m CAUTION: An aircraft may not be registered in a foreign country during the period it is registered in the United States. 

## eligible registrants 

An aircraft is eligible for registration in the United States if it is owned by: 

• A U.S. citizen (as defined in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), part 47, section 47.2, a U.S. citizen can be an individual, or part- nership where each individual is a U.S. citizen, or a corporation organized under the laws of the United States of which the president and at least two-thirds of the board of directors are U.S. citizens and 75 percent of the voting interest is owned or controlled by U.S. citizens) 

• A resident alien 

• A corporation other than one classified as a U.S. citizen, lawfully organized under the laws of the United States or of any state thereof, if the aircraft is based and used primarily in the United States 

• A government entity (federal, state or local) 

## registering Your Aircraft 

To register an aircraft, you must send the following documentation and fee to AFS-750: 

• Aeronautical Center (AC) Form 8050-1, Aircraft Registration Application, 

• Evidence of ownership (such as a bill of sale), and 

• The registration fee made payable to the FAA. 

 You must use an original AC Form 8050-1 when applying for a Certificate of Aircraft Registration. AC 8050-1 may be obtained from AFS-750 or your local FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). If you use a P.O. Box as a mailing address, you must also provide your street or physical location on the application. 

m CAUTION: The FAA does not accept photocopies or alternate formats of AC 8050-1. 

Your application for aircraft registration must include the typed or printed name of each applicant with his or her signature in the signature block. 

m CAUTION: An aircraft may be registered only by and in the legal name of its owner. 

m CAUTION: The FAA will return any applications that do not include the printed or typed name of the signer. 

Figure 4-1 at the end of this chapter is an aircraft registration checklist you can use to assist you in the registration process. 

## registration number 

The United States received the “N” as its nationality designator under the International Air Navigation Convention, held in 1919. 

## How To Form an N-Number 

N-numbers consist of a series of alphanumeric characters. U.S. registration numbers may not ex- ceed five characters in addition to the standard U.S. registration prefix letter “N.” These characters may be: 

• One to five numbers (N12345), 

• One to four numbers followed by one letter (N1234Z), or 

• One to three numbers followed by two letters (N123AZ). 

To avoid confusion with the numbers one and zero, the letters I and O are not used. Also, please note that a hyphen (-) is no longer used in U.S. registration numbers. 

## Other Requirements 

An N-number may not begin with zero. You must precede the first zero in an N-number with any number 1 through 9. For example, N01Z is not valid. 

Registration numbers N1 through N99 are strictly reserved for FAA internal use. 

## special registration number 

A special registration number is an N-number of your choice which may be reserved, if available. 

Special registration numbers may be: 

• Used to change the N-number currently on your aircraft. 

• Assigned to a new home-built, import, or newly manufactured aircraft in preparation for registering that aircraft. 

• Reserved for 1 year. Upon reservation, the FAA will mail a confirmation notice to the requester. A renewal notice will also be sent prior to the expiration date. An online reservation request program is available on the FAA website at www.faa.gov. 

• Renewed annually. The renewal fee is $10 each year. An online renewal program is available on the FAA website at www.faa.gov. 

