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N Number reservation wait time

Webb

Well Known Member
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I requested on 8-13-2022 and still nothing. Tried calling and couldn’t get a human on the phone.

Has anyone received their reservation lately and how long did it take to get processed?
 
I reserved a few numbers on 8/31/2022, received the confirmation notification through mail on 10/31/22 for a period beginning 11/10/22.

This is somewhat unusually fast for the FAA. Other numbers I have reserved typically take much longer to hear back from the FAA.
 
N number wait time

I did not get confirmation for almost 6 months BUT within 1 month when I tried to request the same number the system said it was taken which I was hoping was a good sign or possibly a bad one. Requested another N number after 2 months and again within a month the system said it was taken. End up getting both after the 6 month wait. They do publish the date they are up to somewhere on the site. By the way just because they accept your payment does not mean you have the number. My first attempt last year received a letter telling me I should try again. The letter was received 3 months after I requested the N number. This is not rocket science to maintain a data base.
 
N Number Wait Time

Requested mine May 2022 and got the standard website confirmation -

Your request for N-Number reservation has been accepted.
Please allow approximately 3 weeks for your reservation request to be
processed.

Since then, crickets... When I check the N-Number Inquiry website it still says -
is Not Assigned/Reserved.

Wondering if I should try again???
 
I sent my request in this summer. I spoke with a very nice lady about two or three weeks ago and she said they were working on April requests at that time.
 
I reserved on on June 16th this year. No update yet, but I asked the aircraft registration folks at Oshkosh this year and they confirmed I was the sole requestor so they told me it should be good once they get to it.

If you go to this site you can see how far behind they are. As of today it reads “We are processing documents received on approximately May 17, 2022.”

https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/
 
Ok, I am that guy, I wanted a cool to me short N-number. I searched long and hard and found one that had personal meaning. I submitted it and waited…. Then I got the notice it was not available. So I searched the requested N-number and low and behold it went to a big box… aka Cessna/Textron

So I did another search to find a new N-number that had personal meaning to me. I submitted and waited…. Then I got notice it was not available. So I again searched the N-number and low and behold it want to a big box…. Once again to Cessna/Textron

These were both in the form of N followed by two numbers and two letters.

I do believe in conspiracies, and I do believe that there might have been some suspect acting in Cessna getting those two N-numbers.

In the end I did get a registration I liked, but I gave up on the two and two as I just did not believe there was fairness in the system. I had to make a choice in a timely manner as my panel was being ordered and they needed the N-number to cut into the panel

And no I am not over being pissed off about how that played out
 
I waited a long time for my current N-number. I submitted the aircraft registration form with the same N-number and called the FAA office in Oklahoma City and told them I have the same N-number reserved.

The FAA processed the registration with the same N-number in less than 7 days because it prioritizes all EAB registrations.

So if you are ready to register your airplane such has having the bill of sale on hand, go and register your aircraft and the chance for you to get the desired N-number is high.
 
It's not clear whether people are talking about N Number reservations or registrations as it appears some are using the term interchangeably. But, FWIW, my reservation renewal last September didn't get confirmed until March. It got extended until March 2023
 
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I waited a long time for my current N-number. I submitted the aircraft registration form with the same N-number and called the FAA office in Oklahoma City and told them I have the same N-number reserved.

The FAA processed the registration with the same N-number in less than 7 days because it prioritizes all EAB registrations.

So if you are ready to register your airplane such has having the bill of sale on hand, go and register your aircraft and the chance for you to get the desired N-number is high.

The above is EXACTLY how I got N678C. A really nice lady in OKC explained how to get it done. I wished I knew that the first two times.
 
Tax consequences

Although I have zero experience with the issue, I have heard that in many states' registrations are monitored by the States Treasury divisions and could prompt a letter requesting sales tax if/was paid. A bill of sale from the kit manufacture typically means you have received the majority of the parts. States are getting pretty sophisticated estimating what we paid for the parts. If anyone has any direct experience would love to understand the tax implications better. I know a lot of states now have mandatory tax payments for the sub-kits.
 
Questions….

I purchased 4 kits (emp, wing, fuse, and finish) at one time from another builder. It was a casual sale and I have a bill of sale from him. Will that suffice or do I need one from Vans?

Once reservation and BOS is in hand, can the registration be submitted at any time during the build?
 
