FAA Part 135 Audit & Ramp Check Document Checklist: Every Document an Inspector Requests

Last reviewed May 7, 2026 · By Chad Griffith

In an FAA ramp check (an on-the-spot surveillance of the aircraft and crew during actual operations under FAA Order 8900.1, FSIMS), an inspector asks to see two short lists. From the aircraft, the ARROW documents: (A) a current Airworthiness certificate displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance (14 CFR 91.203(a)(1) and 91.203(b)); (R) an effective U.S. Registration certificate (14 CFR 91.203(a)(2)); (R) an FCC Radio station license (only required for international operations, 47 CFR Part 87); (O) Operating limitations — the current, approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual (AFM/RFM), markings, and placards (14 CFR 91.9(b)); and (W) Weight and balance data, with multiengine Part 135 flights also carrying the completed load manifest (14 CFR 135.63(c)–(d)). From the crew: the pilot certificate, a current medical certificate (second-class for a commercial PIC, first-class for an ATP, per 14 CFR 135.243), and a government-issued photo ID. If equipment is deferred, the aircraft also carries its Minimum Equipment List and the FAA letter of authorization (14 CFR 91.213). A surveillance or base audit goes far deeper: at the certificate holder's principal base, the FAA reviews the records required by 14 CFR 135.63 — the operating certificate, operations specifications (OpSpecs), the current aircraft list, individual pilot and flight-attendant records (certificates, medicals, checks, flight time, training), plus maintenance records and airworthiness-directive compliance, the drug and alcohol testing program (14 CFR Part 120), training program records, and the approved MEL. The difference in one line: a ramp check verifies what is physically aboard the aircraft and on the crew right now; a surveillance or base audit verifies the paper trail behind the whole operation.

The ARROW aircraft documents an FAA inspector checks first

Every U.S.-registered aircraft must carry a short set of documents, remembered by the mnemonic ARROW. These are the first items an FAA inspector verifies in any ramp check, Part 91 or Part 135:

• A — Airworthiness certificate. An appropriate and current airworthiness certificate must be aboard (14 CFR 91.203(a)(1)) and displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so it is legible to passengers or crew (14 CFR 91.203(b)). Standard airworthiness certificates do not expire, but they are valid only while the aircraft is maintained in accordance with its type design and the applicable maintenance and inspection rules.
• R — Registration certificate. An effective U.S. registration certificate issued to the aircraft's owner must be aboard (14 CFR 91.203(a)(2)). The N-number on the certificate must match the aircraft.
• R — Radio station license. An FCC aircraft radio station license is required only for international operations (47 CFR Part 87). Aircraft operating solely within the United States are licensed by rule and need no individual station license — so this item appears on the checklist but applies only when you fly internationally.
• O — Operating limitations. A current, approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight Manual (AFM/RFM) must be available in the aircraft, along with required markings and placards (14 CFR 91.9(b)). Inspectors also confirm any AFM supplements for installed equipment are present.
• W — Weight and balance. Current weight-and-balance data must be available for the aircraft. For Part 135 multiengine operations this is reinforced by the load-manifest requirement (see below): the pilot in command must carry the completed manifest aboard (14 CFR 135.63(d)).

If any required instrument or piece of equipment is inoperative and deferred, the aircraft must also carry its approved Minimum Equipment List (MEL) and the FAA-issued letter of authorization permitting operation under that MEL (14 CFR 91.213(a)).

The pilot documents an inspector requests from the crew

Alongside the aircraft documents, the inspector asks each required crewmember — starting with the pilot in command — for three items:

• Pilot certificate. The current and appropriate airman certificate for the aircraft and operation being flown, with the required category, class, and (if applicable) type ratings.
• Medical certificate. A current FAA medical certificate of the correct class. Under 14 CFR 135.243, a pilot exercising commercial-pilot privileges in Part 135 must hold at least a second-class medical; a pilot exercising airline-transport-pilot (ATP) privileges must hold a first-class medical. (BasicMed does not apply to Part 135 commercial operations.)
• Government-issued photo ID. A driver's license, passport, or equivalent, so the inspector can confirm the certificate holder's identity.

An FAA Aviation Safety Inspector presenting FAA Form 110A must be given free and uninterrupted access to the pilot compartment; for a Part 135 operation the inspector may also conduct an en route inspection by riding along. The ramp check is a spot evaluation of the crew's and aircraft's readiness, not a punitive search — but a missing or expired required document is a finding.

The broader Part 135 surveillance and base-audit document set

A surveillance or base inspection is conducted at the certificate holder's principal base of operations and reaches well beyond what is aboard the aircraft. The foundation is the recordkeeping required by 14 CFR 135.63, which the operator must keep and make available for inspection:

• The operating certificate issued to the certificate holder (14 CFR 135.63(a)(1)).
• Operations specifications (OpSpecs) — the FAA-issued authorizations defining what the operator may do, where, and how (14 CFR 135.63(a)(2)).
• A current list of aircraft used in operations and the kinds of operations each is equipped for (14 CFR 135.63(a)(3)).
• Individual pilot records — name, certificates and ratings, aeronautical experience, assigned duties, the date and result of each required test and check, medical-certificate status, flight time, and training-completion dates (14 CFR 135.63(a)(4)).
• Individual flight-attendant records (where applicable) showing compliance with the rule (14 CFR 135.63(a)(5)).
• Load manifests for multiengine aircraft, prepared in duplicate before each takeoff (14 CFR 135.63(c)), with the PIC carrying a copy aboard and the operator retaining one (14 CFR 135.63(d)).

