Buyer's guide

Aircraft part condition codes: what NE, NS, OH, SV and AR mean, and what paperwork backs them

By the MG-AVIATION team · Published · 9 min read

The two letters on a quote line tell you roughly what state a part is in. They do not tell you what paperwork comes with it, and the same code can mean different things from one seller to the next. This guide covers what each code means, the release document that normally backs it, what our own quote data shows about price, and how to write acceptable conditions into an RFQ.

Condition codes at a glance

CodeWhat it meansPaperwork to expectTypical use
FN Factory newUnused, from the manufacturer or its authorized channel; some sellers add an age limit.Manufacturer's 8130-3 or EASA Form 1, or the manufacturer's certificate of conformance (CoC).Operator or lessor requires the manufacturer's channel.
NE NewUnused, no time or cycles, traceable to the manufacturer.As FN, or the seller's CoC with trace.Default for expendables.
NS New surplusUnused, but passed through other owners (overstock, surplus).Varies: manufacturer papers, a later 8130-3, an “Inspected” release, or only a seller CoC and trace.Widely offered; often the lowest new price.
OH OverhauledDisassembled, cleaned, inspected, repaired as needed, reassembled and tested to approved data.Maintenance release “Overhauled” (8130-3, EASA Form 1 or dual release) and shop findings.Rotables with overhaul intervals.
SV ServiceableUsed; inspected and/or tested and found fit, not necessarily overhauled. Some sellers use SV for a unit repaired only for its reported fault; ask which.Maintenance release, usually “Inspected/Tested” or “Repaired”.When price or availability outweighs remaining life.
RP Repaired or repairableTo many sellers, a defect fixed and tested; to others, a unit that still needs a shop.“Repaired” release, or none if repairable.Ask which is meant.
IN Inspected / testedChecked visually, functionally or on the bench to a stated standard.“Inspected” and/or “Tested” release.Also used to release new surplus after storage.
AR As removedOff an aircraft or engine; nothing done since.No release; removal tag and trace.Cores; units for your own shop.
BER / scrapBeyond economical repair, or unsalvageable.Shop report; scrap should be mutilated.Not for installation.

You will also meet RB (rebuilt), MD or MO (modified), FT or TST (function tested), and US or RJ (unserviceable, rejected).

Where the codes come from, and why they are not law

No regulation defines NE, NS, SV or AR. They are trade shorthand from marketplaces, quotes and purchase orders. Sellers often call them ATA Spec 2000 conventions; Spec 2000 is the airline industry's set of e-business data standards, a paid specification rather than a regulation, and many sellers publish their own definitions.

Those definitions differ at the edges. One parts supplier defines FN as no more than two years since manufacture; another as supplied directly by the manufacturer or an authorized distributor. RP means “repaired” to some sellers and “repairable” to others, opposite ends of the ladder. In the supplier quotes we receive, 2.0% of lines write “NEW” as a word and 2.4% give no condition at all.

What the rules do define is narrower, and more useful:

  • 14 CFR 43.2 forbids calling an article overhauled in a required maintenance record unless it was disassembled, cleaned, inspected, repaired as necessary, reassembled and tested to approved data. Rebuilt adds testing to the tolerances of a new item.
  • Release documents have a status block, block 11. On an FAA Form 8130-3 issued at production it reads NEW (PROTOTYPE for design data not yet approved; USED on an FAA export approval for a used item). After maintenance, the 8130-3 and the EASA Form 1 use the same four terms: overhauled, repaired, inspected and/or tested, modified.

There is no “SV” on either form: a serviceable part carries a release that states what was actually done, described in block 12. The FAA's guidance on replacement parts says terms such as “like-new”, “near new” and “remanufactured” do not constitute a part's legal serviceability and condition. The code is the seller's summary; the release is the evidence. If a code is unusual, ask the seller what they mean by it.

New parts: FN, NE and NS

All three mean unused. The difference is how the part reached the seller, and that decides the paperwork.

