Where to buy aircraft parts: OEM, distributor, marketplace, broker or teardown

The short answer

• New part, standard lead time, you want the least paperwork risk: the OEM or its authorized distributor.
• You need it faster, or cheaper, or in overhauled or serviceable condition: independent distributors, found through the online marketplaces (ILS, PartsBase, Locatory, StockMarket.aero).
• Obsolete, hard-to-find or high-value used material: teardown and surplus sellers, and brokers who know where the stock sits.
• Consumables and parts for piston general aviation aircraft: retail catalogs. That is who they are built for.

Whatever the channel, the same rule applies at the end. The FAA's guidance on replacement parts, AC 20-62E, says it plainly: "It is the installer's responsibility to ensure airworthiness," and distributors, "unless they are a PAH" (a production approval holder), "cannot certify the airworthiness of the parts they advertise and/or sell". The channel changes how much paper comes with the part. It does not move that responsibility off you.

First, which market are you buying in?

Search "aircraft parts" in the US and the top results are mostly retail catalogs: online stores for pilots, owners and shops that maintain piston aircraft, with prices on the page and a shopping cart. One well-known US retailer describes its range as components for homebuilt aircraft and factory-built parts for Cessna, Piper, Beech and Mooney. For spark plugs, oil filters, tires for a light single, or hardware for a homebuilt, that is usually the right place to buy.

A buyer for an A320 or 737 fleet, a regional jet operator or a business jet MRO is in a different market. The part numbers are OEM numbers, the price depends on condition and certificate, stock moves daily, and almost nothing has a fixed price on a web page. You buy by request for quote, and the channels below are the ones that answer it.

The six channels, one by one

1. The OEM or its authorized distributor

What you get. New parts from the manufacturer or from a distributor the manufacturer has appointed. Some OEMs also sell used serviceable material: Boeing wrote in October 2025 that recovered parts from retired aircraft "undergo rigorous inspection, repair and recertification before being made available through Boeing's global distribution network."

Paperwork. The cleanest trace there is. FAA receiving-inspection guidance (AC 20-154A) lists the PAH's own shipping ticket or invoice, and a "Letter of Direct Ship Authority, issued to the supplier by the PAH", among acceptable evidence. An authorized distributor shipping under that authority can document that the parts "were produced under FAA-approved manufacturing and quality control systems/methods". An 8130-3 or EASA Form 1 may come with the part; if you need one, ask on the RFQ.

Speed and price. List price, and lead times that follow the OEM's production and allocation. Fast when the part is on the distributor's shelf; slow when it is not.

Use it when the part is new-only by your procedures, the lead time is acceptable, or the part is still in production and nobody else holds it.

2. Independent distributors

What you get. Stock the distributor owns, bought from OEMs, airlines, MROs, surplus and teardowns: new, new surplus, overhauled, serviceable and as-removed. This is where most of the aftermarket's speed and price competition sits.

Paperwork. Whatever came with the part, plus the distributor's own certificate of conformance. For new parts from a seller that is not FAA-certificated, AC 20-154A (paragraph 8.2) says the distributor should provide documentation showing traceability to a PAH or an FAA-approved source, or a return to service from a certificated repair station or air carrier. The same circular warns that a certificate with "document with traceability to the manufacturer available upon request" "does not alone establish traceability to the PAH." Ask for the documents before you buy, not after.

Accreditation. In the FAA's own words in AC 00-56B (Change 1), "We do not directly regulate distributors." Instead the agency recognizes voluntary third-party accreditation of their quality systems, and treats buying from an accredited distributor as "a sound safety practice". Membership in a trade association such as the Aviation Suppliers Association is not the same thing as accreditation; ask which one a seller holds, and check it.

Speed and price. Often the fastest source for a part that is in stock somewhere, and the widest price range for the same part number, driven mostly by condition and certificate.

Use it when you need the part sooner than the OEM can ship it, you can accept overhauled or serviceable condition, or you want competing quotes.

3. Online marketplaces

What you get. Not a seller: a listing service where distributors, airlines and MROs publish their stock. ILS, PartsBase, Locatory and StockMarket.aero are among the ones a commercial buyer meets. You search a part number, see who lists it, and send RFQs to the sellers from the platform. Some sellers keep their listings on several marketplaces at once through sales platforms such as Rotabull.

Paperwork. Whatever the seller has. A listing shows who claims to hold a part and, usually, its condition code. It is not proof of the part, the certificate or the seller. Every check from the independent-distributor section applies to each seller you find here.

Speed. The fastest way to find out who lists a part number, often within minutes. Answers still depend on each seller, and a listing can be stale.

Use it when you are looking for stock, want to know how many sellers show a part, or need alternatives to your usual suppliers.

4. Brokers

What you get. A seller who may not hold the part but knows, or can find, who does. FAA guidance does not treat brokers as a separate class: AC 20-154A defines distributors as "Brokers, dealers, resellers, or any person engaged in the sale or transfer of parts for installation on type-certificated products."

