FAA aircraft reregistration troubles

azure

azure

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azure
Okay, October 31 is supposedly the last date I can reregister my Cardinal online. I waited until this month because when I tried to use the online form in July when I first received the notice, it was clear from the date on the form that I would lose five months that way (instead of only 2) since the new registration would be good from that date.

So this week I decided to buckle down and complete my registration online. The form has all the information correct, and it's good until October 31, 2014. Great! But when I tried to click Confirm, it said "Your request cannot be completed at this time".

Blech. :(

So am I screwed, should I keep trying or do I need to reregister by mail since something got messed up? If so, can I simply print out that form and mail it in (with my $5 fee of course! ;)), cross out where it says electronically signed and sign my name, or do I need to print out the blank form, and fill it in and sign it the old-fashioned way?
 
Oy vey. This is the most screwed up process.

Keep trying to do it on line. It is a NIGHTMARE if you do it by mail. I missed the on line registration by a few days, so I mailed the form and $5 to the FAA, almost sixty days prior to the expiration of my airplane's registration. After six weeks, it still wasn't renewed. So I called, and called, and called. When I didn't get a busy signal, someone would pcik up the phone, and just hang it back up! I kept calling, and this cycle repeated itself several times, until finally after a few days of trying, I got to speak to someone.

When I asked about the registration, I received and anti-Republican rant about them shutting down government, and the FAA, so that my registration may never be completed, or may take several more months. I was berated by the woman for not completing the registration on line, and asked repeatedly why I didn't do it that way, and that they did not have the manpower to deal with all us incompetents who mailed in the form and fee.

My renewal date came and went, and finally about two weeks after I could no longer fly my plane, I checked the FAA registration website and my renewal was completed. I was legal to fly again. So it took them over ten weeks to process my re-registration. What a fiasco.

The next call was to AOPA, then my Congressmen to let them know what kind of service I was getting from the FAA.

Bottom line. Keep trying to submit it on line!
 
azure said:
Okay, October 31 is supposedly the last date I can reregister my Cardinal online. I waited until this month because when I tried to use the online form in July when I first received the notice, it was clear from the date on the form that I would lose five months that way (instead of only 2) since the new registration would be good from that date.

So this week I decided to buckle down and complete my registration online. The form has all the information correct, and it's good until October 31, 2014. Great! But when I tried to click Confirm, it said "Your request cannot be completed at this time".

Blech. :(

So am I screwed, should I keep trying or do I need to reregister by mail since something got messed up? If so, can I simply print out that form and mail it in (with my $5 fee of course! ;)), cross out where it says electronically signed and sign my name, or do I need to print out the blank form, and fill it in and sign it the old-fashioned way?
Click to expand...

You need to call OK City.....they should be able to help you. If you can't find the number on the FAA site, I will try and dig through my records and see if I still have it.
 
thanks for the reminder i'm supposed to get the glider re-registered by the end of the month too
 
Try again online, I did mine Monday and it took, now I just need to see if I get the new cert before the end of the year when my current regestration expires.
 
Skylane81E said:
Try again online, I did mine Monday and it took, now I just need to see if I get the new cert before the end of the year when my current regestration expires.
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If you do it on line you will get it a lot faster, and prior to the expiration.
 
It took me three tries to re-register by mail. Each time it took them a couple of weeks to "process" and return, so it was almost two months to get 'er done.

And this is the government people are trusting with their health care.
 
It took me about 2 minutes to getter done on line.
 
At first I thought it was "unfair" that our bird was early in this process, but having seen how overloaded and screwed up the pricess has become for those of you doing it later, I'm glad we got it over with early. :)
 
Been waiting for 2 months now for my registration to be processed. Then I get a letter saying I have to print my name under my signature... Aie!
Hope I'm not in for another few months!
 
Whew! When I got home this evening I tried again, this time using SeaMonkey without NoScript (before I was using Firefox with NS installed) and it went through without a hitch.

The part that had me spooked was this line from the reregistration FAQ: "Please proceed carefully; the on-line code is good for one use only.". I hadn't bothered to read it before the first time I tried since I assumed this would be like renewing your car registration online, which in Michigan is pretty much painless. Apparently that is just not true, since on the entry page it even says you can view a previous submitted application by RE-ENTERING the tail number and code. More FAA bureaucrat-generated doubletalk.

Now hopefully I'll get my new registration before the end of December, which is when my plane turns into a pumpkin.

Thanks y'all. :)
 
I'm so glad we're all getting re-registered. It'll make the world a better place. Every time a registration gets lost, God makes the FAA kill a kitten. [facepalm]
 
There was a process in place already, the triennial confirmation mailing. All they had to do was require you to return it confirming no change instead of only if you had a change to report.
 
azure said:
Whew! When I got home this evening I tried again, this time using SeaMonkey without NoScript (before I was using Firefox with NS installed) and it went through without a hitch.

