FREE TOOL
Certificate of conformance template and generator
A certificate of conformance (CoC) is a signed statement from a supplier that the parts in one shipment meet the purchase order, drawings and specifications. Fill in the PO, part numbers with revision, quantities, lot or heat numbers, the specs and the signer, and download a finished CoC as a PDF or Word file. The checks below the form catch what gets a CoC rejected at receiving. Today most plants still dig certs out of email for every shipment; Morsa files them as goods arrive and builds the customer’s cert packet when they ask.
Updated October 21, 2026
What is a certificate of conformance?
A certificate of conformance, also called a certificate of conformity, CoC or C of C, is the supplier’s written promise that a specific shipment conforms to the customer’s requirements. It names the parts, the quantity, the lot, the order it ships against and the documents the parts conform to, and it is signed by someone with authority over quality. It does not list measurements. Test data lives in a certificate of analysis or a mill test report.
The supplier issues it, normally the manufacturer or the distributor that ships the goods. It travels with the shipment or is uploaded to the customer’s supplier portal, and receiving inspection checks it before the parts are released to stock. Aerospace, defense, medical, automotive and electronics buyers ask for one on almost every order; many commercial buyers ask for one on critical parts.
What must be on a certificate of conformance
There is no single universal form. The contents come from the customer’s purchase order and quality clauses. These are the fields receiving inspectors look for, and the generator above has all of them.
| Field | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier name and address | Says who is certifying | Northgate Precision Machining Inc., Dayton, OH |
| Customer and purchase order number | Receiving matches the cert to the PO first | PO 4500021873 |
| Part number and revision | The revision ties the parts to one drawing version | HA-4471-220 Rev C |
| Description and quantity | Must match the packing slip | Bracket, engine mount, 250 EA |
| Lot, heat or serial numbers | Traceability if a defect turns up later | Lot 24-1187, heat 7Q4410 |
| Specifications and revision | What the parts are certified to | AMS 5662 Rev N; drawing Rev C |
| Material and finish | Often required for metals and coated parts | Inconel 718, passivated per AMS 2700 |
| Ship date and shipping document | Links the cert to one physical shipment | Packing slip PS-30915 |
| Statement of conformance | The actual certification | “...conform in all respects to those requirements” |
| Signer name, title, signature and date | An unsigned or anonymous cert is rejected | Dana Whitfield, Quality Manager |
Customer flowdowns can add more, such as a DFARS specialty metals statement, RoHS or REACH declarations, or a first article report number.
FAR 52.246-15: the certificate of conformance on US government contracts
On federal contracts the CoC is a formal acceptance tool. Under FAR 46.504 the contracting officer may accept supplies on a contractor’s certificate of conformance instead of source inspection when acceptance on that basis is in the government’s interest and either small losses would result from a defect, or the contractor’s reputation or past performance makes acceptable supplies likely. FAR 46.315 then requires the clause at FAR 52.246-15 in the contract.
The clause (dated April 1984; checked against FAC 2026-01, effective March 13, 2026) says three things suppliers trip on. First, a CoC may be used only when the contract administration office has authorized it in writing. Second, the signed certificate is attached to the receiving report that goes to the payment office, and a copy travels with the shipment. Third, the government keeps the right to inspect and can reject defective supplies within a reasonable time after delivery; the contractor then replaces, corrects or repairs them at its own expense.
Paragraph (d) prescribes the wording. The generator fills it in when you pick FAR 52.246-15: “I certify that on October 21, 2026, the Northgate Precision Machining Inc. furnished the supplies or services called for by Contract No. [contract number] via UPS Ground on Packing slip PS-30915 in accordance with all applicable requirements. I further certify that the supplies or services are of the quality specified and conform in all respects with the contract requirements, including specifications, drawings, preservation, packaging, packing, marking requirements, and physical item identification (part number), and are in the quantity shown on this or on the attached acceptance document.” It is followed by the date of execution, signature and title.
Defense contracts often add a specialty metals requirement. DFARS 252.225-7009 requires specialty metals in delivered items (certain steels, nickel and cobalt alloys, titanium and zirconium) to be melted or produced in the United States, its outlying areas or a qualifying country, with listed exceptions. Primes commonly ask for that statement on the CoC; tick the DFARS box to add it.
Aerospace and commercial flowdowns
Aerospace suppliers registered to AS9100 must pass quality requirements down to their own suppliers, so a prime’s quality clauses end up on every tier’s purchase orders, and those clauses say what the CoC must show. The usual asks are the ones in the table above plus lot traceability, the revision of every specification, and mill test reports for raw material. Electronics buyers selling into the EU add a RoHS statement (Directive 2011/65/EU, with the four phthalates added by Delegated Directive (EU) 2015/863, ten restricted substances in all) and a REACH statement: under Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 a supplier of an article containing a Candidate List substance above 0.1% weight by weight must tell the recipient. Tick those statements only when you hold the supplier data behind them.
