In brief
An aircraft maintenance entry should describe the actual work, identify when it was completed, and include the approving person’s required credentials and signature. Inspection entries have different requirements. Examples are drafting aids only; the authorized person must use the rule and facts applicable to the work.
Tools for this decision
Run the numbers while you read.
Length does not make an aircraft logbook entry good. The best entry lets a qualified reviewer identify the article, the work, the data, the completion date, and the person approving that work without reconstructing the story from memory.
The examples below are field structures, not language to sign blindly. The authorized person making or approving an entry must apply the current regulation, the actual work, approved or acceptable data as applicable, and the procedures governing that aircraft and operation.
Where these examples apply
This guide is organized around U.S. 14 CFR 43.9 and 43.11. Those rules establish different content for maintenance/alteration records and specified inspection records. The operation, maintenance program, work performed, approved data, another applicable rule, or a different jurisdiction may require additional or different records.
The bracketed examples are drafting prompts, not prescribed FAA statements. Where a rule requires particular inspection language, use the current rule’s applicable statement rather than the nearest example on this page.
Maintenance entries under 14 CFR 43.9
14 CFR 43.9 generally requires a maintenance, preventive-maintenance, rebuilding, or alteration record to include:
- A description of the work performed, or a reference to data acceptable to the Administrator.
- The date the work was completed.
- The name of the person performing the work if different from the person approving it.
- The signature, certificate number, and kind of certificate held by the person approving the work.
The signature constitutes approval for return to service only for the work performed. Major repairs and major alterations have additional record-disposition requirements under 14 CFR 43.9(d).
Example 1: routine maintenance structure
Use this as a completeness prompt:
``text Aircraft/article: [make/model, registration or serial number, and affected article] Work completed: [specific action, area, and result] Technical data: [manual/document identifier, revision, section, or other controlling data] Parts/materials: [identity and supporting document reference when material] Tests/inspections: [post-maintenance check and result] Completion date: [date] Performed by, if different: [name] Approved for return to service for the work described: [signature] [printed name] [certificate number and kind] ``
“Serviced aircraft” is weak because it does not identify what was serviced or how. Record the actual task and reference the actual data used.
Example 2: remove-and-install structure
``text Removed: [article name, part number, serial number, position] Installed: [article name, part number, serial number, position] Reason: [scheduled removal, discrepancy, troubleshooting, or other factual basis] Installation data: [document, revision, and task/section] Supporting eligibility/trace record: [document ID or location] Operational or leak check: [test performed and result] Updated records: [equipment list, weight and balance, component status, or other affected status] Completion date / performer / approving signature and certificate details ``
The entry is only one layer. Preserve the removal tag, installation record, authorized release documentation when applicable, work order, and test results.
Example 3: discrepancy and corrective-action pair
Keep the reported condition distinct from the confirmed cause:
| Field | Record |
|---|---|
| Reported discrepancy | Exact symptom, indication, location, and operating condition |
| Troubleshooting | Tests and data used |
| Confirmed finding | What examination established |
| Corrective action | Repair, adjustment, replacement, or other action |
| Verification | Operational, functional, leak, or other check and result |
| Deferred or open work | Separate authorization and control if applicable |
| Approval | Required signature and credentials for completed work |
Do not convert an unverified report into a definitive diagnosis. If no defect was found, record the work and result accurately rather than inventing a cause.
Inspection entries under 14 CFR 43.11
Inspections performed under Part 91 and the other provisions identified in 14 CFR 43.11 have specific entry requirements. The rule addresses the inspection type and scope, date, aircraft total time in service, signature and certificate information, and the required airworthy or unairworthy statement as applicable.
A field structure:
``text Aircraft/article identity: [...] Inspection performed: [type and scope] Inspection data/program and revision: [...] Inspection date: [...] Aircraft total time in service: [...] Required determination statement: [use the language applicable under § 43.11] Discrepancy/unairworthy-item list delivery reference, if applicable: [...] Signature / certificate number / kind of certificate / authorization held ``
Do not turn this template into a custom inspection determination. Read the current rule and use the statement that fits the actual result and authority.
