Free KiCad guide · Updated 14 September 2026
Check your KiCad PCB before fabrication
Review a KiCad PCB before fabrication: project files, schematic checks, design rules, zones, Gerber and drill outputs. Save a free local review record.
Prepared by Signal & Ship using KiCad 10.0 documentation. These steps apply to new designs and imported boards. They are guidance, not executed checks on your board or fabrication approval.
New to PCB design? Follow the official KiCad tutorial for schematic entry, footprint selection and routing, then use this checklist to review the resulting board. KiCad 10.0: from schematic to PCB
1. Freeze the project you are reviewing
Keep a separate review copy of the .kicad_pro, .kicad_sch and .kicad_pcb files, any .kicad_dru custom rules, and required libraries. Open the board through its project: project-level settings can be missing when you open the board on its own.
Keep / verify: Record filenames, revision, KiCad version and review date. If the schematic is unavailable, leave circuit and schematic/board checks open.
2. Review the schematic and its board relationship
ERC checks the schematic; PCB DRC checks the layout against its rules. Review symbol-to-footprint and pin-to-pad assignments as well. Before updating the PCB from the schematic, preserve the earlier board and inspect proposed additions, deletions and net changes.
Keep / verify: Keep the ERC report, schematic revision and unresolved assignments. A DRC result alone does not prove circuit behavior.
3. Match board rules to the intended fabrication
Review Board Setup: copper stackup, design-rule constraints and net classes. Use the specifications for the fabrication service and process you intend to order, plus the design requirements. Tutorial defaults are not automatically the right values for your project.
Keep / verify: For each important constraint, retain its value, unit, scope and source/date. Record unresolved requirements before continuing.
4. Refill zones and investigate DRC findings
Zone fills may be stale after edits. Refill all zones, run Inspect → Design Rules Checker, and review errors, warnings, unconnected items and exclusions. Check that the intended rules are enabled. After corrections, rerun on the new revision and keep both reports.
Keep / verify: Retain item/reference, layer/location, required and measured values, rule, decision and rerun evidence.
5. Generate and open the manufacturing outputs
From File → Plot, output the layers required for your order: copper, Edge.Cuts outline, solder mask and silkscreen. Paste layers are needed for a solder-paste stencil, not every bare-board order. Generate the drill files too. Keep outputs for this revision in their own folder.
Keep / verify: Open the generated Gerbers and drill files in a viewer such as KiCad GerbView. Inspect layer selection, outline, hole positions and alignment. Confirm the fabricator’s required files; viewing them is not an automated manufacturability check.
6. Close each finding with evidence
Record each item as reviewed, unresolved, or not applicable with a reason. Link to the exact design and output revision. Do not turn an ignored warning into a repair, or carry a clean report from an older board into a new one.
Keep / verify: Use the free record below for a handoff or a later recheck. Actual manufacturing acceptance remains a separate decision for the design and fabrication process.
Source: KiCad 10.0 project workflow, board setup, DRC and fabrication outputs. Menu labels use the English documentation and may differ by language/version. Board setup · Fabrication outputs
A blank record to fill in locally. It does not upload files, run checks or approve fabrication.
Choose your next check
If this board was imported from EAGLE, also compare it back to the original design. Open the migration guide and downloadable worked example
The paid BoardPort product compares supported EAGLE 9.6.2 and KiCad 10.0 file pairs offline under three rules: pad/net mapping, footprint references, and defined outline/routed-segment comparisons. It does not run DRC on a standalone KiCad board. Review the exact comparison scope