Aircraft registration feels like a one-time chore — fill out the form, get the certificate, hang the N-number on the tail. In practice it is a recurring compliance obligation with a hard expiration date, an eligibility test that can quietly break when ownership or corporate structure changes, and a paper trail that an FAA inspector, a lender, or a buyer’s pre-purchase reviewer will ask to see. Get it wrong and the consequence is blunt: an aircraft with a lapsed or invalid registration is missing one of the documents 14 CFR §91.203 requires aboard, so it cannot legally fly.
The rules live in 14 CFR Part 47, organized into three subparts: Subpart A (general, §§47.1–47.19) covers eligibility, applicants, and the registration number; Subpart B (§§47.31–47.51) covers the Certificate of Aircraft Registration, the application, and the seven-year expiration; and Subpart C (§§47.61–47.71) covers the Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate. This guide walks the sections that matter most to owners and operators — §47.3 and §47.7 (who is eligible), §47.15 (the N-number), §47.31 (the application and the temporary authority that lets you fly while you wait), §47.40 (the seven-year clock), and §47.61 (dealers) — and then turns to the registration records you should keep audit-ready.
Registration is the R in the ARROW documents that must be aboard your aircraft. For the full document-aboard picture, see our companion guide on the ARROW documents (airworthiness, registration, operating limitations, weight & balance) and on the broader Part 91 aircraft records.
What Part 47 Requires: The Registration Map
Part 47 implements the aircraft-registration provisions of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 441. The core requirement is in §47.3: an aircraft may be registered under 49 U.S.C. 44103 only if it is owned by an eligible person, and (with narrow exceptions) no person may operate an aircraft that is eligible for registration unless it has been registered by its owner, carries the §47.31(c) temporary authority, or is a U.S. Armed Forces aircraft. You apply on AC Form 8050-1 under §47.5, only in the legal name of the owner, and the certificate you receive is expressly not evidence of ownership.
| Section | Title | What It Governs |
|---|---|---|
| §47.3 | Registration required | Eligible owners; the bar on operating an unregistered eligible aircraft |
| §47.5 | Applicants | AC Form 8050-1; legal-name-of-owner rule; registration is not evidence of ownership |
| §47.7 | United States Citizens and Resident Aliens | How citizens, resident aliens, partnerships, and trustees establish eligibility |
| §47.15 | Registration number | N-number assignment, the five-symbol limit, and special-number reservation |
| §47.31 | Application | The application process and the second-copy temporary operating authority |
| §47.40 | Registration expiration and renewal | The seven-year term and the six-month renewal window |
| §47.61 | Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificates | Registration for U.S. manufacturers and dealers |
Registration is nationality, not title
The single most important thing to understand about Part 47 is what registration is not. §47.5(c) states that registration is not evidence of ownership of the aircraft in any proceeding in which ownership by a particular person is in issue — it cites 49 U.S.C. 44103(c) directly. Registration establishes the aircraft’s U.S. nationality and identifies the operator-of-record to the FAA. Ownership is a separate matter, resolved through the FAA aircraft registry recording system (bills of sale, security agreements) and state law. Treat the registration certificate as a compliance document, and treat title as a parallel record set.
Eligibility: Who May Register (§47.3 & §47.7)
§47.3(a) lists the persons who may register an aircraft under 49 U.S.C. 44103. An aircraft is eligible when it is owned by one of the following:
A citizen of the United States
The most common case — an individual U.S. citizen, or a U.S.-citizen entity that meets the statutory citizenship test.
A resident alien
An individual citizen of a foreign country who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
A qualifying corporation
A corporation that is not a citizen of the United States but is organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or a State, provided the aircraft is based and primarily used in the United States.
A U.S. governmental unit
The United States Government, or a State, the District of Columbia, a territory or possession of the United States, or a political subdivision of one of those.
Where §47.3 says who is eligible, §47.7 says how citizens, resident aliens, partnerships, and trustees prove it on the application. A U.S. citizen applicant certifies citizenship; a resident alien provides the alien registration number; a partnership establishes that it qualifies. The provision that generates the most paperwork is the trust paragraph.
