There is no official FAA repair station manual template — but there is a binding required-contents list. A compliant Part 145 manual must cover the eleven repair station manual elements in 14 CFR §145.209, paragraphs (a) through (k) (org chart, roster procedures, operations description, capability-list and self-evaluation procedures, training-program revision, work at another location, §145.205 maintenance, contract-maintenance information, required records and recordkeeping system, manual revision and FAA notification, and the section-control system), plus the four quality control manual elements in §145.211(c) — the nine inspection/quality procedures of (c)(1)(i)–(ix), manufacturer-standard references, sample forms, and QCM revision procedures. Use the outline below as your manual's table of contents. A template gives you the headings; you still have to document how your station actually performs each procedure and get the FAA to find it acceptable under §145.207(a).
How to use this template
This page is deliberately the printable section-by-section outline — not a narrative walkthrough and not a records list. If you want the “how do I actually draft this?” narrative, read how to write a repair station manual and QCM and the deeper Part 145 RSQCM reference. If you want the records the manual is supposed to produce, read Part 145 recordkeeping requirements. This page is the one you copy into your manual's table of contents and tick off heading by heading.
Two structural facts to settle before you start typing. First, the RSM and QCM are two separate required documents — §145.207/§145.209 govern the repair station manual and §145.211(c) governs the quality control manual. The FAA does not require them to be one bound volume; small shops often combine them into a single “RSQCM,” larger shops keep them separate plus a referenced forms manual. The content obligations are identical either way. Second, the manual is an acceptable-to-the-FAA document under §145.207(a), with one exception: the employee training program revisions under §145.209(e) are submitted for FAA approval.
Part A — Repair Station Manual (RSM) sections
14 CFR §145.209(a)–(k) · eleven required elements
These eleven paragraphs are the exact list an inspector compares your manual against. Build a section for each. The one-line description tells you what content the FAA expects under that heading.
- §145.209(a)Section 1 of 11
Organizational chart
An organizational chart identifying each management position with authority to act on behalf of the repair station, the area of responsibility assigned to each position, and the duties, responsibilities, and authority of each position.
- §145.209(b)Section 2 of 11
Roster maintenance procedures
Procedures for maintaining and revising the rosters required by §145.161 — management and supervisory personnel, inspection personnel, and personnel authorized to approve an article for return to service.
- §145.209(c)Section 3 of 11
Description of operations
A description of the repair station operations, including the housing, facilities, equipment, and materials as required by subpart C — what you do and the resources you do it with.
- §145.209(d)Section 4 of 11
Capability list revision + self-evaluation
Procedures for revising the capability list and notifying the Flight Standards office (d)(1), plus the procedures and frequency for the self-evaluation under (d)(2) that §145.215(c) requires before adding an article to the list.
- §145.209(e)Section 5 of 11
Training program revision procedures
Procedures for revising the training program required by §145.163 and submitting revisions to the responsible Flight Standards office for approval. (The training program itself is FAA-approved, not merely acceptable.)
- §145.209(f)Section 6 of 11
Work at another location
Procedures to govern work performed at another location in accordance with §145.203 — how you stay in control of, and document, maintenance done away from the fixed location.
- §145.209(g)Section 7 of 11
Maintenance under §145.205
Procedures for maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alterations performed under §145.205 — work for an air carrier or commercial operator with a continuous airworthiness maintenance program, and for a foreign air carrier or foreign person.
- §145.209(h)Section 8 of 11
Contract maintenance information
Procedures for maintaining and revising the contract maintenance information required by §145.217 — the list of maintenance functions contracted to each outside facility and the name of each facility — and for notifying the Flight Standards office.
- §145.209(i)Section 9 of 11
Required records + recordkeeping system
A description of the required records and the recordkeeping system used to obtain, store, and retrieve them — the system that ultimately produces the records an inspector pulls during surveillance.
- §145.209(j)Section 10 of 11
Manual revision + FAA notification
Procedures for revising the repair station manual and notifying its responsible Flight Standards office of revisions — the change-control loop the rest of §145.207 points back to.
- §145.209(k)Section 11 of 11
Manual section identification + control
A description of the system used to identify and control the sections of the manual — revision numbers, dates, effective-page control, and how superseded pages are removed from circulation.
A template gives you headings. It doesn't keep your manual current.
The most common Part 145 finding isn't a missing section — it's a revision made on paper but never pushed to the floor, or records the manual's recordkeeping system can't actually produce. FileFlo classifies, version-controls, and tracks expirations on your repair-station records so the manual's §145.209(i)/(k) and §145.211(c)(4) controls are real, not aspirational.
Part B — Quality Control Manual (QCM) sections
14 CFR §145.211(c) · four required elements
The QCM has four required content elements. The first one, (c)(1), expands into the nine inspection and quality procedures listed in Part C below — so plan on a short intro section plus nine procedure subsections.
- §145.211(c)(1)
The nine inspection + quality procedures
A description of the system and procedures used for inspection and quality, covering the nine functions in (c)(1)(i) through (ix) listed below. These nine are the core of the manual.
- §145.211(c)(2)
Manufacturer inspection-standard references
References, where applicable, to the manufacturer inspection standards for a particular article, including reference to any data specified by that manufacturer.
- §145.211(c)(3)
Sample forms + completion instructions
A sample of the inspection and maintenance forms and instructions for completing them, or a reference to a separate forms manual that contains them.
- §145.211(c)(4)
QCM revision + FAA notification
Procedures for revising the quality control manual and notifying the responsible Flight Standards office of the revisions, including how often the Flight Standards office will be notified.
