In an effort to reduce the number of obsolete, dismantled or destroyed aircraft on the FAA Civil Aviation Registry, 14 CFR §47.40 (Part 47.40) has been amended to provide that every FAA AC Form 8050-3 Certificate of Aircraft Registration Issued on or after October 1, 2010, will expire 3 years after the date of issuance. The expiration date will appear on the Certificate of Aircraft Registration. For those aircraft with a Certificate of Aircraft Registration issued to October 1,2010, the FAA has assigned expiration dates. The expiration date of a Certificate of Aircraft Registration issued before October 1, 2010, depends on the month during which the Certificate of Aircraft Registration was issued, regardless of the year, as illustrated in the table below. The Issue date can be found on the bottom, left-hand corner of the Certificate of Aircraft Registration the box labeled, “ISSUE DATE." As illustrated below, Certificates of Aircraft Registration issued during the month of March (of any year, including 2010), expired on March 31, 2011. A Certificate of Aircraft Registration issued during the month of April (of any year, including 2010) expires on June 30, 2011, and the re-registration window closes on April 30, 2011. 
The Procedure Beginning 180 days prior to the applicable expiration date, the FAA sends, to the address on record at the FAA Civil Aviation Registry, a "NOTICE: EXPIRATION OF AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION (see full size form image at the end of article). The notice reflects a unique code which is required to electronically process re-registration The electronic method of re-registration is only available to those registrants who have the unique code, and who do not need to make any changes to the information on record at the FAA Civil Aviation Registry. 
If the registrant does not receive this first notice, the registrant or operator must apply for re-registration utilizing the "paper" method, which requires submission of a FAA AC Form 8050-1A Aircraft Re-registration Application. The registrant or its designee must log on to the FAA website, fill out the FAA AC Form 8050-IA, print the completed form, then mail it to the FAA Civil Aviation Registry when the re-registration window opens. Each registration window opens 150 days before the respective expiration date and closes 60 days before the respective expiration date. The electronic method of re-registration may be utilized only when the applicable re-registration window is open. The paper method can be used from the date the re-registration window opens and until the expiration date. Whether utilizing the online or paper method, the registrant or operator will log on to the FAA's re- registration website at http://registry.faa.gov/renewregistration. If re-registering with the unique code, a $5.00 credit card payment is all that is needed to process re- registration, and the replacement FAA AC Form 8050-3 Certificate of Aircraft Registration should be mailed to the address on record within 2 to 4 weeks. If re-registering via the paper method, the registrant or operator will fill out the FAA AC Form 8050-IA, print the completed form, then mail it with a $5.00 check or money order to the FAA Civil Aviation Registry after the re-registration window opens, but before the registration expiration date. The replacement FAA AC Form 8050-3 Certificate of Aircraft Registration should be mailed to the address on record within 4 to 8 weeks following filing of the completed 8050-1A form and payment. 
Be aware that there is no reward for being proactive you cannot re-register before the applicable re-registration window opens. However, a "paper" FAA AC Form 8050-1A Aircraft Re-registration Application ((see full size form image at the end of article) may be filed as early as 30 days before the re-registration window opens, for processing when the window opens. The re-registration window will close 60 days prior the expiration date. On or just after the re-registration window closes, the FAA Civil Aviation Registry will send a second notice to the address on record. Even after the window closes, a registrant or operator can submit a FAA AC Form 8050-IA Aircraft Re-registration Application via the paper method, so long as it is received by the FAA Civil Aviation Registry on or before the expiration date. However, there is no temporary authority in connection with the FAA AC Form 8050-1A Aircraft Re-register Application, so Declarations of International Operations will not be accepted in connection with a FAA AC Form 8050-1A Aircraft Re-registration Application. If the FAA AC Form 8050-1A Aircraft Re-registration Application is not filed prior to the expiration date, it will not be accepted. Instead, after the expiration date, a registrant or operator can submit a FAA AC Form 8050-1 Aircraft Registration Application. However, there is no "pink copy" authority to operate. Currently, the FAA reports a 4 to 8 week time frame for processing registration applications (whether an AC Form 8050-1A or AC Form 8050- 1) not received on or before the expiration date. On or about the expiration date, the FAA will send its third notice. If the third notice is returned to the FAA as "undeliverable", the FAA Civil Aviation Registry will cancel the registration mark 60 days after the mailing date. If the third notice IS not returned as "undeliverable" the FAA Civil Aviation Registry will cancel the registration mark 90 days after the mailing date. Before cancellation of the registration mark, aircraft registration can be "salvaged by submitting a FAA AC Form 8050-1 Aircraft Registration Application. As stated before, there is no "pink copy" authority to operate, and a Declaration of International Operations will not expedite handling of the re-registration (however, the FAA will issue confirmation of registration -a "fly wire" -when the file is reached in due course). 
