On October 1, 2010, the FAA began the process of terminating over a 3-year period the registration of all aircraft registered on or before that date.  The FAA now requires the re-registration of aircraft to retain U.S. registration.  Owners will need to continue to renew their registration every 3 years. 

The registration of all aircraft registered before October 1, 2010 have been assigned an expiration date to occur before December 31, 2013 as shown below: 

Month in which the                   The Certificate                 The Owner Must apply for Re-Reg
Certificate was Issued:               will Expire on:                         between these dates:
March of any year                       Mar. 31, 2011                    Nov. 1, 2010 - Jan. 31, 2011
April of any year                         June 30, 2011                    Feb. 1, 2011 - Apr. 30, 2011
May of any year                        Sept. 30, 2011                     May 1, 2011 - July 31, 2011
June of any year                         Dec. 31, 2011                    Aug. 1, 2011 - Oct. 31, 2011
July of any year                          Mar. 31, 2011                     Nov. 1, 2011 - Jan. 31, 2012
August of any year                     June 30, 2012                     Feb. 1, 2012 - Apr. 30, 2012
September of any year               Sept. 30, 2012                     May 1, 2012 - July 31, 2012
October of any year                    Dec. 31, 2012                    Aug. 1, 2012 - Oct. 31, 2012
November of any year                 Mar. 31, 2013                      Nov. 1, 2012 - Jan 31, 2013
December of any year                June 30, 2013                     Feb. 1, 2013 - Apr. 30, 2013
January of any year                   Sept. 30, 2013                     May 1, 2013 - July 31, 2013
February of any year                  Dec. 31, 2013                    Aug. 1, 2013 - Oct. 31, 2013

Aircraft registered after October 1, 2010 will expire 3 years from the last day of the month in which the Certificate of Registration was issued.

WHEN AND HOW WILL I BE NOTIFIED?

180 days prior to the expiration, the FAA will notify aircraft owners via US mail of the upcoming expiration.  It is important to note, this notice will be sent to last address the owner provided to the FAA.  If this is not the current mailing address, the owner may miss notifications from the FAA.  The owner will have a 90 day filing window to comply with re-registration.

Owners who have not re-registered or renewed their aircraft's registration during the 90 day filing window will receive a 2nd notice at the end of the 90 day filing window.  After the 90 day window expires, the FAA will continue accepting re-registrations.  However, there is a greater chance the re-registration or renewal will not be completed in time for the upcoming expiration. 

The FAA will issue a 3rd notice after the expiration date has passed.  This notice will state that the aircraft has been grounded and is pending N number cancellation.

The FAA will post lists on its website showing aircraft as they move through the various stages of re-registration and renewal.  This should help interested parties such as financing companies to remain informed about the registrations status of aircraft.

WHAT IF I USE A WILMINGTON, DELAWARE ADDRESS FOR MY AIRCRAFT’S REGISTRATION?

If you provided the FAA with a Wilmington, DE address, this is the address the FAA will use to notify you of your aircraft's registration expiration.  If you do not receive mail at that address, you will need to self-monitor the upcoming expiration.  Online Re-Registration is unavailable to owners who do not receive the expiration notice in the mail.  Therefore, you will need to file Form 8050-1A for Re-Registration.  You may also consider filing a change of address to your current mailing address before your aircraft's registration comes up for expiration.  Please contact us with questions about filing a change of address.

HOW DO I RE-REGISTER?

Owners may renew their registration through the mail or online.  Aircraft owners may also renew their registration via the FAA website as long as no changes are required.  The FAA's expiration notice to the owner, includes a unique code that the owner must have in order to renew his/her registration online.  If the owner does not have the code, or if there are changes that need to be made to the registraiton of the aircraft, the owner must apply for Re-Registration using Form 8050-1A.  Click here to view this form.

WHAT IF I MISS THE EXPIRATION DATE?

The FAA will send a notice to the owner 30 days after the expiration date has passed.  This notice will state that the aircraft has been grounded.  The letter will inform the owner that they have 60 days from the date of the letter to register the aircraft.  If the owner does not take action within those 60 days, the FAA will begin working to cancel the registration of the aircraft.  This means the owner will have a total of 90 days from the date of expiration to register the aircraft before the FAA will cancel the N-number.  During this time, the aircraft will appear on a list of aircraft with pending cancellation found on the FAA website.  Once the registration of an aircraft has been cancelled, the N-number will be unavailable for assignement for 5 years.

WHAT IS THE FEE TO RENEW?

The FAA has set the fee for Re-Registrations at $5.  Aero-Space Reports will be glad to assist with the Re-Registration process by filing the 8050-1A on your behalf.  Should we need to file the 8050-1A, our regular document filing fee will apply.

Click here to view the Final Rule.

Click here to view the FAA Re-Registration Form.