Inspectors also examine records that live in adjacent rules: maintenance records and airworthiness-directive (AD) compliance, the approved aircraft inspection / maintenance program, the training program records and curriculum, the company's drug and alcohol testing program (14 CFR Part 120), and the approved Minimum Equipment List (14 CFR 91.213). FAA inspector guidance for all of this surveillance is consolidated in FAA Order 8900.1 (FSIMS), the single authoritative source for how inspectors certificate, administer, and surveil air carriers and operators.

Ramp check vs. surveillance inspection vs. base inspection — the difference

Operators often use these terms interchangeably, but the FAA does not. Each is a distinct surveillance activity under FAA Order 8900.1 (FSIMS):

• Ramp inspection (ramp check). Surveillance of an airman, operator, or aircraft during actual operations at an airport or heliport. It may be conducted before a flight, at an en route stop, or at the termination of a flight. Its purpose is to evaluate the operator's ability to prepare both the aircraft and crew for the flight. Scope: what is physically aboard and on the crew — the ARROW documents, pilot certificate, medical, photo ID, MEL/deferrals, and the load manifest.
• En route inspection. An inspection conducted from a cockpit jumpseat during a revenue flight, evaluating crew performance and procedures in real operating conditions. For Part 135, the inspector may ride along to observe.
• Surveillance / base inspection. A planned, deeper review at the certificate holder's principal base of operations, examining the systems and paper trail behind the operation — OpSpecs, manuals, the records required by 14 CFR 135.63, maintenance and AD records, the training program, and the drug/alcohol program. It tests whether the operator's program is in continuous compliance, not just a single flight.

In short: a ramp check is a snapshot of one aircraft and crew at one moment; a base or surveillance inspection is an audit of the whole operation's records over time. An operator can pass a ramp check and still fail a base audit if its underlying records are incomplete, expired, or missing.

How to organize Part 135 documents so an inspection is a non-event

The operators who get through inspections fastest treat compliance documents as a single, current, retrievable system rather than a scramble across binders, inboxes, and a hangar filing cabinet. A few principles hold up across both ramp checks and base audits:

• Separate the "aboard the aircraft" set from the "at the base" set. The ARROW documents, MEL/LOA, and load manifest must physically travel with the aircraft; the 14 CFR 135.63 records, OpSpecs, training, maintenance, and drug/alcohol records live (and are inspected) at the principal base.
• Map every record to its CFR citation. When a record is labeled with the rule it satisfies (for example, a pilot's competency check to 14 CFR 135.293), you can answer an inspector's request instantly and prove nothing is missing.
• Track expirations before they lapse. Medicals, recurrent training, checks, AD compliance, and registration all have dates. A surfaced "expiring soon" view turns the most common finding — a lapsed required document — into a non-issue.
• Be able to produce an inspector-ready package on demand. The goal is to hand over a complete, indexed set in minutes, not to reconstruct it under pressure.

This is exactly the layer FileFlo provides. It is a compliance document-intelligence platform: it reads each document, classifies it to its specific CFR citation, tracks expiration dates, and flags missing or lapsed records before an inspector ever does. FileFlo is the records and proof layer — it is not your safety management system (SMS), flight-operations or dispatch system, or maintenance-tracking system, and it does not replace them. It simply keeps the documentation those systems generate audit-ready and proves it on demand.

Using FileFlo's ramp-check mode and one-click inspector binder

FileFlo includes a ramp-check mode built around the two lists an inspector actually asks for. For a selected aircraft and crew, it assembles the ARROW documents, the current AFM/operating limitations, weight-and-balance and load manifest, the MEL and its letter of authorization, and each pilot's certificate and medical — and shows at a glance whether every item is present and current, with anything expiring highlighted.

• One-click inspector binder. For a surveillance or base audit, FileFlo exports an indexed, inspector-ready audit binder of the 14 CFR 135.63 records and supporting documents — each item already classified to its CFR citation — so you hand over a complete package instead of assembling one under time pressure.
• Continuous, not last-minute. Because documents are classified and date-tracked as they are uploaded, the binder reflects today's true compliance state rather than a snapshot built the morning of an inspection.
• Honest scope. FileFlo proves your records are complete and current; it does not run your SMS, dispatch, or maintenance program. Pricing is $89/month (Starter) and $299/month (Professional), with a 5-day free trial. (FileFlo is not currently SOC 2 certified.)

The result for a Part 135 operator: a ramp check becomes a two-minute confirmation, and a base audit becomes a single export rather than a fire drill.

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