Trustees and owner trusts (§47.7(c))
Under §47.7(c), a trustee may register an aircraft held in trust, but each trustee must be either a U.S. citizen or a resident alien, and the trust documentation must be filed with the application. The rule includes affidavit and trust-instrument requirements aimed at any beneficiary who is not a U.S. citizen or resident alien — broadly, the trust must show that such persons do not hold more than 25 percent of the aggregate power to direct or remove a trustee.
Owner trusts are a standard structure for financing and for non-citizen beneficial owners. They are legitimate and common — but they expand the registration record: the trust agreement, the trustee affidavit, and supporting documents all become part of what the FAA holds and what you should keep filed. This pattern parallels the document obligations in Part 91K fractional ownership and aircraft lease structures under §91.23.
Eligibility can break after you register
Eligibility is tested at registration, but it is not frozen there. If a U.S.-organized corporation’s aircraft stops being based and primarily used in the United States, or if a corporate restructuring changes the citizenship picture, the basis for registration can change. The FAA expects the registry to reflect current, accurate information — §47.40(c) even lets the Administrator require a fresh application before expiration if the certificate carries inaccurate information. Ownership and structure changes are exactly the events that should trigger a registration review.
The N-Number: Assignment & Reservation (§47.15)
The U.S. registration number — the N-number — is governed by §47.15. The applicant places a U.S. registration number on the Aircraft Registration Application, and numbers are obtained from the FAA Aircraft Registry. The format rule is specific: a U.S. registration number may not exceed five symbols in addition to the prefix letter N. That is why you see numbers ranging from short all-numeric marks to longer alphanumeric combinations — all within the five-symbol ceiling.
Special (custom) registration numbers
Any available, unassigned U.S. registration number may be assigned as a special registration number on request, with the fee required by §47.17 accompanying the application. This is the mechanism behind vanity tail numbers.
Reservation is time-limited
A special registration number may be reserved for no more than one year. To keep a reserved number from year to year, the holder must apply to the Registry for renewal and pay the §47.17 fee again. A reservation that is not renewed lapses — and the number can return to the available pool.
Displaying the number is a Part 45 matter, not Part 47
§47.15 governs how the number is assigned and reserved. How it is physically displayed on the aircraft — size, location, and legibility — is a separate marking requirement under 14 CFR Part 45. The number painted on the airframe, the number on the airworthiness certificate, and the number on the registration certificate all have to agree, but the assignment record (Part 47) and the display rule (Part 45) are distinct obligations. The marking is covered in our ARROW documents guide.
The Application & the “Pink Copy” (§47.31)
§47.31 sets out the application for a Certificate of Aircraft Registration. The applicant submits AC Form 8050-1 with evidence of ownership (typically the AC Form 8050-2 Aircraft Bill of Sale or equivalent) and the registration fee. The provision pilots care about most is paragraph (c), the temporary operating authority — what hangars and FBOs informally call the “pink copy.”
The §47.31(c) temporary authority — what it actually allows
For an aircraft previously registered in the United States, §47.31(c) lets the applicant carry the second copy of the Aircraft Registration Application in the aircraft as temporary authority to operate without a registration certificate. That authority is valid for operation within the United States until the date the applicant receives the Certificate of Aircraft Registration or the date the FAA denies the application.
Two limits are easy to miss. First, the temporary authority is not available once 12 months have passed since the FAA received the first application following the last transfer of ownership. Second, the second copy may not be used as temporary authority if no registration number has been assigned. And it does not authorize operations outside the United States — an international trip needs the permanent certificate.
“Pink copy” is shorthand — read §47.31(c), not the folklore
The regulation does not use the words “pink copy,” and it does not set a fixed 90-day window — both are common misstatements. The actual rule is tied to events (receipt of the certificate, denial, the 12-month limit, and whether a number has been assigned), not a flat number of days. If you are buying an aircraft and planning to fly it home on the temporary authority, confirm a registration number is assigned and that you are inside the post-transfer window before you launch.
Is Your Registration About to Lapse?
