278:
36:
160:
217:
20:
174:
single letter prefix. Smaller countries had to share a single letter prefix, but were allocated exclusive use of the first letter of the suffix. This was modified by agreement by the
International Bureau at Berne and published on April 23, 1913. Although initial allocations were not specifically for aircraft but for any radio user, the International Air Navigation Convention held in Paris in 1919 (
178:) made allocations specifically for aircraft registrations, based on the 1913 callsign list. The agreement stipulated that the nationality marks were to be followed by a hyphen then a group of four letters that must include a vowel (and for the convention Y was considered to be a vowel). This system operated until the adoption of the revised system in 1928.
202:(making the registration a quick way of determining the country of origin) and the registration suffix. Depending on the country of registration, this suffix is a numeric or alphanumeric code, and consists of one to five characters. A supplement to Annex 7 provides an updated list of approved nationality and common marks used by various countries.
505:
respectively. Hong Kong's prefix of VR-H and Macau's of CS-M, both subdivisions of their colonial powers' allocations, were replaced by China's B- prefix without the registration mark being extended, leaving aircraft from both SARs with registration marks of only four characters, as opposed to the
442:
and independence on aircraft registration schemes has varied from place to place. Most countries, upon independence, have had a new allocation granted – in most cases this is from the new country's new ITU allocation, but neither is it uncommon for the new country to be allocated a subset of their
189:
Article 20 of the
Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention), signed in 1944, requires that all aircraft engaged in international air navigation bears its appropriate nationality and registration marks. Upon the completion of the necessary procedures, the aircraft receives its
173:
The first use of aircraft registrations was based on the radio callsigns allocated at the London
International Radiotelegraphic Conference in 1913. The format was a single letter prefix followed by four other letters (like A-BCDE). The major nations operating aircraft at that time were allocated a
385:
An older aircraft (registered before 31 December 1948) may have a second letter in its identifier, identifying the category of aircraft. This additional letter is not actually part of the aircraft identification (e.g. NC12345 is the same registration as N12345). Aircraft category letters have not
141:
may be required to register aircraft in an offshore jurisdiction where they are leased or purchased but financed by banks in major onshore financial centres. The financing institution may be reluctant to allow the aircraft to be registered in the carrier's home country (either because it does not
238:
While the
Chicago convention sets out the country-specific prefixes used in registration marks, and makes provision for the ways they are used in international civil aviation and displayed on aircraft, individual countries also make further provision for their formats and the use of registration
181:
The
International Radiotelegraph Convention at Washington in 1927 revised the list of markings. These were adopted from 1928 and are the basis of the currently used registrations. The markings have been amended and added to over the years, and the allocations and standards have since 1947 been
268:
Some countries also operate a separate registry system, or use a separate group of unique marks, for gliders, ultralights, and/or other less-common types of aircraft. For example, Germany and
Switzerland both use lettered suffixes (in the form D-xxxx and HB-xxx respectively) for most forms of
246:, the dash is omitted (for example, YRBMA). In some countries that use a number suffix rather than letters, like the United States (N), South Korea (HL), and Japan (JA), the prefix and suffix are connected without a dash. Aircraft flying privately usually use their registration as their radio
150:
over the aircraft), and the carrier is reluctant to have the aircraft registered in the financier's jurisdiction (often the United States or the United
Kingdom) either because of personal or political reasons, or because they fear spurious lawsuits and potential arrest of the aircraft.
51:
to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and functions much like an automobile license plate or a ship registration. This code must also appear in its
Certificate of Registration, issued by the relevant
98:
typically use tail codes and serial numbers. Military aircraft most often are not assigned civil registration codes. However, government-owned non-military civil aircraft (for example, aircraft of the United States
Department of Homeland Security) are assigned civil registrations.
