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FAA Close to Enacting Re-registration Policy for Aircraft

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The FAA is proposing a new rule that would require aircraft owners to re-register their aircraft every three years, a change from the current one-time registration policy.
  • This initiative aims to update the FAA's aircraft registry and remove potentially invalid registrations, which the FAA estimates to be around 104,000 out of 343,000.
  • If implemented, owners would have a three-month window to re-register based on their original registration month, while the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has suggested an online alternative to avoid potential fees and burdens on owners.
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As soon as this fall, owners could be required to re-register their aircraft with the FAA every three years. The current policy is a one-time registration with a five-dollar fee. The fee for re-registration, if any, has yet to be announced. The re-registration strategy was first proposed two years ago as a means of updating the list of registered aircraft and culling out those that no longer are active. The FAA claims that 104,000 of the currently registered 343,000 aircraft are possibly invalid. If the new rule goes into effect, all owners would have to re-register their aircraft within a three-month window based on the month of their original registration. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, concerned that fees for re-registering aircraft might be an undue burden on owners, has proposed an online re-registration plan through the existing Triennial Aircraft Registration Report that would serve the same purpose.

Mark Phelps

Mark Phelps is a senior editor at AVweb. He is an instrument rated private pilot and former owner of a Grumman American AA1B and a V-tail Bonanza.

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