Yes. Your Amateur-Built Aircraft Must Be Registered
If your aircraft weighs more than .55 pounds/250 grams then it must be registered.
Use this link to apply for FAA registration.
You will also need an Airworthiness Certificate. Use this link to apply for an Aircraft Airworthiness Certificate.
Every aircraft builder should keep a detailed builder’s log to track the progress of the construction process. This log serves as evidence for the FAA, confirming the aircraft was built by an amateur.
Be sure to note the date, the time spent, and the specific tasks completed each time you work on the project. To strengthen your documentation, take periodic photos of yourself actively working on the aircraft to provide visual verification.
More Than Help With FAA Registration
Here at the National Aviation Center, we help aircraft owners from all across the country to legally get in the air and stay that way. Whether you’re registering your aircraft, renewing your registration, replacing it, or so much more, you can use our site.
These following laws may pertain to your situation:
§ 47.13 Signatures and instruments made by representatives.
(a) Each person signing an Aircraft Registration Application, AC Form 8050-1, or a document submitted as supporting evidence under this part, must sign in ink or by other means acceptable to the FAA. If signed in ink, the Aircraft Registration Application must also have the typed or legibly printed name of each signer in the signature block.
(b) When one or more persons doing business under a trade name submits an Aircraft Registration Application, a document submitted as supporting evidence under this part, or a request for cancellation of a Certificate of Aircraft Registration, AC Form 8050-3, the application, document, or request must be signed by, or on behalf of, each person who shares title to the aircraft.
(c) When an agent submits an Aircraft Registration Application, a document submitted as supporting evidence under this part, or a request for cancellation of a Certificate of Aircraft Registration, on behalf of the owner, that agent must—
(1) State the name of the owner on the application, document, or request;
(2) Sign as agent or attorney-in-fact on the application, document, or request; and
(3) Submit a signed power of attorney, or a true copy thereof certified under § 49.21 of this chapter, with the application, document, or request.
(d) When a corporation submits an Aircraft Registration Application, a document submitted as supporting evidence under this part, or a request for cancellation of a Certificate of Aircraft Registration, it must—
(1) Have an authorized person sign, by means acceptable to the FAA, the application, document, or request;
(2) Show the title of the signer’s office on the application, document, or request; and
(3) Submit a copy of the authorization from the board of directors to sign for the corporation, certified as true under § 49.21 of this chapter by a corporate officer or other person in a managerial position therein, with the application, document, or request, unless—
(i) The signer of the application, document, or request is a corporate officer or other person in a managerial position in the corporation and the title of his office is stated in connection with his signature; or
(ii) A valid authorization to sign is on file at the Registry.
(4) The provisions of paragraph (d)(3) of this section do not apply to an irrevocable deregistration and export request authorization when an irrevocable deregistration and export request authorization under the Cape Town Treaty is signed by a corporate officer and is filed with the Registry.
(e) When a partnership submits an Aircraft Registration Application, a document submitted as supporting evidence under this part, or a request for cancellation of a Certificate of Aircraft Registration, it must—
(1) State the full name of the partnership on the application, document, or request;
(2) State the name of each general partner on the application, document, or request; and
(3) Have a general partner sign the application, document, or request.
(f) When co-owners, who are not engaged in business as partners, submit an Aircraft Registration Application, a document submitted as supporting evidence under this part, or a request for cancellation of a Certificate of Aircraft Registration, each person who shares title to the aircraft under the arrangement must sign the application, document, or request.
(g) A power of attorney or other evidence of a person’s authority to sign for another, submitted under this part, is valid for the purposes of this section, unless sooner revoked, until—
(1) Its expiration date stated therein; or
(2) If an expiration date is not stated therein, for not more than 3 years after the date—
(i) It is signed; or
(ii) The grantor (a corporate officer or other person in a managerial position therein, where the grantor is a corporation) certifies in writing that the authority to sign shown by the power of attorney or other evidence is still in effect.
[Doc. No. 7190, 31 FR 4495, Mar. 17, 1966, as amended by Amdt. 47-2, 31 FR 15349, Dec. 8, 1966; Amdt. 47-3, 32 FR 6554, Apr. 28, 1967; Amdt. 47-12, 36 FR 8661, May 11, 1971; Amdt. 47-27, 70 FR 245, Jan. 3, 2005; Amdt. 47-29, 75 FR 41980, July 20, 2010]
§ 47.15 Registration number.
(a) Number required. An applicant for aircraft registration must place a U.S. registration number (registration mark) on the Aircraft Registration Application, AC Form 8050-1, and on any evidence submitted with the application. There is no charge for the assignment of numbers provided in this paragraph. This paragraph does not apply to an aircraft manufacturer who applies for a group of U.S. registration numbers under paragraph (c) of this section; a person who applies for a special registration number under paragraphs (d) through (f) of this section; or a holder of a Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate, AC Form 8050-6, who applies for a temporary registration number under § 47.16.
(1) Aircraft not previously registered anywhere. The applicant must obtain the U.S. registration number from the Registry by request in writing describing the aircraft by make, type, model, and serial number (or, if it is amateur-built, as provided in § 47.33(b)) and stating that the aircraft has not previously been registered anywhere. If the aircraft was brought into the United States from a foreign country, the applicant must submit evidence that the aircraft has never been registered in a foreign country.
