FAA Issues Recurrent Aircraft Registration Final Rule

AirVenture forum scheduled July 30

July 19, 2010 —The FAA has issued a Final Rule that requires all owners of civil aircraft in the United States to re-register their aircraft over the next three years, then re-register every subsequent third year. The FAA claims this action will create a more accurate aircraft registration database.

“These improvements will give us more up-to-date registration data and better information about the state of the aviation industry,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt claimed.

Over a three-year period, this rule will terminate the registration of all aircraft registered before October 1, 2010, and will require the re-registration of each aircraft to retain U.S. civil aircraft status. These amendments also establish a system for a three-year recurrent expiration and renewal of registration for all aircraft issued registration certificates on or after October 1, 2010.

EAA opposed the rule, citing the costly burden on the public for something the FAA can accomplish using other means. EAA wrote in comments submitted in June 2008, “The FAA’s own data indicates that the issue is much smaller than presented, and that a major change in the FAA registration system is not warranted.”

The rule establishes specific expiration dates over a three-year period for all aircraft registered before October 1, 2010, and requires re-registration of those aircraft according to a specific schedule. All aircraft registration certificates issued on or after October 1, 2010 will be good for three years with the expiration date listed below. The FAA says it will cancel the N-numbers of aircraft that are not re-registered or renewed.

At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Walter L. Binkley, manager of the Aircraft Registration Branch in Oklahoma City, will host a forum focusing on the new final rule, “Expiring Registrations,” on Friday, July 30, in Forum Pavilion 4.

Certificate issued	Certificate expires	Re-registration required
(Any year)
March	March 31, 2011	Nov. 1, 2010-Jan. 31, 2011
April	June 30, 2011	Feb. 1 - April 30, 2011
May	Sept. 30, 2011	May 1- July 31, 2011
June	Dec. 31, 2011	Aug. 1- Oct. 31, 2011
July	March 31, 2012	Nov. 1, 2011-Jan. 31, 2012
August	June 30, 2012	Feb. 1- April 30, 2012
September	Sept. 30, 2012	May 1- July 31, 2012
October	Dec. 31, 2012	Aug. 1- Oct. 31, 2012
November	March 31, 2013	Nov. 1, 2012-Jan. 31, 2013
December	June 30, 2013	Feb. 1- April 30, 2013
January	Sept. 30, 2013	May 1- July 31, 2013
February	Dec. 31, 2013	Aug. 1- Oct. 31, 2013