The FAA will now require re-registration of all civil aircraft over the next three years and renewal every three years after that, the agency said on Monday. A final final rule published this week establishes specific expiration dates over a three-year period for all aircraft registered before Oct. 1, 2010, and requires re-registration of those aircraft according to a specific schedule. A fee of $5 will be collected for each registration and each renewal. The FAA will cancel the N-numbers of aircraft that are not re-registered or renewed. “These improvements will give us more up-to-date registration data and better information about the state of the aviation industry,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. Current regulations require owners to report the sale of an aircraft, the scrapping or destruction of an aircraft, or a change in mailing address, but many owners have not complied with those requirements, the FAA said.
Re-registration of all U.S. civil aircraft by Dec. 31, 2013, will enhance the database with current data derived from recent contact with aircraft owners, according to the FAA. The new regulations also aim to ensure that aircraft owners give the FAA fresh information at least once every three years when they renew their registration. Click here for the FAA’s full schedule for re-registration and registration expiration. The rule was proposed in 2008. AOPA had suggested that the rule should not include fees and shouldn’t cancel N-numbers for lack of renewal. “We are disappointed that the FAA has chosen what may turn out to be a complicated and costly method of updating the aircraft registry,” said AOPA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Rob Hackman. The FAA reauthorization bill now in Congress would allow the FAA to raise the initial fee to $130 and renewals to $45, AOPA said. “AOPA will be monitoring the implementation of the rule closely and communicating with the FAA about any issues that arise,” said Hackman.