Although I have zero experience with the issue, I have heard that in many states' registrations are monitored by the States Treasury divisions and could prompt a letter requesting sales tax if/was paid. A bill of sale from the kit manufacture typically means you have received the majority of the parts. States are getting pretty sophisticated estimating what we paid for the parts. If anyone has any direct experience would love to understand the tax implications better. I know a lot of states now have mandatory tax payments for the sub-kits.

As anything involving the government, it is complicated.
Most states that have a sales tax also have a ‘use tax’ (this is just an end-run around the constitutional prohibition on taxing interstate commerce). Here in CA:
Almost everything that isn’t food is taxed. Previously when you received a sub-kit from Vans, it was up to the builder to pay the use tax by the following April 15, with penalties for late payments. More recently, Vans has directly collected this tax from purchasers in CA. If you buy avionics out of state, the buyer owes use tax by 15 April. CA has no exemption for ‘casual sales’ between individuals. You buy something, you owe. Yes, they scan aircraft registrations and check that you’ve paid. On completed aircraft, CA has an annual county property tax. Yes, they routinely check N numbers of aircraft parked/hangared in CA, looking for people who claim to live elsewhere but keep aircraft here. Shortly after I registered (‘N number’) my plane I got a letter from the state asking about sales/use tax. I pointed them to my CA income tax returns in previous years, where I had paid the sales/use taxes. That seemed to satisfy them.
 
Questions….

I purchased 4 kits (emp, wing, fuse, and finish) at one time from another builder. It was a casual sale and I have a bill of sale from him. Will that suffice or do I need one from Vans?

Once reservation and BOS is in hand, can the registration be submitted at any time during the build?


The FAA requires the Form 8050-2 from Vans Aircraft which is the Kit Bill Of Sale from the manufacturer. Without this form, you cannot get your aircraft registered. Contact the Vans office with your private BOS from the previous kit owner so Vans can register you as the new kit owner.

After Vans registered you as the kit owner, and you signed the waiver form, you should get the Form 8050-2 that looks like the picture bellow. Go to the EAA website for all the info on kit aircraft registration. You will need more than what I described above.
 

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Already registered with Vans. Need to sign waiver and get the Vans BOS.
And will check out the EAA website.
Thanks for the info.

Still wondering…..How far into the build does someone need to be to submit the registration?
 
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Still wondering…..How far into the build does someone need to be to submit the registration?

As soon as you have the necessary BOS paperwork, you can do it before you’ve driven rivet-one. the FAA doesn’t care - but your taxing authority might!

When we joined a bush plane project that had been stalled for about six years, the fellow had been told (when he got the kit) to register it as soon as possible (which was bad advice…). Every year, the county sent him a bill for the taxes on his “new airplane”, and every year, he had to go to the courthouse and dispute it.

It did have an advantage for us in the long run however - Nevada depreciates airplanes very, very quickly - sort of like cars. So by the time we got it flying, it was eight years old, and worth almost nothing, so the tax bills are really low…..

Paul
 
As soon as you have the necessary BOS paperwork, you can do it before you’ve driven rivet-one. the FAA doesn’t care - but your taxing authority might!
When we joined a bush plane project that had been stalled for about six years, the fellow had been told (when he got the kit) to register it as soon as possible (which was bad advice…). Every year, the county sent him a bill for the taxes on his “new airplane”, and every year, he had to go to the courthouse and dispute it.
It did have an advantage for us in the long run however - Nevada depreciates airplanes very, very quickly - sort of like cars. So by the time we got it flying, it was eight years old, and worth almost nothing, so the tax bills are really low…..
Paul

Another big negative with registering early in the build is when the builder dies or sells the project. I see this more often than you would think. Sometimes this can be resolved easily and sometimes not. Especially when the listed builder/owner dies.
 
Thanks to those that have shared that the Registry is expediting initial registrations.
Questions:
1. Would it be appropriate to write on the envelope "Initial EAB" in red (similar to an import) so it doesn't get lost in the endless pile?
2. Are other folks' experience in line with PhatRV's 7 day experience? That seems like a miracle.
3. Does it speed up the process if the Registration request is done electronically vice paper?

Back to the OP's topic:
-I'm one of those that reserved an N no. and never received a notice to renew. Inconsequential as I had changed my mind and reserved another no. Each request took just over 6 months to come back to me.
First was Sep to Feb of '21 the second was Feb to Aug of this year.
 
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Reserved an N number back in March, got all the standard electronic confirmations, then sort of forgot about it. In September I come home from a trip to find a letter from the FAA waiting for me. As a professional pilot, this always makes your butt pucker a little bit when the feds send you a letter you are not expecting.

