Search the FAA aircraft registry by tail number (N-number), serial number or Mode S code. See the aircraft, its registration status and expiration date, earlier N-numbers and NTSB records.
Type a tail number with or without the N, a serial number or a 6-character Mode S hex code. Amateur radio call signs work in the same box.
Make and model, year, engine, airworthiness class and approved operations, registration status and the exact expiration date, earlier N-numbers of the airframe, NTSB accident records and the public airports near the registration city.
Licensee, operator class, grant and expiration dates, and where the license stands: active, open for renewal, in the grace period or expired.
Every US aircraft carries its N-number on the fuselage. These were photographed in flight; the status under each photo is read live from the FAA data.
N315SF
N20532
FAA rules, proposals and announcements, summarized from the official documents. All news
The Federal Aviation Administration FAA proposes a civil penalty of $351,000 against Creamer Pilot Services of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The agency alleges the company conducted unauthorized passenger-carrying operations during a period spanning late 2021 through...
Washington — U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced New Mexico’s first demonstration flight under the Department’s Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing eVTOL Integration Pilot Program eIPP. The initiative is led by the City...
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Monday that it awarded $12 million to 19 companies for research and testing projects. These funds support efforts to safely expand drone operations within the National Airspace System. The...
CheckAero is a free N-number lookup built on the FAA aircraft registry. Type a tail number and you get the aircraft's registration record in plain English, with the dates that matter. CheckAero is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). You renew a registration with the FAA itself; CheckAero helps you find the record and see when it is time to act.
The search box accepts an N-number with or without the leading N (N172SP or 172SP), an aircraft serial number, or a 6-character Mode S hex code. Mode S is a transponder mode: every US-registered aircraft is assigned a unique 24-bit code, shown in hexadecimal (for example A12239) and in octal. If the number is not registered, the result tells you whether it is reserved, was used before, or may be free.
The aircraft record shows:
An N-number can move between aircraft, and an aircraft can change its N-number. The record shows earlier registrations of the same number from the FAA deregistration file, and earlier N-numbers of the same airframe, matched by serial number and manufacturer.
From October 2026 CheckAero also compares the FAA registry file every day and keeps a change log for each aircraft: renewals, status changes, moves to another city or state, and changes of registrant type.
Where the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has an accident or incident record filed under the N-number (events since 2008), the record lists the date, place, damage and highest injury level with a link to the NTSB docket. Each row is checked against the serial number on the current registration, because the same N-number may have been on a different aircraft at the time.
A US aircraft registration is valid for 7 years. It can be renewed in the 6 months before it expires with FAA form AC 8050-1B and the $5 fee, and there is no grace period: an aircraft with an expired registration may not be flown.
Every aircraft record on CheckAero shows where its registration stands on a timeline: the date the renewal window opens, the expiration date and how many days are left.
The N-number availability check tests a number against the FAA format rules and the registry, including the 5-year hold on recently cancelled numbers, and suggests free numbers close to the one you want.
The aircraft models section lists every make and model with registered aircraft: specifications, the TCDS, how many are registered and valid, renewals due in the next 12 months and the list of aircraft.
The FSDO directory lists all 76 Flight Standards District Offices with address, phone and the counties each one serves.
Amateur radio operators can use the same search box, or the ham call sign lookup, to check an FCC license and its expiration date.
Aircraft data comes from the FAA Releasable Aircraft Database, downloaded every day. Accident records come from the NTSB aviation accident database, and airport data from the FAA National Airspace System Resources (NASR) directory. Our copy can lag the official records by a few days, so check the official FAA registry before you rely on a date.
As of October 2026, the registry file lists about 318,000 registered US aircraft and about 126,000 reserved N-numbers.
An N-number is the registration mark of a US civil aircraft, the tail number painted on its fuselage. It is the letter N followed by one to five characters: the first is a digit from 1 to 9, and the number can end in one or two letters (the letters I and O are not used). N172SP, N12176 and N1 are all valid N-numbers.
None. Pilots say tail number, the FAA says registration number or N-number, and many people search for an FAA number. All of them mean the same registration mark, and any of them works in the search box.
No. CheckAero is an independent service built on the public data files the FAA and FCC publish. You renew with the FAA (form AC 8050-1B) or in the FCC Universal Licensing System, never through us.
We download the FAA registry file every day and apply the FCC daily transaction files on top of the weekly full file. The dates on this page show when each source was last updated.
We show owner names only for corporations, LLCs and government bodies. Names of individual owners are not stored here at all, and owners who asked the FAA to withhold their details are never filled in from other sources.
An FAA registration can be renewed in the 6 months before it expires ($5). An amateur license can be renewed from 90 days before expiry and up to 2 years after it ($35), but you may not transmit while it is expired.
