FAA Protecting Aircraft Owners Private Information?

Anyone who thinks their personal info is private is not thinking realistically. However, taking actions such as this might reduce some annoyances.
 
Here's the letter Grok drafted for me for my request:

[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, ZIP Code]
[Email Address]
[Date: March 28, 2025]

Federal Aviation Administration
Civil Aviation Registry
AFS-750
P.O. Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125

Subject: Request to Withhold Ownership Data from Public Dissemination Under 49 U.S.C. § 44114(b)

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to voluntarily request the removal of my name and address from public dissemination in accordance with 49 U.S.C. § 44114(b). As the registered owner of the aircraft identified below, I seek to maintain the privacy of my personal information as permitted by federal law.

Aircraft Details:

  • Registration Number (N-Number): [Insert your aircraft’s N-Number]
  • Make and Model: [Insert aircraft make and model]
  • Serial Number: [Insert serial number]
I respectfully request that the Federal Aviation Administration withhold my name and address from public release through the Civil Aviation Registry or any other publicly accessible records. I understand that this request pertains solely to the privacy of my ownership data and does not affect the registration status of the aircraft.

Please let me know if additional information or documentation is required to process this request. You may contact me at [Your Phone Number] or [Your Email Address] if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Signature, if submitting a hard copy]

Customize, submit as a pdf after jumping through the 30 hoops to register on the cares site. I hope this isn't an elaborate scheme to steal my identity.

Oh wait, you can just look all that stuff up if you have my N number :rolleyes:
 
While this a great step in the right direction, I would rather that this information be protected and that owners would have to submit a form if they WANT their info made available. But doing what makes sense isn't in the FAA wheelhouse ... :dunno:
 
Candidly, none of this matters anymore. The IRS and SSN and pretty much every other Federal database is hosed. If you've been a Federal employee (civil service or military) or contractor, your info is at the OPM - Office of Personnel Mgt. Over the years, OPM has been hacked multiple times, as has the Navy and FBI personnel databases. As Isaac Asimov once stated, the best privacy defense is to be boring.

I would say more, but would get the hammer.
 
Everyone can order a aircraft record CD which contains a bunch of scans with all the addresses etc. I wonder if FAA is going to do anything with this loophole.
 
Isosceles said:
Everyone can order a aircraft record CD which contains a bunch of scans with all the addresses etc. I wonder if FAA is going to do anything with this loophole.
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At least that requires some effort, knowledge, and $10. I'm not a fan of having my name & home address freely available on the Internet to anyone who sees my tail number.
 
X3 Skier said:
Anyone who thinks their personal info is private is not thinking realistically. However, taking actions such as this might reduce some annoyances.
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I have no illusions of privacy. I will, however, appreciate when searching my name does not reveal that I own an airplane, or searching my tail number does not reveal the location of my home.

Progress over perfection.
 
From the FAA web site: "The FAA is establishing a process that allows private aircraft owners to request that their personal data (e.g. name and address) be withheld from public dissemination, in compliance with 49 U.S.C. § 44114(b)."

I wonder what that time frame will be, anything similar to EAGLE or MOSAIC?
 
Don’t forget to opt out of publication of your address in the airman registry too.
 
murphey said:
The IRS and SSN and pretty much every other Federal database is hosed. If you've been a Federal employee (civil service or military) or contractor, your info is at the OPM - Office of Personnel Mgt. Over the years, OPM has been hacked multiple times, as has the Navy and FBI personnel databases.
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All true; however, the aircraft registry data are not available as the result of a "hack," they're provided free and clear by a government agency. It's far easier for the casual observer to get our *current* personal data out of the aircraft registry using just an N-number that must be displayed than it is for them to get specifically-targeted personal data out of the "hacked" databases. We now have an opportunity to close that door and I'm going to take it.

Nauga,
and his perpetual "Identity Protection Plan" courtesy of OPM.
 
That would be the same FAA that’s been required by federal law for 20 years to issue pilot certificates with the pilot’s photo. And which waited five years after the law was signed to even propose compliance. If they can’t figure out how to do what states started doing with driver’s licenses 60 years ago, they aren’t going to get much else done.
 