68:(also known as the Chicago Convention), all civil aircraft must be registered with a civil aviation authority (CAA) using procedures set by each country. Every country, even those not party to the Chicago Convention, has an NAA whose functions include the registration of
300:, the registration number is commonly referred to as an "N" number, because all aircraft registered there have a number starting with the letter N. An alphanumeric system is used because of the large numbers of aircraft registered in the United States. An
328:
Each alphabetic letter in the suffix can have one of 24 discrete values, while each numeric digit can be one of 10, except the first, which can take on only one of nine values. This yields a total of 915,399 possible registration numbers in the
430:, while, on the other hand, is also issued to an Amateur Radio operator in North Carolina. Since an aircraft registration number is also used as its call sign, this means that two unrelated radio stations can have the same call sign.
304:
begins with a run of one or more numeric digits, may end with one or two alphabetic letters, may only consist of one to five characters in total, and must start with a digit other than zero. In addition,
193:
Annex 7 to the
Chicago Convention describes the definitions, location, and measurement of nationality and registration marks. The aircraft registration is made up of a prefix selected from the country's
269:
flight-craft but numbers (D-nnnn and HB-nnn) for unpowered gliders. Many other nations register gliders in subgroups beginning with the letter G, such as Norway with LN-Gxx and New Zealand with ZK-Gxx.
83:
The registration identifier must be displayed prominently on the aircraft. Most countries also require the registration identifier to be imprinted on a permanent fireproof plate mounted on the
102:
Although each aircraft registration identifier is unique, some countries allow it to be re-used when the aircraft has been sold, destroyed or retired. For example, N3794N is assigned to a
454:
When this happens it is usually the case that aircraft will be re-registered into the new series retaining as much of the suffix as is possible. For example, when in 1929 the British
556:
257:
Some countries will permit an aircraft that will not be flown into the airspace of another country to display the registration with the country prefix omitted - for example,
965:
938:
795:
386:
been included on any registration numbers issued since 1 January 1949, but they still appear on antique aircraft for authenticity purposes. The categories were:
76:
string to identify the aircraft, which also indicates the nationality (i.e., country of registration) of the aircraft, and provides a legal document called a
423:
805:
635:
465:
Australia: G-AUxx to VH-Uxx, then immediately expanded to all VH-xxx marks. As of 2022, the last three (3) characters will include numerals, e.g. VH-8AA.
65:
130:
Most often, aircraft are registered in the jurisdiction in which the carrier is resident or based, and may enjoy preferential rights or privileges as a
835:
536:
183:
889:
921:
561:
531:
515:
498:
211:
815:
277:
199:
118:). An individual aircraft may be assigned different registrations during its existence. This can be because the aircraft changes ownership,
551:
913:
930:
242:
When painted on the aircraft's fuselage, the prefix and suffix are usually separated by a dash (for example, YR-BMA). When entered in a
697:
502:
426:
holding the Amateur Extra class license. For example, N4YZ is, on the one hand, a Cessna 206 registered to a private individual in
781:
474:
South Africa: G-UAxx to ZU-Axx, then expanded to all ZU-xxx marks, then again to current ZS-xxx, ZT-Rxx, and ZU-xxx allocations.
541:
348:
341:
56:(CAA). An aircraft can only have one registration, in one jurisdiction, though it is changeable over the life of the aircraft.
35:
1000:
962:
903:
482:
935:
790:
773:
486:
957:
866:
830:
848:
995:
422:
There is a unique overlap in the United States with aircraft having a single number followed by two letters and
639:
175:
53:
881:
810:
990:
251:
985:
471:
Newfoundland: G-Cxxx (with Canada) to VO-xxx, then re-merged with the Canadian register in 1949 to CF-xxx.
115:
24:
886:
447:
retained the VT designation it had received as part of the British Empire's Vx series allocation, while
918:
146:, or because it feels the courts in that country would not cooperate fully if it needed to enforce any
250:, but many aircraft flying in commercial operations (especially charter, cargo, and airlines) use the
159:
72:. An aircraft can only be registered once, in one jurisdiction, at a time. The NAA allocates a unique
333:, though certain combinations are reserved either for government use or for other special purposes.
415:
876:
282:
258:
107:
48:
871:
216:
16:
Registration and identification assigned to an individual aircraft by civil aviation authorities
800:
672:
410:
286:
147:
95:
88:
861:
138:
952:
613:
424:
radio call signs issued by the Federal Communications Commission to Amateur Radio operators
969:
942:
925:
893:
852:
785:
718:
Sean Elliott (March 2015). "What does restricted category have to do with experimental".
