Greg Reigel's Aero Legal Services

Understanding The FAA's New Aircraft Re-Registration And Renewal Requirements

By Gregory J. Reigel

© August, 2010 All rights reserved.

On July 20, 2010 the FAA published a Final Rule amending the FAA's regulations regarding aircraft registration. As a result, if you own an aircraft that is registered with the FAA's Aircraft Registry (the "Registry") you are going to have to renew the registration for your aircraft.

Background

The Registry is responsible for developing and maintaining the system of registration for United States civil aircraft. One of the Registry's primary responsibilities is to maintain an electronic database for all U.S. registered aircraft. The database identifies each registered aircraft by its registration number (N- number), its complete description, and the name and address of its registered owner.

According to the FAA, "approximately one-third of the 357,000 registered aircraft records it maintains are inaccurate and that many aircraft associated with those records are likely ineligible for United States registration." Although the current regulations require aircraft owners to report the sale of an aircraft, the scrapping or destruction of an aircraft, or a change in the aircraft owner's mailing address, apparently many aircraft owners have not complied with these requirements. As a result, the FAA has implemented its Final Rule to improve the currency and accuracy of the Registry's database.

The Final Rule requires re-registration of all U.S. civil aircraft over a 3 year period in order to update the Registry's database and to enable the Registry to cancel the registrations of those aircraft that are not re-registered. Thereafter, aircraft owners will need to renew their aircraft registrations every 3 years.

The Re-Registration/Renewal Process

Under the Final Rule, aircraft registrations will now be limited to a 3-year period. At the end of each 3-year interval, an aircraft's registration will expire and the aircraft will need to be re-registered. This rule establishes the expiration of registration for all aircraft registered before October 1, 2010, and provides for the re- registration of all aircraft over a 3-year period according to a schedule contained in the rule.

For aircraft registered on or after October 1, 2010, the aircraft registration's expiration date will be printed on the registration certificate and will be 3 years from the last day of the month in which registration or re-registration occurred. Once renewed, an aircraft's registration will expire 3 years from the previous expiration date. Replacement registration certificates issued on or after October 1, 2010, will display the same expiration date that was shown on the replaced registration certificate. If the replaced registration certificate did not display an expiration date, the replacement certificate will display an expiration date from the above-schedule based on the month of issue of the replaced registration certificate.

The FAA will issue replacement certificates after an address update, an N-number change, or when a certificate is reported as lost or mutilated. However, it is important to note that a replacement registration certificate will not constitute re-registration or renewal. Similarly, the replacement certificate will not change the registration expiration date applicable to the aircraft at the time the replacement registration certificate is issued.

When an aircraft's registration is approaching expiration, the Registry will send an aircraft owner two reminder notices. The first reminder notice will be sent 180 days before an aircraft's registration is scheduled to expire. This notice will identify the aircraft, its expiration date, and the 3-month filing window during which a registration or renewal application should be submitted. It will also provide instructions for completing the registration or renewal process.

In order to receive a new registration certificate before the old certificate expires, an aircraft owner will need to file the re-registration or renewal application within the assigned window. However, once an aircraft has completed re-registration and is approaching a required renewal, the aircraft owner may submit the required renewal information as soon as the first reminder notice is received.

The Registry will send a second reminder notice at the end of the 3-month filing window if the aircraft owner has not yet re-registered or renewed the aircraft's registration. The 3- month filing window will close 2 months prior to the scheduled expiration date for the aircraft's registration to allow the Registry sufficient time to process the application and mail the new certificate. If an aircraft owner files an applications after the filing window has closed, the application will still be processed; however, the new certificate may not arrive until after the current certificate has expired.

To avoid confusion between the normal registration process and the re-registration process, the Aircraft Registration Application, AC Form 8050-1, will not be used for re-registration. The Registry has created a separate application form that will be available online, here. Aircraft owners should be aware that the re-registration/renewal application does not grant any temporary authority for operation of an aircraft, unlike that provided by retaining the pink copy of Form 8050-1. As a result, if a re-registration/renewal application is filed late and a new registration certificate is not received by the time the current registration certificate expires, the aircraft owner would not be able to operate the aircraft between the time when the current certificate expires and when the new certificate is received.

The Final Rule provides for both online re-registration and renewal when no changes are required. However, if changes to the registration are required (e.g. address change, etc.), then the re-registration/renewal application may not be submitted online and must be mailed to the Registry. According to the Final Rule, the Registry will post information on its website identifying aircraft as they move through the various stages of re-registration and renewal so aircraft owners and other interested parties can track the process.

Aircraft owners will need to pay $5.00 to re-register their aircraft and then another $5.00 each time the aircraft's registration is renewed. (Although this doesn't seem like a lot of money, unfortunately the registration and administrative fees may increase over time, depending upon whether the latest version of the FAA reauthorization bill passes. Under that bill, the FAA would be required to increase fees to $130 for initial registration and $45 for renewals.)

Consequences For Failure To Re-Register/Renew

If an aircraft owner fails to re-register or renew an aircraft's registration, the registration will not end immediately. Rather, the Registry will wait 30 days to ensure that any late filed requests from the aircraft owner have been processed. In the absence of such requests, and assuming the Registry has a good address on file for the aircraft owner, the Registry will then send a letter to the aircraft owner providing notice of the pending cancellation of the aircraft's registration. The aircraft owner will then have 60 days within which to reserve the N-number or register the aircraft. If the Registry does not receive a reply within 60 days, the aircraft's registration will then be cancelled. If the Registry does not have a good address for the aircraft owner, cancellation of the aircraft's registration will be scheduled for no sooner than 90 days from the date of expiration. Once an aircraft's registration is cancelled, the N-number will be unavailable for assignment for a period of 5 years.

Conclusion

The Final Rule is effective October 1, 2010. Thus, all aircraft owners will need to comply. How can you minimize the hassle associated with the Final Rule? First, since the re-registration notice will be sent to the address on file with the Registry, verify now that your address in the Registry is correct. If you need to update the information, you can do that directly with the Registry or through an aviation attorney. Second, submit your application as early as possible once you receive your first reminder notice to allow the Registry time to process and mail your new registration.

If you follow these steps, hopefully the re-registration/renewal process will be nothing more than a minor inconvenience. And, as always, if you have problems contact an aviation attorney for help.