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What a Useful First Article Inspection Report Contains

September 21, 2026

An FAI is not paperwork for its own sake. It is the moment where you find out whether the shop read the drawing the same way you wrote it, while it is still cheap to find out.

What has to be in it

  1. A ballooned drawing. Every dimension, note and callout numbered. Without it, nobody can prove that a characteristic was checked.
  2. A result for every balloon, with the nominal, the tolerance, the actual and pass or fail.
  3. The method and instrument for each measurement, with the cutoff for roughness and the datum scheme for form controls.
  4. Material certificates traceable to the lot used for the part.
  5. Process certificates, including finishing, plating, heat treatment and welding where applicable.
  6. Identification of the part, revision, purchase order, lot and the date measured.
  7. A photograph of the part as packed, which is not standard but is worth requiring on anything cleanliness sensitive.

What to decide before the order

Sample size. One piece for a new part, more if the process variation matters. State whether the FAI piece is part of the delivered quantity or an extra.

Layout of the measurements. For a plate with 80 holes, a full layout on every hole is expensive. Agree on which characteristics are critical and layout those fully, then sample the rest.

What happens on a fail. Whether a deviation can be accepted with a written concession, who signs it and how the shipment is marked. Agreeing this in advance turns a two week argument into a one day decision.

Where reports go wrong

  • Results reported to more decimal places than the instrument can resolve
  • Roughness numbers without a cutoff length, which are not measurements
  • Form tolerances measured constrained but reported as free state, covered in flatness, parallelism and datums
  • Material certificate for a different lot than the one used
  • A finish certificate missing entirely, which is the most common gap on subcontracted processes

Repeat parts need a control plan, not another FAI

Once a part is qualified, the useful document changes. A control plan says which characteristics are checked on every lot, at what frequency, with what instrument and what happens when one drifts. That plus the certificates is what keeps a repeat part honest between orders, and it is far cheaper than repeating the full FAI every time.

Ask the shop for its control plan template during the audit. A shop that has one has run qualified work before. The other questions worth asking are in supplier audit questions.

If you want your inspection requirements priced into the quote instead of discovered afterwards, send the RFQ with the FAI scope and the sample size stated.

Frequently asked questions

Is an FAI the same as a CMM report?

No. A CMM report lists measured features. An FAI is a structured record that every characteristic on the drawing was checked, with the method, the instrument and the result, tied to a ballooned drawing and to the material and process records.

Do I need PPAP for machined semiconductor parts?

Usually not the full automotive package. What buyers actually use is a ballooned FAI, material certificates, the finish certificate and a control plan for repeat parts. Ask for the documents you will read, not a level number.

When does a new FAI become necessary?

On a new part, after any drawing revision, after a change of material supplier, after a process or finisher change and after a long production gap. Write that trigger list into the purchase order.

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