The part that had me spooked was this line from the reregistration FAQ: "Please proceed carefully; the on-line code is good for one use only.". I hadn't bothered to read it before the first time I tried since I assumed this would be like renewing your car registration online, which in Michigan is pretty much painless. Apparently that is just not true, since on the entry page it even says you can view a previous submitted application by RE-ENTERING the tail number and code. More FAA bureaucrat-generated doubletalk.

Now hopefully I'll get my new registration before the end of December, which is when my plane turns into a pumpkin.

Thanks y'all. :)
Click to expand...

It doesn't turn into a pumpkin or stop existing in registry..

quote from the FAA

When an aircraft is not re-registered or the registration is not renewed, the cancellation of the N-number assigned to that aircraft will take place approximately 90 days after the expiration of an aircraft's registration. Upon cancellation, an N-number will be unavailable for assignment or reservation for a period of five years.
If aircraft registration has expired and the N-number has been canceled, application may be made to register the aircraft under 14 CFR § 47.31, using the standard application for registration and payment of the $5 registration fee. The process to reinstate a previously registered aircraft remains unchanged.
 
Graueradler said:
There was a process in place already, the triennial confirmation mailing. All they had to do was require you to return it confirming no change instead of only if you had a change to report.
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Too easy, all those data tags and logs in the desk drawer would remain registered, by the return of the form.

This way, the owner must be interested enough to pay.
 
Anthony said:
Oy vey. This is the most screwed up process.

Keep trying to do it on line. It is a NIGHTMARE if you do it by mail. I missed the on line registration by a few days, so I mailed the form and $5 to the FAA, almost sixty days prior to the expiration of my airplane's registration. After six weeks, it still wasn't renewed. So I called, and called, and called. When I didn't get a busy signal, someone would pcik up the phone, and just hang it back up! I kept calling, and this cycle repeated itself several times, until finally after a few days of trying, I got to speak to someone.

When I asked about the registration, I received and anti-Republican rant about them shutting down government, and the FAA, so that my registration may never be completed, or may take several more months. I was berated by the woman for not completing the registration on line, and asked repeatedly why I didn't do it that way, and that they did not have the manpower to deal with all us incompetents who mailed in the form and fee.

My renewal date came and went, and finally about two weeks after I could no longer fly my plane, I checked the FAA registration website and my renewal was completed. I was legal to fly again. So it took them over ten weeks to process my re-registration. What a fiasco.

The next call was to AOPA, then my Congressmen to let them know what kind of service I was getting from the FAA.

Bottom line. Keep trying to submit it on line!
Click to expand...


Dude, I'm into registration at over a year now...:rofl::rofl::rofl: The seller put down something that they wanted corrected so they sent it back and the seller (note, I'm not disparaging the seller at all in this. The deal is fine, the problem is merely bureaucratic) who did the correction using white out and sent it back. This was in December. A couple months roll by, I confirm that the seller did indeed send it in and there was a postal receipt. Finally in July I call to the person where that mail was directed and he assured me no letter from the FAA. So finally I call them enough at the number that comes up when you look up my registration and it says "May not be suitable, call..." that I finally got through and I ask them what the deal is. "Yes, we just received that application the other day and we have to send it back because there was white out on the form" "Great, thanks. You actually got that letter back in December, did it have to take this long?"
 
Tom-D said:
It doesn't turn into a pumpkin or stop existing in registry..
Click to expand...
Of course it doesn't disappear from the registry. But when the registration expires, it becomes illegal to fly it... ergo, a pumpkin.

(at least, according to my understanding of the word, which comes entirely from watching Flying Wild Alaska)
 
From the reregistration FAQ:

Does expiration of registration affect an aircraft's airworthiness certificate?

Because an aircraft with an expired registration is not registered, its airworthiness certification would be considered ineffective. Without registration the aircraft is not authorized for flight. Once registration is restored, the airworthiness certificate not having been surrendered, revoked or terminated would become effective again provided it was otherwise compliant with maintenance, inspections, and any other requirements for an effective airworthiness. If you have further questions please contact an airworthiness inspector through your nearest Flight Standards District Office.
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Last edited:
Tom-D said:
It's a trick question,, read the airworthiness certificate in this presentation.

http://www.slideshare.net/guest3dac39/airworthiness

the answer to why you can't fly is on the certificate.
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I was too tired last night to go searching through the FAR/AIM, but my thinking was AROW. Without a valid registration, the plane is technically "unairworthy".

But yes, as Jim said, it's basically 91.203, plus the aircraft becomes technically unairworthy if unregistered, as stated on the AC.
 