458:
at the time established their own aircraft registers, marks were reallocated as follows:
27:
displaying registration G-KELS. The G prefix denotes a civil aircraft registered in the
526:
439:
265:
commonly display only the three-letter unique mark, without the "VH-" national prefix.
167:
164:
143:
69:
28:
778:
481:
Two oddities created by this reallocation process are the current formats used by the
979:
297:
825:
19:
733:
462:
Canada: G-Cxxx to CF-xxx, then expanded to C-Fxxx, C-Gxxx, and then C-Ixxx in 1974.
427:
231:
131:
119:
73:
243:
223:
111:
80:, one of the documents which must be carried when the aircraft is in operation.
546:
220:
195:
103:
676:
468:
New Zealand: G-NZxx to ZK-Zxx, then immediately expanded to all ZK-xxx marks.
768:
566:
490:
330:
262:
190:
unique "registration", which must be displayed prominently on the aircraft.
947:
451:
adopted the AP designation from the newly allocated ITU callsigns APA-ASZ.
857:
845:
477:
Hong Kong: VR-Hxx to B-HAA - B-HZZ/B-KAA - B-KZZ/B-LAA - B-LZZ after 1997.
443:
former colonial power's allocation. For example, after partition in 1947,
455:
448:
290:
247:
84:
898:
963:
Supplement to Annex 7 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation
230:
undersurface and the last two letters of the registration, GJ, on the
908:
494:
444:
276:
215:
158:
34:
18:
763:
227:
734:"Aircraft Registration, Sales, and Accident history for N4YZ"
497:, both of which were returned to PRC control from Britain in
953:
Article 20 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation
758:
820:
958:
Annex 7 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation
840:
399:
R = restricted (such as cropdusters and racing aircraft)
336:
The following are the combinations that could be used:
122:
of registration, or in some cases for vanity reasons.
409:
For example, N-X-211, the Ryan NYP aircraft flown by
557:
United Kingdom military aircraft registration number
87:
in case of a post-fire/post-crash aircraft accident
47:is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by
510:Registration prefixes and patterns by countries
317:, due to their similarities with the numerals
419:was registered in the experimental category.
8:
200:International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
759:Searchable worldwide registration database
692:
690:
688:
686:
66:Convention on International Civil Aviation
658:
656:
537:Belgian aircraft registration and serials
184:International Civil Aviation Organization
858:International Registry of Mobile Assets
578:
562:United States military aircraft serials
106:. It had been previously assigned to a
39:Geographic map of registration prefixes
663:"Complete Civil Registers:1 Belgium".
532:List of aircraft registration prefixes
516:List of aircraft registration prefixes
226:displaying registration F-GUGJ on the
212:List of aircraft registration prefixes
349:Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
342:Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
142:have sufficient regulation governing
110:(specifically, the aircraft in which
7:
603:Article 20 of the Chicago Convention
594:Article 29 of the Chicago Convention
585:Article 17 of the Chicago Convention
552:United Kingdom aircraft registration
390:C = airline, commercial and private
638:. Registry.faa.gov. Archived from
14:
821:Dutch Historic Aircraft Registers
567:United States military tail code
289:registration N102NN on the rear
239:marks for intranational flight.
948:United States Aircraft Registry
919:South African Aircraft Register
542:List of aircraft by tail number
434:Decolonisation and independence
483:Special Administrative Regions
134:for international operations.
