🔥 NADCAP
NADCAP Special Process Accreditation Near Missoula, MT
NADCAP is the accreditation that aerospace and defense primes require for the special processes hidden inside a finished part, the heat treat that sets a material's properties, the weld that holds a structure, the nondestructive test that proves it is sound. Western Montana's manufacturing economy does not revolve around aerospace, so NADCAP-accredited process houses are scarce around Missoula, and buyers usually have to reach out of region for them. This page explains what NADCAP covers, how to verify it, and how to manage it when your fabricator is local but your accredited special processes are not.
NADCAPAS9100ISO 9001
NADCAP, the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program, is administered by the Performance Review Institute on behalf of the industry's primes. It accredits specific special processes rather than whole companies: heat treatment, welding, chemical processing and surface treatment, nondestructive testing, coatings, materials testing labs, and similar operations. A shop is accredited for a defined process scope, not for being a good supplier generally.
These are the operations whose quality you cannot fully confirm by looking at the finished part. You cannot see whether a heat treat cycle actually achieved the specified hardness and grain structure, or whether a weld has subsurface porosity, without process control and testing. That is exactly why aerospace and defense primes mandate NADCAP for them, because the consequences of an undetected special-process defect show up later, in service, when it is most dangerous.
For a Missoula buyer, the key mental model is that NADCAP lives beneath fabrication and machining, not alongside it. Your local shop may machine and assemble the part, but the heat treat, plating, or NDT it relies on are the operations that need NADCAP accreditation when an aerospace or defense customer requires it. The accreditation follows the process, so you verify it at the process house, wherever that house happens to be.
Verifying accreditation through eAuditNet
NADCAP accreditations are tracked in eAuditNet, the Performance Review Institute's system, and accredited suppliers are listed there with their accredited process scopes. Unlike ITAR, you can verify NADCAP through this directory: confirm the supplier appears, that the specific process you need (for example, AMS-spec heat treat, fluorescent penetrant inspection, or a particular welding category) is within its accredited scope, and that the accreditation is current rather than lapsed.
Scope precision is everything with NADCAP. A heat-treat house accredited for one specification or furnace type may not be accredited for the one your part requires, and a weld accreditation is broken down by process and category. Match the eAuditNet scope to the exact specification called out on your drawing, not to a general process name. A mismatch here is a common and avoidable cause of rejected parts during a prime's source inspection.
Also confirm any prime-specific requirements. Some primes maintain their own approved-source lists on top of NADCAP, meaning a process house must be both NADCAP accredited and on the prime's list. If your customer flows down such a requirement, NADCAP accreditation alone is necessary but not sufficient, and you should verify both before routing parts to a process house, especially when working with a smaller out-of-region supplier you have not used before.
Flowing NADCAP through a local fabricator
The realistic Missoula scenario is a local shop performing machining or fabrication while NADCAP-accredited special processes happen elsewhere. This works, but only if the flow of requirements and records is controlled. Your fabricator must route the special processes to NADCAP-accredited (and where required, prime-approved) sources, and your purchase order and quality agreement must require that, by specification and revision, rather than leaving the choice of process house to the fabricator's convenience.
With the finished part you should receive the special-process certifications: heat-treat charts or certs tied to the specification and lot, plating or coating certs, and NDT reports with the technique, acceptance criteria, and results. Each should reference the NADCAP-accredited source and the controlling specification. If your prime requires it, a first-article inspection report should incorporate evidence that the special processes were performed by accredited sources.
Freight and lead time deserve attention because the part may travel out of region for one or more special processes and back. That round-trip adds days and shipping cost, and for a heavy or large weldment it can be significant. Plan the routing up front, build the special-process lead time into your schedule, and make sure the local fabricator owns the logistics and the documentation rather than handing you a part with paperwork gaps to chase after delivery.
When local makes sense and when it does not
For non-aerospace, non-defense work, much of Missoula's heavy-equipment and structural fabrication does not require NADCAP at all. A weld qualified to AWS standards and a heat treat performed to a commercial spec are perfectly adequate for ground equipment, forestry machinery, and most industrial structures. Do not pay for NADCAP where your end-use does not demand it, that overhead exists for aerospace and defense risk profiles and adds cost without value on commercial parts.