CoC vs certificate of compliance vs CoA vs MTR vs certificate of origin
Customers often ask for “the certs” without saying which. This table tells them apart.
| Document | What it proves | Who issues it | Has test numbers? | When you need it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of conformance (CoC) | This shipment meets the PO, drawings and specs | The supplier or manufacturer | No | Most aerospace, defense, medical and automotive orders; FAR 52.246-15 contracts |
| Certificate of compliance | The product meets a law, regulation or standard | The manufacturer or importer, sometimes a lab | Sometimes | Regulated content, such as RoHS or REACH declarations, or a published standard |
| Certificate of analysis (CoA) | Measured results for one batch against its spec | The producer’s QC lab or an outside lab | Yes | Chemicals, resins, coatings, food, pharma, any batch product |
| Mill test report (MTR) | Chemistry and mechanical properties of one metal heat | The mill that melted or rolled the metal | Yes | Steel, aluminum, alloys; usually attached to the CoC |
| Certificate of origin | Where the goods were made | The exporter, sometimes stamped by a chamber of commerce | No | Customs and trade agreements such as USMCA |
In practice many buyers use “conformance” and “compliance” interchangeably; read the PO clause, not the title.
Certificate of conformance vs certificate of compliance
A certificate of conformance answers to the customer’s order: their drawing, their spec, their PO. A certificate of compliance answers to a rule set that exists outside the order: a regulation, a directive or a published standard. A fastener lot can need both: a CoC that it matches drawing Rev C, and a compliance statement that it meets RoHS.
Difference between CoC and CoA
A CoA reports numbers: viscosity, purity, hardness, tensile strength, measured on the batch, next to the spec limits. A CoC reports a conclusion: the parts conform. A resin shipment typically arrives with a CoA; a machined bracket made from that resin ships with a CoC that may reference it.
Certificate of conformance example
The example in the tool is a machine shop certifying two aerospace parts on one PO: 250 brackets in Inconel 718 at Rev C, traced to lot 24-1187 and heat 7Q4410, and 500 aluminum spacers at Rev A, with a DFARS specialty metals statement and a note that the mill certs are attached. Press “Start from this example” to load it and change it into your own. The standard commercial statement it prints reads:
“We certify that the items listed above, shipped against purchase order 4500021873, were manufactured, inspected and tested in accordance with the purchase order and with the drawings and specifications at the revisions shown, and conform in all respects to those requirements. Records supporting this certification are on file and available for review on request.”
Mistakes that get a certificate of conformance rejected
No PO number. Receiving cannot match the cert to an order, so the shipment waits in quarantine.
Missing or wrong revision. A cert for Rev B on parts ordered at Rev C is a nonconformance even if the parts are fine.
Quantity blank or different from the packing slip. Short or split shipments need their own cert quantity.
No lot, heat or serial number when the PO asks for traceability.
Spec listed without its revision, or a generic “meets all applicable specs” line instead of naming them.
Unsigned, or signed without a printed name and title.
Statements you cannot back. A RoHS, REACH or DFARS line with no supplier data behind it is worse than no line.
Cert packets without the digging
The CoC is the easy part. The hard part is everything around it: for each shipment someone searches email and shared drives for the mill certs and supplier CoCs, finds one missing, and chases the supplier by phone while the customer waits. Modern plants let an AI system like Morsa do that work. Receiving posts a phone photo of the packing slip; Morsa turns it into the receipt in the ERP and saves the cert that came with the goods. When a customer asks for the certs on their order, Morsa builds the packet from what is already filed, sees which cert is missing, requests it from the supplier itself, and sends the packet once it arrives. People approve; Morsa does the chasing. The same follow-through took J4S, a 120-person glass plant, from about 30% to about 75% on-time across roughly 900 commitments in four weeks.
Frequently asked questions
What is a CoC certificate of conformance?
It is a signed statement from the supplier that the goods in one shipment meet the purchase order, drawings and specifications. CoC is simply the abbreviation. It does not carry test numbers; it carries the supplier’s promise and the identity of the parts.
Who signs a certificate of conformance?
Someone at the supplier with the authority to bind the company on quality, usually the quality manager or an inspector they authorize. The certificate shows the signer’s printed name and title next to the signature and the date.
Is a certificate of conformance a legal document?
It is a written representation of fact. On a US government contract under FAR 52.246-15, the government can still inspect and can reject defective supplies after delivery, and the contractor must replace, correct or repair them at its own expense. A false certificate can expose the signer and the company to liability, so only sign what your inspection records support.
Can one CoC cover several part numbers?
Yes, if they ship on the same purchase order and the customer allows it. List every part with its own revision, quantity and lot. Some customers want one certificate per line or per lot; their PO quality clauses will say.
Does a CoC replace a mill test report or a CoA?
No. The CoC says the finished parts conform. The mill test report gives the chemistry and mechanical properties of the raw material heat, and a CoA gives measured test results for a batch. Customers in aerospace, defense and medical often ask for the CoC with the mill test reports attached.
How long should I keep certificates of conformance?
As long as your customer’s PO or quality agreement requires; aerospace and defense flowdowns often ask for ten years or more. Keep the signed copy with the inspection records that support it.
What is the difference between a certificate of conformance and a certificate of origin?
A certificate of origin says where the goods were made, for customs and trade agreements. A CoC says the goods meet the order’s requirements. A shipment abroad can need both.
Related tools
WHERE MORSA FITS
Stop digging for certs every time a customer asks.
Morsa files every cert as goods arrive, builds the customer’s cert packet on request, and asks your supplier for the missing one itself. It works in email, Teams, WhatsApp or whatever you already run on, next to your ERP.
