We hope this scenario doesn’t happen to you: the time comes to renew your aircraft registration, and you just don’t realize it. Maybe the Registry sent the form to an address that was no longer valid for you, or perhaps there was some other reason that caused you to miss the renewal date. So, your registration runs out. Unfortunately, once that date passes, you can’t renew the registration. Instead, you have to reregister airplane registration. You can do so at our site so that you can get back to flying legally again.
Reregister Airplane Options
Two things to be very clear about when your registration expires: the aircraft is without authority to operate, but you can get that back. Keep in mind: this is a serious thing. You don’t want to be caught flying your aircraft without the registration. This isn’t a “would like to have,” this is a “must have.” That being said, it’s not the end of the world. Sure, it will be a pain and it may cost a bit of money, but you can absolutely get back the authority to fly your plane.
Re-registration is the Best Option
One of the questions we do often get is some form of: “I just found out I have to renew your aircraft registration but the date passed, can’t I just send it in?” Unfortunately, no. You can’t do that; you have to re-registration if you plan on taking the plane back in the air again. Indeed, this is why the process starts half a year before the expiration. That being said, the Registry isn’t perfect. They’re human just like the rest of us. That means that sometimes, people do get in their renewal in time, but there was some kind of human error which kept it from working out. When that’s the case, the Registry tends to be very good about working with you to make sure that it works.
Worth it to Re-register Quickly
You might think: “well, I missed the cutoff to renew my registration. Oh well. If I have to reregister airplane, I can take my time, there’s no rush. After all, they already took my registration.” It’s common to think this, but that’s not the case. Once the registration expiration date passes, the Registry will send you a notice that says when your N-number will be scheduled for cancellation. Losing that can make the entire process much harder. After all, if the N-number is canceled (and you didn’t reserve it) it won’t be available for reservation or re-assignment for the next half-decade.
Re-register with us
At our site, we have a re-registration as well as a renewal form (among others). You can fill out the re-register form in a manner of minutes and send it in. Should you be greatly concerned about time, we have a “rush processing” option as well, which will get it in to the Registry even faster. For more questions you might have, contact us at (800) 357-0893.