1:
904:New Zealand Aircraft Register
899:Maltese Aircraft Registration
872:Isle of Man Aircraft Register
736:. Aircraft Lookup. 2022-10-31
887:Luxembourg Aircraft Register
836:Guatemalan Aircraft Register
769:Australian Aircraft Register
309:may not contain the letters
914:Singapore Aircraft Register
909:Norwegian Aircraft Register
791:Brazilian Aircraft Register
126:Choice of aircraft registry
78:Certificate of Registration
1019:
882:Lebanese Aircraft Register
806:Croatian Aircraft Register
801:Canadian Aircraft Register
774:Austrian Aircraft Register
513:
487:People's Republic of China
209:
931:Swedish Aircraft Register
877:Latvian Aircraft Register
831:French Aircraft Register
826:Finnish Aircraft Register
796:British Aircraft Register
779:Belgian Aircraft Register
614:"US Air Force Tail Codes"
163:Registration JA8089 on a
846:Indian Aircraft Register
811:Danish Aircraft Register
176:Paris Convention of 1919
54:civil aviation authority
49:international convention
936:Swiss Aircraft Registry
867:Irish Aircraft Register
841:Guernsey 2-REG Register
816:Dutch Aircraft Register
764:Aruba Aircraft Register
254:or a company callsign.
252:ICAO airline designator
155:International standards
64:In accordance with the
293:
235:
206:Country-specific usage
170:
40:
32:
1001:Aircraft registration
700:. Faa.gov. 2015-03-19
698:"Forming an N-Number"
280:
219:
162:
45:aircraft registration
38:
22:
665:Air-Britain Archive
416:Spirit of St. Louis
25:Van's Aircraft RV-7
968:2021-03-07 at the
941:2017-03-05 at the
924:2018-01-23 at the
892:2015-11-21 at the
860:, pursuant to the
851:2014-12-24 at the
784:2016-12-11 at the
616:. Aerospaceweb.org
294:
236:
171:
108:Beechcraft Bonanza
41:
33:
996:Aircraft markings
411:Charles Lindbergh
351:internal use only
344:internal use only
287:American Airlines
198:allocated by the
148:security interest
96:military aircraft
1008:
862:Cape Town Treaty
745:
744:
742:
741:
730:
724:
723:
715:
709:
708:
706:
705:
694:
681:
680:
660:
651:
650:
648:
647:
632:
626:
625:
623:
621:
610:
604:
601:
595:
592:
586:
583:
501:and Portugal in
405:X = experimental
381:N100AA to N999ZZ
372:N1000A to N9999Z
360:N10000 to N99999
139:emerging markets
60:Legal provisions
1018:
1017:
1011:
1010:
1009:
1007:
1006:
1005:
976:
975:
974:
970:Wayback Machine
943:Wayback Machine
926:Wayback Machine
894:Wayback Machine
853:Wayback Machine
786:Wayback Machine
754:
749:
748:
739:
737:
732:
731:
727:
717:
716:
712:
703:
701:
696:
695:
684:
671:(1): 11. 1980.
662:
661:
654:
645:
643:
634:
633:
629:
619:
617:
612:
611:
607:
602:
598:
593:
589:
584:
580:
575:
523:
518:
512:
436:
275:
214:
208:
196:callsign prefix
182:managed by the
157:
128:
62:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1016:
1015:
1012:
1004:
1003:
998:
993:
991:Public records
988:
978:
977:
973:
972:
960:
955:
950:
945:
933:
928:
916:
911:
906:
901:
896:
884:
879:
874:
869:
864:
855:
843:
838:
833:
828:
823:
818:
813:
808:
803:
798:
793:
788:
776:
771:
766:
761:
755:
753:
752:External links
750:
747:
746:
725:
720:Sport Aviation
710:
682:
652:
627:
605:
596:
587:
577:
576:
574:
571:
570:
569:
564:
559:
554:
549:
544:
539:
534:
529:
527:Aircraft lease
522:
519:
514:Main article:
511:
508:
506:norm of five.