By the way, it’s Public Law 108-458 Section 4022 that requires photos on pilot licenses. Yes, that federal law calls them licenses, not certificates.
 
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Does this mean I stop getting letters from brokers to sell my plane?
 
nauga said:
And solicitations from services to help you with the grueling task of registration renewal.

Nauga,
and a remarkable business oportunity
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Don't forget Bruce's covers.
 
Racerx said:
Do you get removed from that list once you buy one?
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I still get them although my plane came with one with the N-number embroidered on it.

I also got one after I reserved an N-number for the RV, although I suppose it's just as likely Van's sold them their customer list.
 
ateamer said:
That would be the same FAA that’s been required by federal law for 20 years to issue pilot certificates with the pilot’s photo. And which waited five years after the law was signed to even propose compliance. If they can’t figure out how to do what states started doing with driver’s licenses 60 years ago, they aren’t going to get much else done.
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I just can't get worked up about that. I think requiring a separate photo ID is satisfactory and in fact, preferable. Otherwise there would have to be a whole new bureaucracy for the photo taking. Would you have to stop by the FSDO every time you passed a check ride? Would the DPE be required to take your picture? Could you get it done at a passport photo place (and pay for it)? Online submission like passport renewals now (with again a new division of airmen certification to handle it)? Etc etc.
 
RussR said:
I just can't get worked up about that. I think requiring a separate photo ID is satisfactory and in fact, preferable. Otherwise there would have to be a whole new bureaucracy for the photo taking. Would you have to stop by the FSDO every time you passed a check ride? Would the DPE be required to take your picture? Could you get it done at a passport photo place (and pay for it)? Online submission like passport renewals now (with again a new division of airmen certification to handle it)? Etc etc.
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DPE or ASI takes a photo with his cell phone and uploads it, or approves a photo you supply. Have a standard for background color and how much of the photo has to be filled with the face. For additional ratings, the examiner reviews your file photo, and if you haven’t changed significantly, that photo continues to be used.
 
ateamer said:
DPE or ASI takes a photo with his cell phone and uploads it, or approves a photo you supply. Have a standard for background color and how much of the photo has to be filled with the face. For additional ratings, the examiner reviews your file photo, and if you haven’t changed significantly, that photo continues to be used.
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Yes, it sure sounds simple when you say it like that. But we're talking government bureaucracy here. And to what gain? I already have multiple photo IDs to prove who I am.
 
Funny how anyone can look up on line if I voted in the last election, if I own real estate and if I have a will recorded, but ownership of an airplane is private.
 
What they need do is make the FAA comply with the Privacy Act. You're supposed to be able to prevent the dissemination of your PERSONAL (not the property information this addresses) but the FAA refuses to obey the law.
 
nauga said:
It's far easier for the casual observer to get our *current* personal data out of the aircraft registry using just an N-number that must be displayed than it is for them to get specifically-targeted personal data out of the "hacked" databases.
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This is a good reason to title your plane under a LLC.
 
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flyingron said:
What they need do is make the FAA comply with the Privacy Act. You're supposed to be able to prevent the dissemination of your PERSONAL (not the property information this addresses) but the FAA refuses to obey the law.
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The FAA has been complying with the Privacy Act and its revisions since day one. However the DOT and FAA have exemptions for various records. There are several Orders and policy docs that go into detail how the FAA complies with Act. Regardless the ICAO has finally started to accept various privacy changes thus allowing the US and other member countries to protect more personal data.
 