Example 4: recurring action with next due
The maintenance entry records accomplishment. The status layer should also preserve recurrence:
``text Requirement: [AD, inspection task, ICA task, or program item] Applicability basis: [aircraft/article identity and configuration] Action performed and method: [...] Source/revision: [...] Date and aircraft/article time or cycles at accomplishment: [...] Result: [...] Recurring interval: [...] Calculated next due: [date, hours, cycles, or combination] Source entry/work package: [...] Approving signature and certificate details ``
For an Airworthiness Directive, include enough information to support the owner/operator’s current-status record under 14 CFR 91.417. A planning “next due” field does not replace the signed accomplishment entry.
Example 5: alteration and configuration change
An alteration record should connect the physical change with the configuration record:
- Exact installed and removed equipment.
- Part and serial numbers when relevant.
- Approved or acceptable data used as applicable.
- Wiring, structural, software, and interface work.
- Required testing and results.
- Weight-and-balance and equipment-list changes.
- Flight-manual supplement.
- Instructions for continued airworthiness and maintenance-program impact.
- FAA Form 337 or other required records when applicable.
See the FAA Form 337 guide for the distinction between a logbook entry, the form, and the supporting approved data.
Digital entry controls
An electronic system should preserve more than typed prose:
| Control | Review question |
|---|---|
| Signer identity | Can the system authenticate the individual? |
| Authority | Is certificate or authorization information current and attached? |
| Integrity | Can an unauthorized person alter a completed entry? |
| Audit history | Are corrections and later changes attributable? |
| Retrieval | Can the required record be produced legibly and promptly? |
| Continuity | Will exports preserve signatures, context, attachments, and page order? |
| Backup | Has restoration actually been tested? |
FAA AC 120-78B provides current guidance for electronic signatures, records, and manuals. The applicable regulations and operator or certificate-holder procedures still control.
Correcting an entry
Do not erase, backdate, overwrite, or silently replace the original signed record. A controlled correction should:
- Preserve the original information.
- Identify what is being corrected.
- State the corrected fact and reason.
- Link the supporting evidence.
- Record the correcting person, authority, and date.
- Follow the procedures applicable to the system and operation.
If a scan is wrong but the paper original is correct, correct the digital copy’s indexing or rescan it; do not change the source text.
Entry quality review
- [ ] Correct aircraft or article identified.
- [ ] Work description matches the actual scope.
- [ ] Data reference is exact and current for the work.
- [ ] Installed/removed part and serial identities reconcile.
- [ ] Completion date is present.
- [ ] Performer is named if different from approving person.
- [ ] Signature, certificate number, and certificate type are present where required.
- [ ] Inspection language matches the applicable rule and actual determination.
- [ ] Tests and results are recorded.
- [ ] Supporting work package is retrievable.
- [ ] Recurring status and configuration records were updated.
- [ ] Corrections retain the original and an audit trail.
Sources and further reading
- 14 CFR 43.9, Content, form, and disposition of maintenance records
- 14 CFR 43.11, Content, form, and disposition of records for inspections
- 14 CFR 91.417, Maintenance records
- FAA AC 43-9D, Maintenance Records and FAA Form 8130-3 Return to Service
- FAA AC 120-78B, Electronic Signatures, Electronic Recordkeeping, and Electronic Manuals
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
What must an aircraft maintenance logbook entry include?
For work covered by 14 CFR 43.9, the entry generally includes a description of the work or reference to acceptable data, completion date, the performing person’s name if different, and the approving person’s signature, certificate number, and certificate type.
Can I copy an aircraft logbook entry example word for word?
No. An entry must describe the actual work, actual aircraft or article, actual data used, actual dates, and actual approving person. A template is a field prompt, not a compliant statement by itself.
Is a signature just proof that maintenance happened?
Under 14 CFR 43.9, the approving signature constitutes approval for return to service only for the work performed. It should never be added by someone without the required authority or used to imply approval beyond the recorded scope.
How should an incorrect maintenance entry be fixed?
Preserve the original record and follow the applicable correction procedure so the change remains attributable and auditable. Do not erase history or silently replace a signed source record.
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