Nadcap NDT / AC7114 Compliance for Inspection Service Providers

Any site that performs NDT on aerospace hardware: independent inspection service providers and NDT test houses, and captive NDT departments inside machining, casting, forging, fabrication and MRO shops. Personnel are qualified under employer-based certification, so a contracted Level III can sign the written practice and administer examinations for the firm.

It binds when a subscribing prime — Boeing, GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Collins Aerospace, Safran, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, Bell, Eaton — flows Nadcap accreditation down as a purchase-order condition. Accreditation is granted per site and per method, not per company. AC7114 is the base checklist of the Nadcap NDT programme, and it audits the NDT quality system rather than any one method. It covers customer requirement flowdown and the sequencing of NDT operations, procurement control over sub-tier calibration and cleaning/etching facilities, an annual internal NDT audit, control and traceability of inspection status identifiers, inspection and traveller records, and calibration including interval extension. Section 5 audits people: the written practice, certification packages, vision records, the Responsible Level 3, outside Level 3 agencies and training course outlines. AC7114 is never used alone — every accredited method adds a slash sheet, and each prime may add a supplemental question set. The general quality system is covered by AS9100/EN9100, AC7004, or ISO/IEC 17025 for test houses.

Source: AC7114 Rev L (Issued 1997-07, Revised 21-SEP-2017, superseding Rev K, to be used on audits starting on or after 31-DEC-2017) read in full for question numbering and Compliance Assessment Guidance. Current revisions confirmed from PRI-issued Nadcap NDT certificates and Scopes of Accreditation: AC7114 Rev S (audits on/after 19-May-2024) and AC7114S Rev R (on/after 10-Nov-2024) on 2025-dated certificates; AC7114 Rev R and AC7114S Rev Q on a certificate expiring 31 May 2026; AC7114 Rev P and AC7114S Rev O on a certificate expiring 31 May 2023. PRI Nadcap FAQ (accreditation length wording) and Getting Started pages, accessed 21 Aug 2026.

Nadcap NDT / AC7114 at a glance — authority, scope and what it demands
Item	What applies	Why it matters
Authority	Performance Review Institute (PRI), a not-for-profit affiliate of SAE International, administering Nadcap on behalf of the Nadcap NDT Task Group and its subscribing primes	The body that issues, audits and can withdraw
Applies to	Any site that performs NDT on aerospace hardware: independent inspection service providers and NDT test houses, and captive NDT departments inside machining,.	Whether this binds your firm at all
Personnel certification	Employer-based — the firm certifies its own, under a qualified Level III	Decides whether an outsourced Level III can sign for you
Renewal	Initial accreditation is 12 months. PRI states it can be extended to 18 months based on audit performance after three audits, and to 24 months after five audits, under the Supplier Merit Program. Both lengths appear on real certificates: an 18-month accreditation expiring 31 May 2023 and a 24-month accreditation expiring 31 May 2026 and 28 February 2027. Major NCRs, non-sustaining corrective actions and accumulated delinquency days cost a site its merit interval.	Diarise from the certificate date, not from memory
Methods in scope	PT, MT, UT, RT (film), ET, Digital radiography (DDA) and computed radiography (CR)	Each method needs its own procedure and qualified personnel
Industries	Aerospace and defence manufacturing, Jet engine and rotating components, MRO and aircraft overhaul, Castings and forgings, Structural fabrication and machining	Where this regime shows up in contracts

Who does Nadcap NDT / AC7114 apply to?

Any site that performs NDT on aerospace hardware: independent inspection service providers and NDT test houses, and captive NDT departments inside machining, casting, forging, fabrication and MRO shops. It binds when a subscribing prime — Boeing, GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Collins Aerospace, Safran, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, Bell, Eaton — flows Nadcap accreditation down as a purchase-order condition. Accreditation is granted per site and per method, not per company.

Can an outsourced Level III sign for Nadcap NDT / AC7114 compliance?

Yes. Nadcap NDT / AC7114 accepts employer-based certification, which places the obligation on the employer and allows a contracted Level III to write and sign the written practice, approve procedures and administer examinations. The Level III must be qualified in each method they sign for, and the employer still owns the records.

What documents does a Nadcap NDT / AC7114 audit ask for?

Completed self-audit checklists — AC7114 plus every applicable slash sheet and supplement — uploaded to eAuditNet no less than 30 days before the scheduled audit, with the procedure and paragraph referenced for each question, NDT written practice for qualification and certification of personnel, approved by the Responsible Level 3, NDT method process procedures, plus the work instructions known in industry as technique sheets or data cards, List of Approved NDT Personnel including Level 3's, on attachment AC7114-A, NDT material and equipment list for each method on attachments AC7114/1A through AC7114/9A. Auditors open records before they open manuals, because a manual describes intent while records show practice. The most common failure is a documented system that does not match what the technicians actually do.

How often is Nadcap NDT / AC7114 renewed?

Initial accreditation is 12 months. PRI states it can be extended to 18 months based on audit performance after three audits, and to 24 months after five audits, under the Supplier Merit Program. Both lengths appear on real certificates: an 18-month accreditation expiring 31 May 2023 and a 24-month accreditation expiring 31 May 2026 and 28 February 2027. Major NCRs, non-sustaining corrective actions and accumulated delinquency days cost a site its merit interval. Firms that diarise renewal from the certificate date rather than from the last audit avoid the lapse that forces a full reapplication.