The Consequence Unless re-registration is complete and the replacement FAA AC Form 8058-3 Certified of Aircraft Registration is placed aboard the subject aircraft before the applicable expiration date, the aircraft will be grounded. Operation without a current and valid Certificate of Aircraft Registration aboard an aircraft violates the Federal Aviation Regulations. Operating an aircraft that is not legally registered (e.g., an aircraft with an expired Certificate of Aircraft Registration) constitutes a crime in many states (including Florida), a violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations, and can result in considerable civil penalties levied against the owner and operator, seizure of the aircraft, may void any otherwise applicable insurance coverage, and may constitute an event of default under lending documents, if any. If re-registration is not processed prior to cancellation of the registration mark, the registration mark will be made unavailable for assignment for a period of 5 years. In such an event, the aircraft will be assigned a new registration mark, in which case the registration mark must be painted on the aircraft, the aircraft must be subjected to a conformity inspection, and a new Certificate of Airworthiness issued. The time, cost and inconvenience associated with this procedure will vary. You must determine the expiration date of the Certification of Aircraft Registration corresponding to your aircraft. The registrants or operators of those aircrafts with Certificates of Aircraft Registration that expired on March 31, 2011 must submit a FAA AC Form 8050-1 Aircraft Registration Application and may not operate the aircraft until the "new" FAA AC Form 8050-3 Certificate of Aircraft Registration (or fly wire) is placed aboard the aircraft. You should expect that the FAA Civil Aviation Registry will require approximately 6 to 8 weeks to process such re-registration applications. The Action The registrants or operators of those aircraft with Certificates of Aircraft Registration that will expire on June 30, 2011 should submit a FAA AC Form 8050-1 Aircraft Registration Application and, if the "new" FAA ACForm 8050-3 Certificate of Aircraft Registration (or fly wire) is not received onor before the expiration date, the registrant or operator must not operate the aircraft until the "new" FAA AC Form 8050-3 Certificate of Aircraft Registration (or flywire) is placed aboard the aircraft. The registrants or operators of those aircraft with Certificates of Aircraft Registration that will expire on September 30, 2011 should have received, within the first three weeks of April 2011, a "NOTICE: EXPIRATION OF AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION" from the USA Federal Aviation Administration for use during the "online" re-registration process. Even if the "Notice: Expiration of Aircraft Registration" is not received, the registrant or operator may apply for re-registration utilizing the more cumbersome "paper” method requiring submission of a FAA AC Form 8050-1A Aircraft Re-registration Application. In either event, the registrant or operator should apply for re-registration immediately after the "window" opens onMay 1, 2011 and before it closes on July 31, 2011. Remember, the re-registration rule is intended to reduce the number of aircraft on the FAA Civil Aviation Registry. To meet this objective, the process is not forgiving to those who fail to comply. Therefore, registrants and operators should protect themselves against the expense and delay of unanticipated expiration by taking the time, now, to determine the applicable expiration date, as well as the date the re-re-registration window opens, so that re-registration can be accomplished as soon as they are eligible to do so, especially since there is no "safe harbor" for registrants or operators who act within the time that the window is open. Further, pilots who fly airplanes that belong to others should ensure the Certificate of Aircraft Registration has not expired. Make your valued clients and customers aware of expiration in advance; by doing so, you can keep them flying!
Scott Burgess, Shareholder
Aviation Legal Group, P.A
NOTICE: EXPIRATION OF AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION
AIRCRAFT RE-REGISTRATION APPLICATION
Press Release PDF:
aviation_legal_group_forms.pdf