Paperwork. Comes from upstream. The broker's own certificate adds little; the documents that matter are the ones from whoever last held, repaired or released the part.

Risk. Each extra link in the chain is one more place for a document to be copied, altered or lost, and one more party between you and the physical part. Ask directly: is this your stock, and where is it now?

Use it when the part is hard to find and a good broker saves you days of searching. Buy with the same document checks as from anyone else.

5. MRO surplus and teardown

What you get. Used serviceable and as-removed parts from retired aircraft and engines, and surplus from airlines and repair shops. Boeing's figure is that a dismantled airplane "can provide up to 6,000 recertified parts." For out-of-production types this is often the only source.

Paperwork. Removal records and, for serviceable parts, a return to service after inspection or repair. AC 20-62E asks that parts from salvaged aircraft, or from aircraft subjected to "extreme stress, sudden stoppage, heat, major failure, or accident", be identified as such in the records, and that life-limited parts have time and cycles substantiated by historical records. On surplus, it cautions that labels such as "like-new" or "unused" "should be carefully evaluated before they are purchased" and that storage time and conditions "are not usually known." The Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association (AFRA) runs an industry accreditation for disassembly based on its Best Management Practices guide; it is one thing to ask a teardown seller about.

Use it when cost matters more than new condition, the part is obsolete, or the OEM lead time is too long. Check trace and non-incident statements with extra care.

6. Retail catalogs

What you get. Priced, in-stock consumables, tools, hardware and parts, mostly for piston general aviation and homebuilt aircraft, sold by cart and card.

Paperwork. Varies by item: some lines ship with a manufacturer's certificate, many consumables with none beyond the invoice. Check the item page and ask if your procedures need a document.

Use it when you maintain light aircraft, or need shop consumables quickly. For turbine OEM part numbers, expect to be sent back to the channels above.

The channels side by side

Condition codes are explained in NE, NS, OH, SV and AR: what they mean.

How to send one RFQ to many sellers

For most parts the best price and the fastest delivery come from asking several sellers at once. The effort is in making their answers comparable.

1. Write the request once, completely. Part number with dash number, quantity, condition you accept, the certificate you need (8130-3, EASA Form 1, dual release, CoC), alternates acceptable or not, need date and delivery address. See how to write an aircraft parts RFQ.
2. Send it to a short list of your own suppliers and, for stock you cannot find, to sellers you locate on the marketplaces. Many buyers send a spreadsheet; a multi-line RFQ sent as one file is answered as one quote.
3. Ask for the same fields back on every line: condition, certificate, trace, quantity available, unit price, lead time, minimum order, delivery term and the location the part ships from.
4. Put the answers in one table before you compare prices, so a cheap serviceable part without trace does not sit next to a new one with a Form 1 as if they were the same offer. The method is in comparing quotes from many suppliers.

What to check before paying

The channel sets expectations; these checks decide whether you buy. Run them on any seller, known or new.

1. Documents first. Ask for copies of the certificate and trace before the purchase order. AC 20-154A notes that "it may be feasible to review the required documents before purchase of the item via electronic means."
2. Match the paper to the offer. Part number, dash number, serial or lot number, quantity and condition should be the same on the quote, the certificate and the photos.
3. Used parts: AD and service bulletin status and life-limited part history substantiated by records, which AC 20-62E (paragraph 10.b) lists among the information to obtain, plus the non-incident statement that is common industry practice. See traceability: what to ask before the PO.
4. The seller. Company registration, physical address, how long they have traded, and any accreditation they claim, checked with the body that issued it. The full method is in how to verify an aircraft parts supplier.
5. Terms. Delivery term (EXW, FCA and the like), who pays the freight, the warranty or return window, and whether the price holds for the quantity you need.
6. Payment instructions. Confirm bank details by phone on a number you already had, never from the email that sent them, and be wary of any change of account. See paying a parts supplier safely.

Sources

• AC 20-62E (Change 1), Eligibility, Quality, and Identification of Aeronautical Replacement Parts — FAA, 23 December 2010, Change 1 of 14 September 2018 (paragraphs 6.h, 10, 11 and 14).
• AC 20-154A, Guide for Developing a Receiving Inspection System for Aircraft Parts and Materials — FAA, 3 July 2024 (paragraphs 7.6.4, 7.8, 8.1.6, 8.2; Appendix C, C.3.7, C.3.8 and C.3.22).
• AC 00-56B (Change 1), Voluntary Industry Distributor Accreditation Program — FAA, 27 May 2015, Change 1 of 26 April 2024 (paragraphs 6.d and 6.e).
• Transforming retired airplanes into reliable spare parts — Boeing, 16 October 2025.
• Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association — AFRA (accreditation and Best Management Practices guide).
• Which aircraft parts marketplaces should I list on? — Rotabull (overview of ILS, PartsBase, Locatory, StockMarket.aero and others).
• Rotabull — company site (a sales platform for parts sellers).
• Home pages of US general aviation parts retailers (self-descriptions of their range); not named.