EAA Encourages Caution Regarding Aircraft Registration Renewal

January 16, 2020 - EAA is warning its members to regard any solicitation they may receive regarding aircraft registration renewal, especially those that call for using a search engine to find the registration site, with a healthy dose of suspicion. 

EAA is aware of several businesses — with names, web URLs, and logos that may appear reminiscent of a government agency — that notify aircraft owners of impending registration expiration (mined from publicly available registration information) and direct them to use search engines such as Google to find the proper renewal site. These businesses then buy ads from search engines to make their site appear first, before the FAA website, in search results.

Such operations add little or no actual value to the transaction, and charge a hefty fee for essentially duplicating the same process that the FAA directly administers for a mere $5. EAA members should ensure they are on the FAA’s online registration portal before filling out information and entering payment.

Unless a business is known to be reputable and offers a tangible service above and beyond a simple registration renewal, such as expedited processing or automatic renewal, EAA members should deal directly with the FAA. If any members want EAA’s help with registration renewal or any other issue, please contact us at 800-564-6322.