FileFlo’s free FAA Readiness Score flags document gaps — an expiring §47.40 registration certificate, a missing bill of sale, a trust document that never made it into the file — before a ramp inspector, a lender, or a buyer’s pre-purchase reviewer does. No signup, no credit card, 3 minutes.
Run the FAA Readiness Score — FreeThe Seven-Year Renewal Clock (§47.40)
This is the section that turns registration from a one-time event into a recurring compliance task. §47.40(a) provides that a Certificate of Aircraft Registration issued in accordance with §47.31 expires seven years after the last day of the month in which it is issued. Under §47.40(b), the holder may apply for renewal by submitting an Aircraft Registration Renewal Application (AC Form 8050-1B) and the required fee during the six months preceding the expiration date.
The fact most owners get wrong: it is seven years, not three
For years, U.S. aircraft registration ran on a three-year cycle, and a great deal of older guidance, checklists, and even some software still says three. The current rule under §47.40 is a seven-year term measured from the last day of the month of issuance. Relying on the stale three-year figure will not hurt you — but relying on a vague memory of “it renews sometime” will. The expiration is a specific calendar date you can compute the day the certificate is issued.
Under §47.40(c), the Administrator may also require the holder to submit a complete Aircraft Registration Application (AC Form 8050-1) and fee before expiration if the certificate is found to contain inaccurate information — another reason to keep the registry record accurate as ownership and address details change.
An expired registration grounds the aircraft
If the registration certificate has expired and has not been renewed, the aircraft no longer carries the effective U.S. registration certificate that §91.203(a)(2) requires aboard — regardless of how perfect the maintenance records are. Worse, because §21.181(a)(1) makes continued U.S. registration a condition of a standard airworthiness certificate staying effective, a lapsed registration can put the airworthiness certificate in question too. The fix is administrative — renew the registration — but you cannot legally fly until it clears.
The practical lesson: the registration expiration belongs on the same expiration calendar as the annual inspection under §91.409, the §91.411/§91.413 altimeter and transponder tests, and the ADS-B Out currency items. It is a date, it is computable in advance, and it is the kind of thing a Part 135 operator tracking dozens of tail numbers cannot afford to lose in a spreadsheet.
Dealer Registration (§47.61) & Trust Registration (§47.7)
Two specialized registration paths deserve their own treatment because each carries a distinct document set.
Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate (§47.61)
Under §47.61, the FAA issues these certificates to U.S. manufacturers and dealers so they can make required flight tests of aircraft and operate, demonstrate, and merchandise aircraft without obtaining a standard Certificate of Aircraft Registration for each one. Subpart C (§§47.61–47.71) sets the eligibility, the limits on use, and the conditions for returning the certificate. It is a trade tool, not permanent end-owner registration.
Trust registration (§47.7(c))
Under §47.7(c), an aircraft held in trust is registered by the trustee, who must be a U.S. citizen or resident alien, with the trust agreement and trustee affidavit filed. The rule addresses the influence of non-citizen, non-resident-alien beneficiaries — broadly, capping their aggregate power over the trustee at 25 percent. The trust paperwork becomes part of the permanent registration record.
Both paths expand the record, not just the registration
A dealer relying on Dealer’s Certificates has to track which certificates are active, on which aircraft, and within what limits — a recordkeeping obligation in its own right. A trust owner has to keep the trust agreement, the trustee affidavit, and any amendments aligned with what the FAA holds. In both cases the registration is only the visible tip; the supporting documents are what an auditor, a lender’s counsel, or a buyer’s diligence team will actually want to see.
The Registration Records to Keep Audit-Ready
Part 47 itself is mostly about the FAA’s registry. But every registration generates a document set the owner or operator should hold and keep current — because these are the papers a ramp inspector, a lender, an insurer, or a buyer’s pre-purchase reviewer asks to see. Here is the practical file.
The Part 47 Registration File
The current Certificate of Aircraft Registration — and the §47.40 expiration date computed and calendared (seven years after the last day of its issue month).
AC Form 8050-1 (Aircraft Registration Application) and, at renewal, AC Form 8050-1B — your copies, including the §47.31(c) second copy if you are operating on temporary authority.
