Quality Management Systems
Critical Process Accreditation Programs
Prime Subscribers Requiring Nadcap Compliance
Initial Accreditation Cycle Before Merit Extension
Regulation Overview
Nadcap is the globally recognized, industry-managed accreditation program for critical manufacturing processes in aerospace, defense, and space. For supply chain and quality teams, Nadcap compliance means ensuring that every supplier performing a critical process—heat treating, nondestructive testing, welding, chemical processing, coatings, and more—holds current accreditation verified through PRI-administered audits.
Over 50 prime subscribers, including Boeing, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GE Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Safran, and Raytheon, require Nadcap accreditation as a prerequisite for supplier qualification. PRI conducts over 6,200 audits annually across 26 accreditation programs. Audit criteria are developed by consensus-driven Task Groups composed of OEM engineers, government representatives, and supplier experts. Non-conformances identified during audits must be resolved through root-cause corrective action before accreditation is granted.
Nadcap compliance requires continuous monitoring—accreditation certificates expire, audit criteria evolve at tri-annual meetings, and supplier merit status changes based on performance. Without centralized compliance data, tracking accreditation across a multi-tier supply chain is operationally unsustainable.
Aerospace, defense, and space OEMs subscribing to the Nadcap program
Tier 1, Tier 2, and sub-tier suppliers performing critical processes
Captive processors (in-house manufacturing with critical process operations)
Non-captive processors (third-party service providers for heat treating, NDT, coatings, etc.)
Additive manufacturing suppliers producing aerospace-grade parts or powders
Any supplier directed by a prime subscriber to obtain Nadcap accreditation
Key Thresholds
Your supply chain includes dozens of suppliers performing critical processes across heat treating, NDT, welding, coatings, and composites. Each supplier holds accreditation for different scopes, on different cycles, with different expiration dates. Accreditation status lives in eAuditNet, certificates arrive as PDFs in email, and scope details are buried in audit reports. No single system shows which suppliers are current, which are due for re-audit, and which have open non-conformances.
A PRI auditor issues three NCRs at your Tier 2 heat treating supplier. Root-cause analysis, corrective action documentation, and evidence of implementation must be submitted within 21 days. Your supplier sends responses in their native language. PRI staff engineers request additional detail. The Task Group raises questions. Day 20: the corrective action package is still incomplete, and accreditation hangs in the balance.
Your prime customer requires Nadcap accreditation for six critical processes across your sub-tier supply chain. Supplier A holds NDT and heat treating accreditation but their coatings certificate expired last month. Supplier B has current accreditation but their scope does not cover the specific sub-program your part requires. Without centralized tracking of accreditation scope, expiration, and merit status, flowdown verification becomes a manual, error-prone exercise.
Task Groups revise Audit Criteria at every tri-annual Nadcap meeting. A revised checklist for chemical processing takes effect immediately. Your supplier's last audit was conducted under the previous revision. Their next audit—scheduled in four months—will be assessed against requirements they have not yet reviewed. Without regulatory intelligence and horizon scanning, audit criteria changes arrive as surprises during the audit itself.
Certivo In Action
Certivo in Action — Nadcap Workflow
Features Tabs
Aerospace & Defense
Your Pain Point
Multi-process accreditation across hundreds of sub-tier suppliers; prime flowdown complexity
Automotive Manufacturing
Your Pain Point
Safety-critical heat treating and NDT processes increasingly requiring Nadcap-equivalent rigor
Industrial Machinery & Heavy Equipment
Your Pain Point
Legacy suppliers transitioning to aerospace work; first-time Nadcap readiness gaps
Electronics Manufacturing
Your Pain Point
Printed board assembly (PBA) and electronics (ETG) Nadcap accreditation for avionics components
Medical Devices & Equipment
Your Pain Point
Shared critical processes with aerospace (coatings, NDT, heat treating); quality system overlap
Chemical Manufacturing
Your Pain Point
Chemical processing accreditation for aerospace-grade surface treatments and plating
From Manual Tracking to Exception Management
CORA extracts accreditation data automatically and maintains a centralized compliance data backbone. Your team focuses on exceptions that need human judgment—not spreadsheet reconciliation.
Flowdown Documentation Acceleration
Generate complete, audit-ready accreditation packages in hours—not the months of manual compilation across email, eAuditNet, and shared drives.
Proactive Nadcap Compliance Assurance
When accreditation expires, audit criteria change, or supplier merit status shifts, Certivo reassesses your supply chain instantly. Know which suppliers are at risk before your prime customer asks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What companies are subject to Nadcap compliance obligations?
Any company performing critical processes—heat treating, NDT, welding, chemical processing, coatings, composites, additive manufacturing, and others—for aerospace, defense, or space OEMs that subscribe to the Nadcap program must obtain accreditation. This includes captive processors, non-captive service providers, and suppliers at any tier directed by a prime subscriber to achieve accreditation. Certivo's automated supplier data collection and centralized supplier self-service portals simplify evidence gathering across all supplier tiers.
What happens if a supplier fails a Nadcap audit?
Non-conformances identified during a PRI audit must be resolved through documented root-cause analysis and sustaining corrective action within 21 days. If major findings indicate product impact, PRI issues a Supplier Advisory notification to subscribing primes immediately. Accreditation is not granted until all NCRs are closed to the satisfaction of both PRI staff engineers and the relevant Task Group. CORA's AI document parsing and certificate validation helps suppliers organize corrective action evidence and track resolution deadlines.
How does Certivo track Nadcap accreditation status across the supply chain?
Certivo maintains continuous visibility into supplier accreditation scope, expiration dates, merit status, and NCR history. When accreditation certificates expire or audit criteria are revised at tri-annual Task Group meetings, CORA reassesses your entire supplier portfolio and alerts you to affected suppliers, enabling proactive re-verification through continuous compliance monitoring and audit readiness workflows.
What evidence formats does Certivo accept from suppliers?
Certivo accepts any format: Nadcap accreditation certificates, eAuditNet exports, PRI audit reports, corrective action packages, and freeform documentation. CORA extracts accreditation data regardless of format or language through AI-native compliance automation, eliminating the need to standardize supplier inputs across your aerospace supply chain.
Does Certivo support Nadcap compliance alongside related aerospace frameworks?
Yes. Certivo validates supplier evidence against Nadcap accreditation requirements alongside AS9100, REACH, RoHS, DFARS, and ITAR obligations simultaneously. The same supplier submission feeds validation across multiple frameworks through an integrated PLM ERP compliance thread—eliminating duplicate collection campaigns and ensuring a single source of truth for multi-tier supply chain transparency.