In the US, an 8130-3 for a new part can be issued by the production approval holder, or by an FAA inspector, designee or ODA unit member. After the part has left the manufacturer's quality system, an 8130-3 can still be issued once it has been determined that the part has not been damaged or degraded. The FAA calls this a recurrent airworthiness approval; issued at a distributor, it names the manufacturer in the remarks. In Europe, a production organisation approved under Part 21 Subpart G issues the EASA Form 1. EASA's guidance on the EU–US agreement generally accepts new parts released on the production side of an 8130-3, under conditions set in the agreement's implementation procedures.

New surplus is where paperwork varies most. The FAA notes that the storage time, storage conditions and shelf life of surplus parts are usually not known, so ask for a manufacture or cure date on seals and other shelf-life items. Among warning signs, the Aviation Suppliers Association's best practice on unsalvageable parts lists new parts sold with release tags showing a status other than “new” or “inspected”.

A seller's CoC has limits. When a seller that is not an FAA-certificated person certifies that it shipped the right part, the FAA says it is stating only that the part number matches the purchase order. A distributor without a production approval cannot certify airworthiness; requesting documents that trace the part to its manufacturer is the installer's responsibility.

Used and maintained: OH, RP, SV and IN

These parts have operating history and are back in service because someone authorized signed a maintenance release. In the US, 14 CFR 43.7 limits that to certificated mechanics and inspection authorization holders, repair stations, manufacturers for their own products, and Part 121 or 135 air carriers. The release can be an 8130-3, or a repair station tag or work order with the required record data. In Europe it is an EASA Form 1 from a Part-145 or Part-CAO organisation.

For an EU-registered aircraft, a used part from a US repair station needs a dual release: an 8130-3 from a shop that also holds EASA Part-145 approval, with the EASA statement in block 12. A plain 8130-3 from a shop without EASA approval is not acceptable: the EU–US Maintenance Annex Guidance says such components “must not be used even if accompanied by FAA Form 8130-3”.

By depth of work: OH is the full 43.2 process, to the manufacturer's service limits. RP (repaired) fixes the defect that caused removal and tests the unit. SV and IN mean inspected and/or tested to a standard named on the release: the unit worked on the bench, and the release does not say how much life is left.

Ask what the release refers to: shop findings, airworthiness directive and service bulletin status, and, for life-limited parts, historical records that substantiate time and cycles, which the FAA expects rather than a statement. The FAA also expects the paperwork to identify a part from an accident, extreme stress or a salvaged aircraft, and buyers commonly ask for a non-incident statement for the same reason.

Not serviceable: AR, BER and scrap

AR means the part came off an aircraft or engine and nothing has been done since. With no release, it cannot be installed until an authorized person has inspected, tested or repaired it as needed and approved it for return to service. You are buying a core, for an exchange or your own shop, not a promise that it works.

BER is an economic judgment. The Aviation Suppliers Association notes that repair can become economical later, through short supply, a new repair method, cheaper labor elsewhere or a manufacturer's life extension. Scrap is different: parts that cannot be made airworthy should generally be mutilated, and ASA lists intact “scrap” offered in bulk above scrap prices as a warning sign at receiving.

What condition does to price: our quote data

Glossaries rank the codes by price but give no numbers. Here are ours.

From our quote data

Method: every priced offer line in US dollars that suppliers emailed to MG-AVIATION from 15 June to 18 September 2026 and that passed our reading checks, 112,653 lines for 13,316 part numbers. Price ratios compare medians on the same part number. The mix reflects what our customers ask for and who answers us, not the whole market.

Which conditions suppliers offered

Condition on the offer lineShare of lines
NE New54.4%
NS New surplus27.2%
OH Overhauled6.5%
FN Factory new3.0%
SV Serviceable2.1%
“NEW” written as a word2.0%
AR As removed0.4%
RP Repaired / repairable0.3%
No condition stated2.4%
All other labels1.7%

About 87 in 100 lines offered some form of new part; OH, SV, RP and AR together made up 9.3%.