Where NADCAP genuinely applies, accept that the accredited process house will likely be out of region and plan accordingly. The right structure is often local fabrication plus out-of-region accredited special processes, with your fabricator managing the routing and documentation under a clear quality agreement. This captures the freight and communication benefits of local machining while keeping the regulated processes where the accreditation exists.
Use a capability and accreditation filter to identify which special processes you actually need accredited and where those accredited sources are, rather than assuming a local shop can cover them. Being explicit about which operations require NADCAP, and verifying each at the process level, is what keeps a small-market supply chain compliant without overspending on accreditation you do not need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rarely in-region. NADCAP accredits special processes such as heat treat, welding, surface treatment, and nondestructive testing, and the demand that supports those accreditations comes from aerospace and defense primes. Missoula's manufacturing base is built around timber products, outdoor equipment, and heavy-equipment fabrication, which generally do not require NADCAP, so accredited process houses are scarce locally. The practical reality is that when your work genuinely needs NADCAP, you will usually route those special processes to accredited suppliers out of region while keeping machining or fabrication local. Verify each accredited process at the process house through the eAuditNet directory, confirm the specific accredited scope matches your drawing's specification, and build the out-of-region round-trip into your lead time. For commercial or ground-equipment work that does not require NADCAP, a local shop with AWS-qualified welding and commercial-spec heat treat is typically sufficient, so confirm whether your end-use actually demands the accreditation before you source it out of region.
NADCAP accreditations are recorded in eAuditNet, the Performance Review Institute's system, and you can verify a supplier there directly. Confirm the supplier is listed, that the specific process you need is within its accredited scope, and that the accreditation is current rather than expired. Scope precision is critical: NADCAP accredits defined processes, so a heat-treat house accredited for one specification or furnace type may not cover the one your drawing calls out, and welding accreditations are divided by process and category. Match the eAuditNet scope to the exact specification on your part, not just to a general process name like heat treat or NDT. Also check whether your prime maintains its own approved-source list on top of NADCAP, because some primes require a process house to be both NADCAP accredited and on their approved list. If that requirement is flowed down to you, verify both before routing parts, since NADCAP accreditation alone would be necessary but not sufficient in that case.
Require the special-process certifications to travel with the finished part and to reference both the accredited source and the controlling specification. For heat treat, expect heat-treat charts or certifications tied to the specification and lot. For plating, anodizing, or coating, expect process certs identifying the specification and source. For nondestructive testing, expect reports stating the technique used, the acceptance criteria, and the results. Each record should make clear that the process was performed by a NADCAP-accredited source for the relevant scope. If your prime requires it, the first-article inspection report should incorporate evidence that the special processes came from accredited sources. Put these documentation requirements in the purchase order and quality agreement so the fabricator managing the routing is contractually responsible for delivering complete records, not just the physical part. Chasing missing special-process paperwork after delivery is a common and avoidable problem, especially when the processes were performed at an out-of-region house the local fabricator subcontracted on your behalf.
Usually not. NADCAP exists for the risk profile of aerospace and defense work, and most heavy-equipment, forestry-machinery, and construction fabrication does not require it. For those applications, welding qualified to AWS standards and heat treat or surface treatment performed to commercial or industry specifications are typically adequate, and a capable Missoula fabricator can meet them without NADCAP-accredited subcontractors. Paying for NADCAP where the end-use does not demand it adds cost and lead time without adding value, because the special-process round-trip to an accredited house out of region is slower and more expensive than a competent local or regional commercial process. The exception is when a customer or contract specifically flows down NADCAP requirements, which happens when a part crosses into aerospace or defense supply chains. In that case you must route the relevant special processes to accredited sources and verify each through eAuditNet. The key is to confirm what your contract and end-use actually require before assuming either that you need NADCAP or that you can skip it.
Last updated: July 2026
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