Glossary – About Registration Numbers
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Aircraft Registration Numbers, also called N-Numbers (in the U.S.) or Tail Numbers, are painted on the aft fuselage, near the tail.
An aircraft may have more than one registration number during its life. Likewise, a registration number may appear on different aircraft over time. Depending on each owner’s preference, a registration number may transfer with an aircraft at sale. Or, an owner may choose to retain the right to use the number on a different aircraft.
Each registration number begins with a prefix determined by the country of registration and based on guidelines developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). While many countried use only one prefix (ex. N- in the U.S.), some countries may have multiple prefixes. Common examples:
Australia: VH; Brazil: PD, PR, PT, PU; Canada: CF-, C-F, C-G, C-I; France: F, Germany: D, Ireland, EI; Italy: I; Japan: JA; Mexico: XA, XB, VC; Russian Federation: RA, RF; United Kingdom: G
Click to see a full list of International Prefixes at Wikipedia.
In the United States, registration numbers are further governed and assigned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The following is an except from the FAA web site:
How to Properly Form an N-Number: N-Numbers consist of a series of alphanumeric characters. U.S. registration numbers may not exceed 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)
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 to be used.
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.
The FAA no longer issues numbers beginning with NC, NX, NR, or NL. On some older aircraft, these numbers may be displayed in accordance with FAR Part 45.22.