ateamer said:
By the way, it’s Public Law 108-458 Section 4022 that requires photos on pilot licenses. Yes, that federal law calls them licenses, not certificates.
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Interesting - an act from - December 17, 2004 !
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SEC. 4022. IMPROVED PILOT LICENSES.(a) IN GENERAL.— Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall begin to issue improved pilot licenses consistent with the requirements of title 49, United States Code, and title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Improved pilots licenses issued under subsection (a) shall—(1) be resistant to tampering, alteration, and counterfeiting;(2) include a photograph of the individual to whom the license is issued; and(3) be capable of accommodating a digital photograph, a biometric identifier, or any other unique identifier that the Administrator considers necessary.(c) TAMPERING.—To the extent practical, the Administrator shall develop methods to determine or reveal whether any component or security feature of a license issued under subsection (a)has been tampered, altered, or counterfeited.(d) USE OF DESIGNEES.—The Administrator may use designees to carry out subsection (a) to the extent feasible in order to minimize the burdens on pilots
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Since there's a picture of Orville AND Wilbur - does that mean my 'license' was actually issued to them (some kind of joint license? ) ?
 
40YearDream said:
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Since there's a picture of Orville AND Wilbur - does that mean my 'license' was actually issued to them (some kind of joint license? ) ?
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I always tell people that my picture IS on the license. I'm the guy with the mustache. I don't know who the bald guy is.
 
To submit your letter to CARES, they require a digital signature.
So, a significant barrier to establishing privacy, where it should be the reverse:

the popup that appears under the info button next to this sentence follows -
  • "Digitally signed documents must be used when electronically filing documents."
The “FAA 2016 Policy Clarification | 81 Fed. Reg. Vol 76 | Components of Digital Signature” defines what a digital signature must have. If using a digital signature it has to meet the requirements even if we don’t require a printed name of the signer (using an ink signature) on the document. All five (5) elements (below) must be met:

A legible and acceptable digital signature will have, at minimum, the following components:

  1. Shows the name of the signer and is applied in a manner to execute or validate the document,
  2. Includes the type or printed name of the signer below or adjacent to the signature when the signature uses a digitized or scanned version of the signer’s hand scribed signature or the name is in a cursive font,
  3. Shows the signer’s corporate, managerial, or partnership title as part of or adjacent to the digital signature when appropriate,
  4. Shows evidence of authentication of the signer’s identity such as the text “digitally signed by” along with the software provider’s seal or watermark, date and time of execution; or, have an authentication code or key identifying the software provider, and
  5. Has a font, size and color density that is clearly legible and reproducible when reviewed, copied and scanned into a black on white format.
A signature without the digital markings or code will be considered a photocopy signature.

If anyone has an example of wth all this is, I appreciate it.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
To submit your letter to CARES, they require a digital signature.
So, a significant barrier to establishing privacy, where it should be the reverse:

the popup that appears under the info button next to this sentence follows -
  • "Digitally signed documents must be used when electronically filing documents."
The “FAA 2016 Policy Clarification | 81 Fed. Reg. Vol 76 | Components of Digital Signature” defines what a digital signature must have. If using a digital signature it has to meet the requirements even if we don’t require a printed name of the signer (using an ink signature) on the document. All five (5) elements (below) must be met:

A legible and acceptable digital signature will have, at minimum, the following components:

  1. Shows the name of the signer and is applied in a manner to execute or validate the document,
  2. Includes the type or printed name of the signer below or adjacent to the signature when the signature uses a digitized or scanned version of the signer’s hand scribed signature or the name is in a cursive font,
  3. Shows the signer’s corporate, managerial, or partnership title as part of or adjacent to the digital signature when appropriate,
  4. Shows evidence of authentication of the signer’s identity such as the text “digitally signed by” along with the software provider’s seal or watermark, date and time of execution; or, have an authentication code or key identifying the software provider, and
  5. Has a font, size and color density that is clearly legible and reproducible when reviewed, copied and scanned into a black on white format.
A signature without the digital markings or code will be considered a photocopy signature.

If anyone has an example of wth all this is, I appreciate it.
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That stymied me at first as well but when following their directions for submitting this particular document I ultimately got to a “check this box to certify this is you and is accurate” kind of dialog. I clicked that and it was accepted. Now - who knows if it’ll pass muster when reviewed (by Apr 11, they said), but we’ll see. I’m thinking something as low risk (to the FAA) as this, which required creating an account that needed the last 4 of my SSAN and authenticated by texting me will probably let that suffice. We’ll see…
 
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