Part C — The nine §145.211(c)(1) procedures
14 CFR §145.211(c)(1)(i)–(ix) · the heart of the QCM
Treat each of these nine as a mandatory subsection of your quality control manual. A station that performs the work flawlessly but whose manual fails to describe one of the nine procedures still has a §145.211 manual-content finding.
Incoming material inspection
Inspecting incoming raw materials to ensure they are of acceptable quality before use.
Preliminary inspection
Performing preliminary inspection of all articles that are maintained.
Hidden-damage inspection
Inspecting all articles that have been involved in an accident for hidden damage before maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alteration is performed.
Inspector proficiency
Establishing and maintaining the proficiency of inspection personnel.
Current technical data
Establishing and maintaining current technical data for maintaining articles.
Qualifying + surveilling contractors
Qualifying and surveilling noncertificated persons who perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, or alterations for the repair station.
Final inspection + return to service
Performing final inspection and return to service of maintained articles.
Calibration + intervals
Calibrating measuring and test equipment used in maintaining articles, including the intervals at which the equipment will be calibrated.
Corrective action on deficiencies
Taking corrective action on deficiencies that are found.
What a template can't do for you
A section list gets you a compliant table of contents. It does not get you a compliant manual, because the FAA isn't grading your headings — it's grading whether your described procedures match how your station actually operates and whether they are acceptable under §145.207(a). Three traps to avoid:
- Don't copy procedures you can't follow. Borrowing another shop's calibration intervals or final-inspection workflow under §145.211(c)(1)(vii)–(viii) creates an instant gap between your manual and your floor — and that gap is exactly what surveillance finds.
- Don't forget the section-control system, §145.209(k). Revision numbers, effective dates, and removing superseded pages from circulation is a required element, not housekeeping. Pair it with the revision/notification procedures of §145.209(j) and §145.211(c)(4).
- Don't let the recordkeeping description, §145.209(i), outrun reality. If your manual says records are obtained, stored, and retrievable a certain way, an inspector will ask you to produce them that way. See what inspectors ask for in the audit binder and the Part 145 audit checklist.
For the personnel and capability records two of these sections point to, see personnel roster and training records (§145.161/§145.163) and ratings and capability list records (§145.215). If you operate under an EASA/FAA bilateral, the EASA Part 145 / FAA MAG bilateral records guide covers the supplement your manual references.
Why manual sections are worth getting right
Manual deficiencies are among the most common findings in repair-station surveillance precisely because they are objective — an inspector lays your manual next to the §145.209 and §145.211 content lists and checks them off. Under 14 CFR §13.301, for violations occurring on or after December 30, 2024, the FAA civil penalty is up to $1,875 per violation for an individual or small business concern and up to $75,000 per violation for a person other than an individual or small business concern (statutory maximums adjusted for inflation; the amount the FAA actually seeks depends on the facts). Beyond penalty exposure, an out-of-date or incomplete manual undermines the validity of the work performed under it and can trigger expanded surveillance. Keeping the manual current and the controlled-document system tight is fundamentally a document-management discipline problem.
Does the manual need an SMS section in 2026?
Not as part of §145.209. The FAA's expanded Part 5 SMS final rule (effective May 28, 2024) set a single compliance date of May 28, 2027 for Part 135 operators, commuter operators, and air-tour operators holding a §91.147 letter of authorization, plus certain Part 21 certificate holders. Standalone Part 145 repair stations are not in that general mandate — a repair station carries an SMS obligation only through voluntary participation in the FAA's SMS Voluntary Program or through customer contract requirements. If SMS does apply to your certificate, treat it as a separate document set. Our Part 135 SMS 2027 deadline, Part 135 SMS requirements, and Part 135 SMS gap analysis cover the operator-side mandate; is SMS required for a Part 145 repair station? covers the repair-station question head-on.
Building the certificate from scratch, or want the surrounding Part 145 picture? Start with Part 145 repair station requirements, how to get a Part 145 certificate, and Part 145 certification cost and timeline. The repair-station drug and alcohol program lives in Part 145 drug and alcohol testing (the operator-side checklist is here). For broader context on how Part 135 and Part 145 obligations interlock, see what records a Part 135 operator must keep and how to get a Part 135 certificate.
Where FileFlo fits (and where it doesn't)
Let's be precise. FileFlo is the compliance document and proof layer for your repair station. It classifies and indexes your records, version-controls your manual and forms, tracks expirations on training, calibration, and authorizations, and assembles an audit-ready binder so the §145.209(i)/(k) and §145.211(c) controls in your manual actually hold up when an inspector pulls a work order.
What FileFlo does not do: it does not get you certificated, it does not write your RSM, QCM, or SMS manual for you, it does not run your quality control system or your safety program, and it does not provide legal advice. The template above plus your own procedures, drafted with your accountable manager and your Flight Standards office, produce the manual. FileFlo keeps the records that manual depends on organized and provable.
Frequently asked questions
Built from the questions repair-station operators actually search about Part 145 manuals.
Build the manual. Then prove the records behind it.
Use the outline above to draft an RSM and QCM that match how your station actually runs. Then let FileFlo classify, version-control, and expiration-track the records those manuals depend on — so your next surveillance visit is a non-event.
Chad Griffith
Founder, FileFlo — compliance document intelligence
This article is written from a compliance-document perspective to help repair stations organize and prove their records. It summarizes 14 CFR Part 145 requirements verified against the Cornell Legal Information Institute text of the CFR as of June 2026; regulations and penalty amounts are periodically updated, so always confirm the current text of §145.207, §145.209, and §145.211 and consult your responsible Flight Standards office. It is not legal advice and does not establish an FAA-acceptable manual on its own.