Harley,

I got a letter 6 months before expiration.

Went to do the online thing last night but since I need to change address I can't do it online. So I printed off the form and will send it in. At least if they screw around and don't get it finished by December 31 it won't be in the middle of soaring season and I have another glider I can fly if a good ridge weekend in oklahoma presents itself.
 
You can also go on the FAA registration website and look up when you registration expires.
 
Lawreston said:
OK, folks; how do we get notification of "It's time to re-register"?

HR
Click to expand...

Anthony said:
You can also go on the FAA registration website and look up when you registration expires.
Click to expand...

Which I just did, thanks to you guys and re-remembered that I have the wrong address on the records. :hairraise:

Luckily mine doesn't expire until 3/2012 so I'll mail a change of address. (whew)
 
Good job Mike. You do NOT want to get caught up in that paper chase!
 
Graueradler said:
There was a process in place already, the triennial confirmation mailing. All they had to do was require you to return it confirming no change instead of only if you had a change to report.
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But the TSA and "security" folks had to extract their piece.

The more complicated and time consuming it becomes, the fewer folks will be interested in GA.
 
wsuffa said:
But the TSA and "security" folks had to extract their piece.

The more complicated and time consuming it becomes, the fewer folks will be interested in GA.
Click to expand...


I don't see it as malevolence, just plain incompetence and bureaucratic fiefdom building.
 
Henning said:
I don't see it as malevolence, just plain incompetence and bureaucratic fiefdom building.
Click to expand...

I think the point is that the more hoops you have to jump through, no matter the intent, the less anyone is going to want to become a pilot and own an aircraft.

Personally, I am more concerned with the operational costs (gas, maintenance, avionics, hangar, etc) than registration fees. However, what is stopping the FAA from putting a much larger fee on registering an aircraft? That could be the next step.
 
Anthony said:
I think the point is that the more hoops you have to jump through, no matter the intent, the less anyone is going to want to become a pilot and own an aircraft.
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Maybe, but look at what people pay to register a car, plus the fact that it has to be done every year. It doesn't seem like it stops car ownership. Many people, including me, have more vehicles than necessary.
 
I'm not sure why some of you are having problems. Got the reregistration letter from the FAA yesterday, mine expires in March, 2012. Went to the website, followed the 3 steps to complete the info, gave a credit card # for the 5 bucks, done, printed out the form. Took all of 2 minutes. Perhaps you should do the process as soon as the letter arrives. YMMV
 
Registration is piddly compared to $20 nav lights... standard incandescent ones no more difficult to make than a Christmas tree bulb.

We've already discussed the $230 LED versions in another thread.

But by far, fuel's the highest cost. At least it is, lookin' at my spreadsheets. I don't see that changing.
 
DutchessFlier said:
I'm not sure why some of you are having problems. Got the reregistration letter from the FAA yesterday, mine expires in March, 2012. Went to the website, followed the 3 steps to complete the info, gave a credit card # for the 5 bucks, done, printed out the form. Took all of 2 minutes. Perhaps you should do the process as soon as the letter arrives. YMMV
Click to expand...
I started to do it the day I got the letter, then noticed that I would have only 2.5 years until next reregistration if I did it then. Since the expiration date depends on the calendar month, not the exact date, I decided to wait until the month of the file-by date, which in my case was October.

I'm usually not one to put these things off either... :no:

And btw since I was eventually able to file, the problem I had wasn't because I waited anyway. I think it was either a glitch in the FAA system, or else NoScript in my browser was blocking something, even though I had given temporary permission to everything on that page. Maybe it was trying to connect me to the paygov site. I tried again a few hours later, with a different browser, and no problem.
 
Okay I just received my new registration in the mail this morning, so it was painless enough in the end... but here's the kicker: it gives the issuance date as June 15, 2010. i.e. the original issuance date, not the date it was actually (re-)issued. And most important, it expires in October 2014 (previous expiration was December 2011), so IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL when you renew, as long as it's within the window, you will lose 3 months off the so-called 3 year term of the registration regardless.

Isn't the FAA bureaucracy peachy?
 
azure said:
Isn't the FAA bureaucracy peachy?
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You were good to do it on line, but if you read my experience, it was a bit different. I should not base my opinion of the FAA on one person, or one (well several actually) experience. What bothered me more than being purposely hung up on countless times so the person on the other end did not have to deal with me was the attitude of the people I did eventually talk to. Entitled does not describe them. It was almost radically entitled.
 
Anthony, no question your experience sucked. And actually, I was being sarcastic and should have included a smiley. I mean, the registration term is supposed to be 3 years, which is not all that long to begin with, but they just HAVE to cut a few months off the end of that??
 
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