479:
478:
475:
472:
469:
466:
463:
440:decolonisation
438:The impact of
435:
432:
407:
406:
403:
400:
397:
394:
391:
383:
382:
379:
378:N10AA to N99ZZ
376:
373:
370:
369:N100A to N999Z
367:
364:
361:
358:
357:N1000 to N9999
355:
352:
345:
274:
271:
261:registered in
207:
204:
168:Boeing 747-400
165:Japan Airlines
156:
153:
144:civil aviation
127:
124:
94:Most nations'
70:civil aircraft
61:
58:
29:United Kingdom
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1014:
1013:
1002:
999:
997:
994:
992:
989:
987:
986:Country codes
984:
983:
981:
971:
967:
964:
961:
959:
956:
954:
951:
949:
946:
944:
940:
937:
934:
932:
929:
927:
923:
920:
917:
915:
912:
910:
907:
905:
902:
900:
897:
895:
891:
888:
885:
883:
880:
878:
875:
873:
870:
868:
865:
863:
859:
856:
854:
850:
847:
844:
842:
839:
837:
834:
832:
829:
827:
824:
822:
819:
817:
814:
812:
809:
807:
804:
802:
799:
797:
794:
792:
789:
787:
783:
780:
777:
775:
772:
770:
767:
765:
762:
760:
757:
756:
751:
735:
729:
726:
721:
714:
711:
699:
693:
691:
689:
687:
683:
678:
674:
670:
666:
659:
657:
653:
642:on 2019-11-29
641:
637:
631:
628:
615:
609:
606:
600:
597:
591:
588:
582:
579:
572:
568:
565:
563:
560:
558:
555:
553:
550:
548:
545:
543:
540:
538:
535:
533:
530:
528:
525:
524:
520:
517:
509:
507:
504:
500:
496:
492:
488:
484:
476:
473:
470:
467:
464:
461:
460:
459:
457:
452:
450:
446:
441:
433:
431:
429:
425:
420:
418:
417:
412:
404:
401:
398:
395:
392:
389:
388:
387:
380:
377:
374:
371:
368:
365:
362:
359:
356:
353:
350:
346:
343:
339:
338:
337:
334:
332:
326:
324:
320:
316:
312:
308:
303:
299:
298:United States
292:
288:
284:
279:
273:United States
272:
270:
266:
264:
260:
255:
253:
249:
245:
240:
233:
229:
225:
222:
218:
213:
205:
203:
201:
197:
191:
187:
185:
179:
177:
169:
166:
161:
154:
152:
149:
145:
140:
135:
133:
125:
123:
121:
117:
113:
109:
105:
100:
97:
92:
90:
89:investigation
86:
81:
79:
75:
71:
67:
59:
57:
55:
50:
46:
37:
30:
26:
21:
738:. Retrieved
728:
719:
713:
702:. Retrieved
668:
664:
644:. Retrieved
640:the original
630:
618:. Retrieved
608:
599:
590:
581:
480:
453:
437:
428:Melba, Idaho
421:
414:
408:
384:
375:N1AA to N9ZZ
366:N10A to N99Z
354:N100 to N999
347:N10 to N99:
335:
327:
322:
318:
314:
310:
306:
301:
295:
267:
256:
241:
237:
192:
188:
180:
172:
137:Carriers in
136:
132:flag carrier
129:
120:jurisdiction
101:
93:
82:
77:
74:alphanumeric
63:
44:
42:
396:L = limited
285:displaying
244:flight plan
224:Airbus A318
112:Buddy Holly
104:Mooney M20F
980:Categories
740:2022-10-31
704:2016-09-14
646:2019-11-29
620:4 December
573:References
547:ITU prefix
393:G = glider
363:N1A to N9Z
340:N1 to N9:
232:nose wheel
221:Air France
210:See also:
677:0262-4923
491:Hong Kong
456:Dominions
402:S = state
331:namespace
307:N-numbers
263:Australia
966:Archived
939:Archived
922:Archived
890:Archived
849:Archived
782:Archived
636:"N3794N"
521:See also
449:Pakistan
302:N-number
291:fuselage
283:A321-231
248:callsign
186:(ICAO).
85:fuselage
485:of the
413:as the
296:In the
259:gliders
675:
116:killed
722:: 11.
495:Macau
445:India
234:doors
673:ISSN
669:1980
622:2015
503:1999
499:1997
493:and
321:and
228:wing
114:was
313:or
281:An
43:An
982::
685:^
667:.
655:^
489:,
325:.
91:.
23:A
743:.
707:.
679:.
649:.
624:.
323:0
319:1
315:O
311:I
31:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