Evidence of ownership in the chain — the AC Form 8050-2 Aircraft Bill of Sale (or equivalent) for each transfer, which Part 47 ties to the application.
For a trust registration (§47.7(c)): the trust agreement, the trustee affidavit, and any amendments — kept aligned with what the FAA holds.
For a dealer (§47.61): the active Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate(s) and a record of which aircraft each is being used on, within the Subpart C limits.
N-number records (§47.15): the assignment confirmation, and for a reserved special number, the reservation and its one-year renewal dates.
Address-of-record and any change documentation — Part 47 requires the registry to reflect accurate information, and §47.40(c) lets the FAA force a reapplication if it does not.
Reminder: registration is the R in ARROW. The full document-aboard set is in our ARROW documents guide.
How FileFlo Fits the Registration Record
FileFlo is a compliance document intelligence platform — a read-only proof layer that sits alongside your existing aircraft records and keeps the documents audit-ready. It classifies 600+ document types against the governing CFR section, so a Certificate of Aircraft Registration is recognized as a §47.40-governed document with a seven-year expiry the system can track, an AC Form 8050-2 bill of sale is filed as ownership evidence, and a trust agreement is associated with the §47.7 registration it supports. It surfaces expirations — the registration renewal due date, a special-number reservation lapse — 90/60/30 days out, and generates inspector-format or diligence-ready binders on demand.
FileFlo does not register aircraft, file with the FAA Aircraft Registry, resolve title, or replace your aviation attorney or title company. It keeps the documents that prove your registration is current and your file is complete — the certificate, the application copies, the bill-of-sale chain, the trust paperwork — organized, indexed against the relevant CFR, and ready when someone asks. For the surveillance context where these documents get examined, see our Part 135 FAA surveillance audit guide.
Related Aviation Compliance Guides
The ARROW Documents
Registration is the R in the documents that must be aboard
Part 91 Aircraft Records (§91.417)
The maintenance history behind the certificates
Weight & Balance Records
The W in ARROW, kept current and accurate
Truth-in-Leasing (§91.23)
How lease structures layer onto registration
Part 91K Fractional Records
Multi-owner structures and their document load
Part 91.409 Annual Inspection
The recurring date that sits beside registration renewal
Special Flight (Ferry) Permits
Operating an aircraft that cannot meet normal requirements
Part 135 Operator Records
Registration as one item in the operator record set
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to register an aircraft under 14 CFR Part 47?
Under 14 CFR §47.3, an aircraft may be registered under 49 U.S.C. 44103 only when it is owned by an eligible person. The categories are: a citizen of the United States; an individual citizen of a foreign country lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States (a resident alien); a corporation that is not a citizen of the United States but is organized and doing business under the laws of the United States or a state, provided the aircraft is based and primarily used in the United States; and the United States Government or a State, the District of Columbia, a territory or possession, or a political subdivision. Section 47.7 then sets out how citizens, resident aliens, partnerships, and trustees actually establish eligibility on the application.
Does registering an aircraft prove that I own it?
No. 14 CFR §47.5(c) is explicit that registration is not evidence of ownership of the aircraft in any proceeding in which ownership by a particular person is in issue — it points to 49 U.S.C. 44103(c) for that rule. The FAA issues a Certificate of Aircraft Registration based on the evidence of ownership submitted with the application, but the certificate itself is not a title document. Section 47.5(b) requires that an aircraft be registered only by and in the legal name of its owner, and §47.5(d) defines owner broadly to include a buyer in possession, a bailee, or a lessee under a contract of conditional sale, and the assignee of that person. Title questions are resolved through the FAA aircraft registry recording system and state law, not the registration certificate.
How long is an FAA aircraft registration certificate valid?
Under 14 CFR §47.40(a), a Certificate of Aircraft Registration issued under §47.31 expires seven years after the last day of the month in which it is issued. The registered owner may apply to renew it by submitting an Aircraft Registration Renewal Application (AC Form 8050-1B) and the required fee during the six months preceding the expiration date, per §47.40(b). This seven-year term is the current rule; it replaced the earlier three-year registration cycle, which is a frequent source of stale guidance. An aircraft flown with a lapsed registration no longer carries the effective U.S. registration certificate that 14 CFR §91.203(a)(2) requires aboard, so renewal is a hard date to track.
