Registration Renewal and Aircraft Reinstatement Forms Explained

Your aircraft registration, like most similar official documents, has an expiration date, which you will have to pay attention to. After all, you can’t operate your aircraft with an expired registration. If you wish to avoid this, you will need to make use of the renewal form at the right time. However, if your registration does expire, grounding your aircraft going forward, you will no longer be able to renew it. Instead, you have to file for the aircraft reinstatement process.

Keep Your Aircraft Registration in Order

Once you’ve registered your aircraft with the Federal Aviation Administration, it’s very important for you to remember that it won’t last indefinitely. You will need to pay attention to the registration’s expiration date so that you are able to renew it on time. The renewal and reinstatement processes can be confusing, which is why here we make sure to explain both forms so that you’re ready should you need them. 

Renewing Your Registration on Time

So, when should you make a move in regards to your registration renewal? We know that figuring out the right timing can be tricky. After all, you don’t want to do it too early, since it might end up getting rejected. You also don’t want to do it too late, for you might not receive the renewal in time either. Taking this into account, we recommend that you submit the renewal form no earlier than three months before the expiration date and no later than a month ahead of the date. This way, you will be able to get your renewal on time and avoid having to ground your aircraft while you wait for your new certificate.

Reinstating Your Aircraft if Needed

Now, if you did, in fact, let your registration expire for some reason or another, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. There is a way for you to easily get it back up, but it won’t be by way of the renewal process. Instead, you will have to submit the re-registration form, also known as the reinstatement one. This form essentially serves as the reactivation process for registration that might have already expired. It’s fairly similar to the renewal process, save for the fact that it’s a little more expensive. With this in mind, you will probably want to simply take care of your registration renewal before it expires.

Submit the Form for Aircraft Reinstatement

When it comes to filing any sort of aircraft registration form, you will have two options. You can file the form directly with the Federal Aviation Administration, but this is likely to take a long time, especially given the way in which you need to submit the forms, and that’s not to mention that you might have your forms returned for small mistakes. On the other hand, you can find and submit all the forms through our platform here at the National Aviation Center. For more information about how to submit registration forms, you can give us a call at 1-800-357-0893 or email us at [email protected].