body, or meet the education, training, and experience requirements of ISO 19011. In practice, most AA candidates already hold a QMS lead auditor certificate before starting.
The Required Training, in Order
Training comes in two stages set by the IAQG’s 9104/3 standard, and you can’t skip the first.2International Aerospace Quality Group. 9104/3 Requirements for Aerospace Auditor Competency and Training Courses
QMS Lead Auditor Course
Start with an accredited ISO 9001:2015 lead auditor course. It runs about five days, teaches audit planning, evidence evaluation, interviewing, and findings write-up drawn from ISO 19011, and ends with an exam whose passing threshold is typically 70 percent. Expect to pay roughly $2,000 depending on the provider.
Aerospace Auditor Transition Training
With that certificate in hand, you move to the Aerospace Auditor Transition Training (AATT), the IAQG-sanctioned bridge to aerospace-specific auditing. It has two parts.
The online pre-work covers three required modules: an ISO 9001:2015 pre-assessment (50 knowledge questions and six scenario questions, 80 percent to pass); a module on IAQG standards, the OASIS database, and the intent of each AS9100 Rev D clause; and a module on audit forms and third-party reporting.3International Aerospace Quality Group. Certification – Authenticated AQMS Auditor Two optional trial scenarios are available for practice.
The four-day instructor-led session applies those concepts through case studies, mock audits, and team exercises. You sit for a knowledge exam and an application exam at the end, and you have to pass both to earn the AATT completion certificate.
Audit Experience That Counts
Both grades require four full QMS or AQMS audits totaling at least 20 audit days within the past three years. Only second-party or third-party audits qualify. Internal audits at your own organization do not count.1Probitas Authentication. AS9100 AQMS Auditor Application User Guide This is where many candidates get stuck, so if your audit history is mostly internal reviews, plan on logging external audit time before applying.
Your audit log should show the dates, the standard sections evaluated, your role on each team, and total days spent. Pair it with training certificates from accredited providers, a detailed aerospace employment history, and professional references who can speak to your technical performance. Gathering all of it before you open the application saves time later.
Applying Through Probitas
Applications go through the Probitas Authentication portal, not OASIS.4Probitas Authentication. Auditor Authentication Body – Probitas Authentication OASIS is a separate database that stores supplier certification data and lists authenticated auditors after they’ve been approved.
The application fee is $535, due at submission.5Probitas Authentication. IAQG Aerospace Auditor Certification Program Resources A reviewer checks your training certificates, audit log, work history, and references against the requirements. Once approved, you receive a digital certificate and an official auditor number, and your name is published in OASIS so employers and certification bodies worldwide can verify your credentials.6International Aerospace Quality Group. Online Aerospace Supplier Information System
Keeping the Credential Active
Certification runs on a three-year cycle. At the end of years one and two, you pay a $270 annual maintenance fee to keep your OASIS listing active.5Probitas Authentication. IAQG Aerospace Auditor Certification Program Resources You also have to show continued auditing activity and professional development across the cycle, and complete any mandated training the IAQG issues between cycles (those requirements are published in the IAQG Certification Oversight Resolution Log).3International Aerospace Quality Group. Certification – Authenticated AQMS Auditor
Auditors may also be subject to surveillance, where the authentication body reviews performance on actual audits. Missing training, skipping the maintenance fee, or failing renewal requirements leads to suspension, and reinstatement usually means redoing parts of the process.
Timeline and Total Cost
From your first course to approved status, expect several months to over a year, largely driven by how quickly you accumulate the 20 audit days. A rough cost picture starting from zero:
- ISO 9001 lead auditor course: roughly $1,500 to $2,000
- AATT course: comparable to the lead auditor course, varying by provider
- Probitas application fee: $535
- Annual maintenance: $270 in years one and two of each three-year cycle
Training alone runs several thousand dollars before you submit anything, and travel adds to that if no provider offers courses locally. The investment fits a long-term career in aerospace quality, but go in with realistic expectations about both the money and the time needed to log audit days.