What are the most common Nadcap NDT / AC7114 findings?

Self-audit uploaded late, performed against a superseded checklist revision, or not including one compliance job per method (AC7114 question 4), Written practice not approved by the Responsible Level 3, or failing to identify every method and specific technique actually performed at the site, Techniques shown on an individual's certificate that do not appear as techniques in the written practice (question 5.2.3), Near-vision examination not repeated annually, colour perception not repeated at least every five years, or the exam administered by someone not designated in writing by the Responsible Level 3 (questions 5.4.6, 5.4.7). These recur because they are records problems rather than capability problems — the work is being done correctly and the evidence is not being kept.

Which NDT methods does Nadcap NDT / AC7114 cover?

PT, MT, UT, RT (film), ET, Digital radiography (DDA) and computed radiography (CR), Remote image and film viewing. Each method in scope needs its own approved procedure and personnel qualified in that specific method; a Level III qualified in ultrasonics cannot sign for radiography.

Personnel certification under Nadcap NDT / AC7114

Employer-based. AC7114 audits the supplier's own written practice built to AIA/NAS 410 (EN 4179 in Europe); PRI certifies no individuals. Crucially the checklist explicitly contemplates an outsourced Level 3. Question 5.5.1 lets the employer designate either an Internal or an External Responsible Level 3 — a corporate Level 3 not stationed at the site counts as external. 5.5.2 requires every audited method to be covered by a Level 3, internal or external. 5.5.3 asks whether outside agencies provide Level 3 services and 5.5.4 requires documentation on file proving that outside Level 3 is certified to NAS 410/EN 4179. The employer, not the contractor, still signs the certifications.

The audit sequence

Register the site in eAuditNet, select the AC7114 base plus the slash sheets and subscriber supplements matching the methods and primes in scope, and request an audit date — PRI states most audits occur three to six months after scheduling is confirmed.
Run the self-audit against every selected checklist, correct internally identified nonconformances, and upload the self-audit and pre-audit document pack at least 30 days before the audit.
On-site audit, typically two to five days: in-brief attended by the Responsible Level 3 and quality manager, scope verification on the eAuditNet scope screen, system review plus one compliance job per method, with nonconformances raised daily and a closing meeting.
Respond to each NCR in eAuditNet with a five-part corrective action — root cause, immediate corrective action, action to prevent recurrence, product impact evaluation, and objective evidence. Elapsed time counts toward cumulative delinquency days, which govern merit eligibility.
PRI's NDT staff engineer compiles the audit pack; the NDT Task Group, made up of the subscribing primes, reviews it and ballots on accreditation — PRI describes this decision step as taking roughly a week once NCRs are closed.
Accreditation is granted and the certificate and Scope of Accreditation are published on the eAuditNet Qualified Manufacturers List. An NCR with potential product impact can, at the Task Group's discretion, trigger a Verification Corrective Action (VCA) audit at the supplier's expense.

Documents an auditor asks for

Completed self-audit checklists — AC7114 plus every applicable slash sheet and supplement — uploaded to eAuditNet no less than 30 days before the scheduled audit, with the procedure and paragraph referenced for each question
NDT written practice for qualification and certification of personnel, approved by the Responsible Level 3
NDT method process procedures, plus the work instructions known in industry as technique sheets or data cards
List of Approved NDT Personnel including Level 3's, on attachment AC7114-A
NDT material and equipment list for each method on attachments AC7114/1A through AC7114/9A
Subscriber Matrix of Nadcap Subscribers that have approved the supplier for NDT — inaccuracy here is stated cause for a follow-up audit
Personnel certification packages: training records, experience, latest written and practical examinations, vision and colour-perception records
Annual internal NDT audit records, and the documented annual maintenance (technical proficiency) review for each certified individual in each method
Calibration certificates providing traceability to the unit of measure, and documented justification where a calibration interval has been extended
Proof on file of NAS 410 / EN 4179 certification for any outside-agency or corporate Level 3 used for examinations, procedure or technique approval, hardware inspection, or as Responsible Level 3

Findings firms get against Nadcap NDT / AC7114

Self-audit uploaded late, performed against a superseded checklist revision, or not including one compliance job per method (AC7114 question 4)
Written practice not approved by the Responsible Level 3, or failing to identify every method and specific technique actually performed at the site
Techniques shown on an individual's certificate that do not appear as techniques in the written practice (question 5.2.3)
Near-vision examination not repeated annually, colour perception not repeated at least every five years, or the exam administered by someone not designated in writing by the Responsible Level 3 (questions 5.4.6, 5.4.7)
No documented annual maintenance review in each method for each individual certified to process and inspect hardware — the requirement applies to Level 3s too, and the record must name reviewee, reviewer, process and acceptance criteria, part identification, method and disposition
No proof on file of the outside or corporate Level 3's NAS 410 / EN 4179 certification (question 5.5.4)
Annual internal NDT audit missing, or not covering the inspection process, planning and traveller documentation, personnel certification records, procedures and equipment
Inspection status identifiers (stamps, initials, clock numbers) not controlled — no issue, recall and traceability register, or an identifier available to someone other than the individual it is assigned to