Price against new, same part number

ConditionPart numbers comparedMedian price as a share of new
SV Serviceable5520.59
OH Overhauled7420.48
RP Repaired / repairable1070.38
AR As removed1900.24

NS is not shown: “new” here is the cheapest of the NE, NS and FN medians on each part number, and new surplus usually is that cheapest offer, so its ratio says nothing about NS against NE. SV above OH is not a market rule either: the two rows cover different part numbers, and a different mix of parts moves the median.

  • Overhauled came in at about half of new in our sample. On a rotable, weigh that gap against remaining life.
  • As removed, at about a quarter of new, is a saving only after you add the shop visit, its turnaround and the risk of BER.
  • Condition is only part of the price. With part number and condition held constant, across 10,013 groups with three or more offers, the highest offer was a median 3.6 times the lowest. Paperwork, trace, quantity, lead time and location differ between those offers.

Risk, warranty and lead time

ConditionMain riskLead time
FN, NELow, if the trace to the manufacturer holds.Stock, or the manufacturer's lead time.
NSStorage age, shelf life, gaps in paperwork.Stock, plus time if it must be inspected and released.
OH, RP, SV, INRemaining life; what the shop did; whether your authority accepts the shop.Stock, or the shop's turnaround.
ARUnknown condition; may prove beyond economical repair.Add the full repair turnaround.

Warranty is set by each seller, not by the code, so get it in writing; AR is normally sold as is. Neither the 8130-3 nor the EASA Form 1 is a shipping document or an approval to install on a particular aircraft; that decision stays with the installer. With an aircraft on the ground, deciding which conditions you will accept comes first; see AOG: a parts buyer's checklist for the first two hours.

What an operator's quality system usually accepts

Each operator's manual sets its own rules. The usual shape:

  • FN, NE, NS: evidence of production under an approved system, meaning a production release, a manufacturer's certificate or trace to the manufacturer.
  • OH, RP, SV, IN: a maintenance release your authority recognizes. For US-registered aircraft, one signed by a person authorized under 14 CFR 43.7; for EU-registered aircraft, an EASA Form 1 or a dual-release 8130-3.
  • AR, BER, scrap: not for installation.

Operators add their own conditions, such as approved-supplier lists or back-to-birth records for life-limited parts. Paperwork is only as good as the company behind it; see How to verify an aircraft parts supplier.

How to state acceptable conditions in an RFQ

In our sample, 46.6% of supplier offer lines named no certificate at all. Ask for it line by line:

  1. Acceptable conditions per line. NE/NS for expendables; NE/NS/OH for a rotable where overhauled is fine. If you would take a lower condition for a shorter lead time, say so.
  2. Release documents you accept. 8130-3, EASA Form 1, dual release, manufacturer's CoC. For used parts on EU-registered aircraft, write “dual release”.
  3. Trace. To the manufacturer for new parts, to the last operator for used ones, back-to-birth for life-limited parts, and a non-incident statement for used parts.
  4. Code and release status. Ask the seller to quote both the code and what block 11 of the release will say, and to define any code you do not recognize.
  5. Your own limits. If your manual limits how old a release may be, or needs a manufacture date on shelf-life items, say so.

Two illustrative lines (the part numbers are placeholders):

P/N (example)QtyAcceptable conditionPaperwork required
123-4567-014NE, NSManufacturer's 8130-3 or EASA Form 1, or manufacturer's CoC with trace; manufacture date.
765-4321-031OH preferred, SV acceptedDual release 8130-3 or EASA Form 1; shop findings; non-incident statement.

In RFQ Radar, our client portal, each quoted line shows its condition code (NE, NS, OH, SV, AR and others) with the certificates, quantity, unit price in US dollars, lead time in days, minimum order and the country it ships from, and you can filter the list by condition and download it to Excel or CSV. For the rest of the RFQ, see How to write an aircraft parts RFQ that gets answered fast.

Send an RFQ with your conditions on it

Email your list to [email protected] in your own file, with the conditions and paperwork you accept on each line. MG-AVIATION, part of MG World Tech INC, is an independent supplier of aircraft spare parts, repair and supply-chain solutions for commercial and business aviation, and a member of the Aviation Suppliers Association (member #21334).

Send your RFQ →

Our client portal, RFQ Radar, keeps every quote, order and invoice in one place.

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