N-number guides
Everything about U.S. aircraft registration numbers, written in plain English by people who watch the FAA registry every day.
Tail number ideas that are actually gettable
Initials, birth years, state codes, aircraft models — the patterns owners pick, and how to shortlist ones you can really have.
What a custom tail number really costs
From the $10 FAA fee to five-figure short numbers: the honest price tiers and what actually moves a number up them.
N-number lookup: check any tail number
The FAA's two free lookup tools, how to read reservation and purge-date results, and what to do when your number is taken.
How to buy a custom N-number
Reservations, transfers, forms, fees, and timeline — the complete path from wanting a number to holding it.
Reserving an N-number, step by step
The exact FAA form, the $10 pay.gov payment, what each confirmation really means, and the mistakes that lose numbers.
N-number renewal, and the cost of forgetting it
The $10 annual renewal, how public purge dates work, and how fast a lapsed number gets taken.
Changing your aircraft's tail number
Form 8050-64, the right order of operations, what happens to your old number, and realistic costs.
N-number format rules and history
Exactly what makes a valid U.S. registration, why I and O are banned, where the N came from, and why short numbers are scarce.
Deregistered N-numbers: dead tails, future inventory
What 'deregistered' really means, the FAA processing pipeline, and how patient buyers pull good numbers out of limbo.