(2) Aircraft last previously registered in the United States. Unless the applicant applies for a different number under paragraphs (d) through (f) of this section, the applicant must place the U.S. registration number that is already assigned to the aircraft on the Aircraft Registration Application, and the supporting evidence. If there is no number assigned, the applicant must obtain a U.S. registration number from the Registry by making a written request that describes the aircraft by make, model, and serial number.
(3) Aircraft last previously registered in a foreign country. Whether or not the foreign registration has ended, the applicant must obtain a U.S. registration number from the Registry for an aircraft last previously registered in a foreign country, by request in writing describing the aircraft by make, model, and serial number, accompanied by—
(i) Evidence of termination of foreign registration in accordance with § 47.37(b) or the applicant’s affidavit showing that foreign registration has ended; or
(ii) If foreign registration has not ended, the applicant’s affidavit stating that the number will not be placed on the aircraft until foreign registration has ended.
(4) Duration of a U.S. registration number assignment. Authority to use the registration number obtained under paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section expires 90 days after the date it is issued unless the applicant submits an Aircraft Registration Application and complies with § 47.33 or § 47.37, as applicable, within that period of time. However, the applicant may obtain an extension of this 90-day period from the Registry if the applicant shows that the delay in complying with that section is due to circumstances beyond the applicant’s control.
(b) A U.S. registration number may not exceed five symbols in addition to the prefix letter “N”. These symbols may be all numbers (N10000), one to four numbers and one suffix letter (N 1000A), or one to three numbers and two suffix letters (N 100AB). The letters “I” and “O” may not be used. The first zero in a number must always be preceded by at least one of the numbers 1 through 9.
(c) An aircraft manufacturer may apply to the Registry for enough U.S. registration numbers to supply estimated production for the next 18 months. There is no charge for this allocation of numbers.
(d) Any available, unassigned U.S. registration number may be assigned as a special registration number. An applicant who wants a special registration number or wants to change the registration number of his aircraft may apply for it to the Registry. The fee required by § 47.17 must accompany the application.
(e) [Reserved]
(f) The Registry authorizes a special registration number change on the Assignment of Special Registration Numbers, AC Form 8050-64. The authorization expires one year from the date the Registry issues an Assignment of Special Registration Numbers unless the special registration number is permanently placed on the aircraft. Within five days after the special registration number is placed on the aircraft, the owner must complete and sign the Assignment of Special Registration Numbers, state the date the number was placed on the aircraft, and return the original form to the Registry. The duplicate of the Assignment of Special Registration Numbers and the present Certificate of Aircraft Registration, AC Form 8050-3, must be carried in the aircraft as temporary authority to operate it. This temporary authority is valid until the date the owner receives the revised Certificate of Aircraft Registration showing the new registration number, but in no case is it valid for more than 120 days from the date the number is placed on the aircraft.
(g) [Reserved]
(h) A special registration number may be reserved for no more than 1 year. If a person wishes to renew his reservation from year to year, he must apply to the Registry for renewal and submit the fee required by § 47.17 for a special registration number.
(i) When aircraft registration has ended, as described in § 47.41(a), the assignment of a registration number to an aircraft is no longer authorized for use except as provided in § 47.31(c) and will be cancelled:
(1) Following the expiration date shown on the Certificate of Aircraft Registration for any aircraft whose registration has not been renewed under § 47.40(c);
(2) Following the expiration date shown on the Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate, AC Form 8050-6, for any aircraft registered under Subpart C of this part, when the certificate has not been renewed, and the owner has not applied for registration in accordance with § 47.31; or
(3) When ownership has transferred—
(i) Six months after first receipt of notice of aircraft sale or evidence of ownership from the last registered owner or successive owners, and an Aircraft Registration Application has not been received.
(ii) Six months after evidence of ownership authorized under § 47.67 has been submitted, and the applicant has not met the requirements of this part.
(iii) Twelve months after a new owner has submitted evidence of ownership and an Aircraft Registration Application under § 47.31, and the applicant or a successive applicant has not met the requirements of this part.
(j) At the time an assignment of registration number is cancelled, the number may be reserved for one year in the name of the last owner of record if a request has been submitted with the fee required by § 47.17. If the request for reservation and fee are not submitted prior to cancellation, the registration number is unavailable for assignment for a period of five years.
[Doc. No. 7190, 31 FR 4495, Mar. 17, 1966, as amended by Amdt. 47-1, 31 FR 13314, Oct. 14, 1966; Amdt. 47-5, 32 FR 13505, Sept. 27, 1967; Amdt. 47-7, 34 FR 2480, Feb. 21, 1969; Amdt. 47-13, 36 FR 16187, Aug. 20, 1971; Amdt. 47-15, 37 FR 21528, Oct. 12, 1972; Amdt. 47-16, 37 FR 25487, Dec. 1, 1972; Amdt. 47-17, 39 FR 1353, Jan. 8, 1974; Amdt. 47-22, 47 FR 12153, Mar. 22, 1982; Amdt. 47-29, 75 FR 41980, July 20, 2010; Amdt. No. 47-33, 87 FR 71217, Nov. 22, 2022]