How to Fill Out and Submit AFTO Form 22: Blocks, Routing, and Response

To fill out an AFTO Form 22, download the current version from the Department of the Air Force e-Publishing site at e-publishing.af.mil, assign the recommendation a priority category, complete the initiator blocks describing the Technical Order error and your proposed correction, digitally sign Block 8, and forward the signed form to your supervisor so it can move through the Product Improvement Manager and command-level reviewers to the evaluator.¹ Contractors or others without e-Publishing access can be given a Word version of the form.²

Pick the Right Priority Category First

Category controls everything downstream: routing, deadlines, and who signs off on a downgrade. Choose based on the worst realistic outcome of someone following the flawed procedure.

Emergency. The deficiency could cause a fatality, serious injury, or destruction of equipment. Emergency recommendations bypass the normal MAJCOM and Lead Command chain and go straight from the PIM to the Technical Content Manager, with copies to the MAJCOM and Lead Command CCPs and the TO Manager.³
Urgent. The error impairs combat efficiency or causes significant equipment damage if uncorrected, but poses no immediate threat to life.
Routine. A clarity or accuracy fix that does not affect safety or mission capability, such as typos, wrong cross-references, or a clearer illustration.

Your supervisor and the Product Improvement Manager can adjust the category during review, so if you are uncertain, err toward the higher severity and let the reviewers refine it.

Blocks You Complete as the Initiator

As the initiator, you are responsible for Blocks 6–7, 10–20, and, if applicable, Blocks 21, 22, and 27. You digitally sign Block 8 before forwarding.¹

Blocks 6 and 7: Identify the Technical Order

Enter the full Technical Order publication number, the basic date, any change number, and the change date. If these fields are wrong or vague, the form comes back before anyone reads your recommendation. Block 7 is where you record the type classification (emergency, urgent, or routine).

Blocks 10–20: Describe the Problem and the Fix

Pin down the exact location of the error by page, paragraph, figure, or table number. Then complete two fields that do most of the work:

Change From. Quote the existing text verbatim as it appears in the current manual so the evaluator can see the deficiency without hunting for it.
Change To. Write the proposed replacement text or describe the revised illustration. Match the technical style of the manual so a technical writer can drop it in without further back-and-forth. If the change involves a multi-step procedure, verify the order and technical accuracy of every step.

The justification is where recommendations succeed or fail. Explain why the current data is wrong and what happens if it stays that way. A concrete justification carries far more weight than a general one: “Step 4 directs the technician to torque the bolt to 25 ft-lbs, but the engineering specification for this fastener is 40 ft-lbs, which causes the assembly to fail under vibration” gets action; “the procedure is confusing” does not. If you have seen the problem in the field, say so.

Blocks 21, 22, and 27: Savings (Optional)

These blocks capture estimated annual dollar savings and whether the benefits are tangible (measurable cost reduction) or intangible (safety, morale, efficiency that resists a dollar figure). Fill them in only when your recommendation genuinely saves money or labor hours. They feed the Air Force’s Innovative Development through Employee Awareness (IDEA) program, which can lead to recognition or a monetary award for approved improvements.⁴

One Discrepancy per Form

Each AFTO Form 22 should address a single discrepancy. Two exceptions apply: if the same error appears in multiple places within the same Technical Order, list all locations on one form; and if your recommendation touches a procedure that has other related changes, include them so the evaluator sees the full picture.²

Sign and Submit

Complete the form digitally using the latest e-Publishing version, then submit it as a digitally signed and encrypted email attachment to your supervisor. Encryption is not required if the Technical Order is Distribution A (approved for public release). Personnel without CAC capability can obtain an External Certificate Authority certificate to sign and encrypt.²

How the Form Routes to the Evaluator

Routine and urgent recommendations follow a strict chain. Skipping a step gets the form returned without action.⁵

You sign Block 8 and send the form to your supervisor.
Your supervisor reviews for validity, accuracy, and completeness, noting any corrections in Block 28 and signing Block 9.
The Product Improvement Manager assigns a local control number in Block 5, enters organization info in Blocks 1–3, and forwards to the MAJCOM Command Control Point.
The MAJCOM CCP reviews (Block 2) and returns it to the PIM, who forwards it to the Lead Command CCP.
The Lead Command CCP conducts the final command-level review (Block 3) and returns it to the PIM for forwarding to the TO Management Activity (Block 4).
The evaluator assesses the recommendation and records a disposition in Block 25.

Forms that arrive at the TO Management Activity without passing through both the MAJCOM CCP and the Lead Command CCP are returned to the submitting organization without action. That is where most avoidable rejections happen. Emergency recommendations skip the sequential CCP review; the PIM sends them directly to the Technical Content Manager, with copies to the MAJCOM CCP, Lead Command CCP, and TO Manager.⁵

How Long a Response Takes

The category you assigned drives the clock.

Emergency: The Technical Content Manager, working with the TO management office, must issue an Interim Time Compliance Technical Order, a Rapid Action Change, or an interim supplement within 48 hours of receipt, or disapprove or downgrade the recommendation within the same window. Work-stoppage emergencies get 72 hours. Downgrading an emergency requires concurrence from the Lead Command CCP.³
Urgent: Typically a status update or decision within 40 calendar days.¹
Routine: No fixed deadline. These are usually bundled into a scheduled update, which can take several months.

If you submitted an emergency recommendation and have not received a disposition within 48 hours, follow up with the TO Management Activity immediately.¹ For routine and urgent submissions, check status through your PIM or the TO Management Activity.

After the Evaluation

The evaluator records a recommended disposition in Block 25 and verification remarks in Block 26 explaining the reasoning. The evaluator’s supervisor reviews and signs Block 24, and the completed form returns to the TO Management Activity, the initiator, the PIM, and other relevant offices.¹

If approved, the Air Force issues a formal update, temporary supplement, or Rapid Action Change to the Technical Order. If disapproved, Block 26 carries the rationale for keeping the current data. The evaluator cannot change the recommendation’s type classification in Block 7 without approval from the submitting MAJCOM CCP, so a downgrade from urgent requires your command’s sign-off.

When an AFTO Form 22 Qualifies for an IDEA Award

An approved AFTO Form 22 can qualify for the IDEA program, but only under narrow conditions. After-the-fact IDEA submissions are limited to approved routine recommendations on provisioned Technical Orders in acquisition that propose an improved work method, such as recommending welding instead of fasteners, or local repair instead of discard.⁴

Corrections of existing errors, including wrong measurements, incorrect references, and typos, are not eligible. The Air Force treats those as part of the normal verification process rather than innovation. Eligible recommendations are submitted through the IDEA Program Data System (IPDS) with a copy of the approved AFTO Form 22 attached; an IDEA evaluator validates the savings, and any award is based on the validated data.⁴ Stand-alone ideas that do not recommend a specific Technical Order change are disapproved and returned for resubmission on an AFTO Form 22.

1
United States Air Force E-Publishing. AFTO Form 22 Technical Manual Change Recommendation
2
United States Air Force. TO 00-5-1 AF Technical Order System
3
United States Air Force. TO 00-5-1 Air Force Technical Order System
4
United States Air Force. TO 00-5-3
5
United States Air Force. TO 00-5-1 Technical Manual Air Force Technical Order System