Aircraft Ownership
New requirement sets registration timeline
An addition to the federal aviation regulations (FARs) sets timelines for returning sales and registration information to the FAA after you sell an aircraft.
Under FAR 47.41(b), anyone who sells an aircraft must return the registration card, with sales information completed on the back, to the FAA within 21 days. The new regulation took effect March 31.
As first proposed, the regulation would have given sellers just five days to return the completed registration card to the FAA, but AOPA argued that the timeline was too short, especially considering that past regulations did not include any time limitation. The FAA agreed, giving sellers 21 days to return the card.
The FAA instituted the limitation in an effort keep its registry up to date and help track the more than 40,000 general aviation aircraft sales each year.
May 7, 2008