What is the pink copy of the registration application and can I fly on it?
The phrase pink copy is informal pilot shorthand; the regulation that matters is 14 CFR §47.31(c). For an aircraft previously registered in the United States, the applicant may carry the second copy of the Aircraft Registration Application (AC Form 8050-1) in the aircraft as temporary authority to operate without a registration certificate while the FAA processes the permanent Certificate of Aircraft Registration. That temporary authority is valid for operation within the United States until the date the applicant receives the certificate or the date the FAA denies the application. Two limits apply: the temporary authority is not available once 12 months have passed since the date the FAA received the first application following the last ownership transfer, and the second copy may not be used as temporary authority if no registration number has been assigned. It does not authorize operations outside the United States.
How is an N-number assigned, and can I reserve a custom one?
The U.S. registration number (the N-number, or registration mark) is governed by 14 CFR §47.15. A U.S. registration number may not exceed five symbols in addition to the prefix letter N. An applicant places a number on the Aircraft Registration Application; numbers are obtained from the FAA Aircraft Registry on request. You can apply to reserve an available, unassigned number as a special registration number by paying the fee required by §47.17. A special registration number may be reserved for no more than one year, and the reservation may be renewed from year to year by applying to the Registry and paying the §47.17 fee again. The physical display of the number on the aircraft is a separate marking requirement under 14 CFR Part 45, not part of Part 47.
Can an aircraft be registered in the name of a trust?
Yes. 14 CFR §47.7 governs registration by U.S. citizens, resident aliens, partnerships, and trustees. Under §47.7(c), a trustee may apply to register an aircraft held in trust, but each trustee must be either a U.S. citizen or a resident alien, and the trust documentation must be submitted with the application. The rule includes affidavit and trust-instrument requirements addressing the influence of any beneficiary who is not a U.S. citizen or resident alien — broadly, the trust must establish that such persons do not hold more than 25 percent of the aggregate power to direct or remove a trustee. Owner trusts are common for financing and for non-citizen beneficial owners, but they add document obligations: the trust agreement, trustee affidavits, and supporting paperwork all become part of the registration record FileFlo would index against §47.7.
What is a Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate?
A Dealer’s Aircraft Registration Certificate is issued under 14 CFR §47.61. The FAA issues these certificates to U.S. manufacturers and dealers so they can make required flight tests of aircraft and operate, demonstrate, and merchandise aircraft without obtaining a standard Certificate of Aircraft Registration for each aircraft as it changes hands during the sales process. It is a registration tool for the trade, not a substitute for permanent registration by an end owner. Subpart C of Part 47 (§§47.61 through 47.71) sets out the eligibility, the limits on how the certificate may be used, and the conditions under which it must be returned. A dealer relying on these certificates still has a recordkeeping burden — which certificates are active, on which aircraft, and within what limits.
How does aircraft registration relate to the ARROW documents and airworthiness?
Registration is the R in the ARROW set of documents that must be aboard a U.S. aircraft. 14 CFR §91.203(a)(2) requires an effective U.S. registration certificate (or the §47.31(c) temporary authority, or a Part 48 certificate in the relevant context) to be in the aircraft. Registration under Part 47 is distinct from airworthiness: registration establishes nationality and the operator-of-record relationship, while a standard airworthiness certificate under §21.181 is effective as long as the aircraft is maintained and remains U.S.-registered. The link between them is real, though — §21.181(a)(1) makes continued U.S. registration a condition of the airworthiness certificate staying effective, so letting a §47.40 registration lapse can put the airworthiness certificate in question too. See our ARROW documents guide for the full document-aboard picture.
Keep Your Registration Documents Audit-Ready
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Written by Chad Griffith, Founder & CEO, FileFlo · Reviewed June 11, 2026 · Primary sources: Cornell LII 14 CFR §47.3, §47.5, §47.7, §47.15, §47.17, §47.31, §47.40, §47.61, and §91.203 / §21.181