To my relief it was just the paper confirmation of the N number I had reserved.... :rolleyes:

6 months to get the paper letter, I had all but forgotten about it.
 
I reserved a few numbers on 8/31/2022, received the confirmation notification through mail on 10/31/22 for a period beginning 11/10/22.

This is somewhat unusually fast for the FAA. Other numbers I have reserved typically take much longer to hear back from the FAA.

Seems I was incorrect in my above statement. The number of days it has taken between reserving N-Numbers and it being confirmed by the FAA has been creeping up over the last 18 months. The most recent reservation confirmed by the FAA took 202 days. I wish my stock market accounts had the same trend!

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Update - N Number Wait Time

Requested mine May 2022 and just checked the FAA Registry. Lo and behold, my requested N Number has been reserved! :)
 
Bizzare Website Occurance

In May I realized I forgot to renew my reserved N Number. I quickly checked the FAA's site, it was available for request, so I "requested" it. Just for self comfort, I tried to reserve it again and it said sorry, this number is "requested" so I figured great I'll be in line for it. This was the status for 6 months.

Just last week I checked in on it, and it said it was available for reservation! At this point I threw up my arms and said I'll use my other number because I didn't want to go through the same thing. Well I just checked again and now it says I've got it reserved in my name. Maybe the FAA site doesn't clearly hand off a number from requested to reserved, but if you've had something similar happen and your requested number is now available, you might still be ok :)
 
Is this a number that was registered previously? Even if the N-number has been on aircraft that is expired for 10 years, FAA sends out courtesy inquiry to previous owner of registration. If no reply or they waive N-number, it's yours. Takes a month or so. I went through this initially. Renewals are instant.

I renewed Sept - Oct. This is not new reservation but renewal; web page indicated the new expiration date real time, and card came in mail a week later.
 
Latest Registraion Turnaround Time

Here is a current wait time for initial EAB registration processing: 17 days.
-Mailed 28 Nov from AZ
-Check cleared 6 Dec
-Registration in hand 14 Dec
Since AZ knows I own an airplane I now must look forward to the arm wrestling fest that is convincing the state of the worth of a plane built from kits from 2 manufactures that has been owned by 3 different owners in 4 states over 20 years...
 
Here is a current wait time for initial EAB registration processing: 17 days.

Since AZ knows I own an airplane I now must look forward to the arm wrestling fest that is convincing the state of the worth of a plane built from kits from 2 manufactures that has been owned by 3 different owners in 4 states over 20 years...

There's only the $25 annual DOT registration for aircraft in AZ. This was also second hand casual purchase so no sales tax to report to the State. Other states are WAY different.
 
Sweet!
I was remembering the round and round when I got my slow build 7A registered in ‘03. The AZ dept. of revenue wanted to come and look at it and assess a value. I offered to send them copies of receipts from Vans and they bought off on a value of the empennage , wings, and fuselage kits.
 
I looked at the FAQ page on the FAA website. Last updated on Sept 16, 2022 and It said they were processing requests from June 30, 2022.

Has anyone recently received a reservation that faintly agrees with the processing delay?
 
About 15 years ago or so, I purchased an RV kit, partially completed, that had already been registered. I wanted to register it differently later in the build so I called the FAA to deregister it.
They required a couple forms and a notarized letter with special wording. They actually dictated the letter to me over the phone.so, I filled out the forms got the letter done and sent it all in and the plane was deregistered.
I will say it did not have the AW yet.
Later, I registered the plane with no problems.
At any rate, I would recommend you just call the FAA registration branch and ask. I found them to be very helpful.
 
I looked at the FAQ page on the FAA website. Last updated on Sept 16, 2022 and It said they were processing requests from June 30, 2022.

Has anyone recently received a reservation that faintly agrees with the processing delay?

I’ve been watching that processing day too. I requested an N number on June 19th and was expecting it to show that I had it on hold since they are now showing processing items after that date, but the number I requested is still showing deregistered.

Doug
 
According to website, it was updated Jan 6, 2023 and they were processing applications from Aug 2nd.
 
Congratulations!
When the time comes for registration the long lead time game shouldn’t have to be played.
As I mentioned earlier in this thread new EAB registrations are only taking a couple of weeks.
 
Congratulations!
When the time comes for registration the long lead time game shouldn’t have to be played.
As I mentioned earlier in this thread new EAB registrations are only taking a couple of weeks.

Just mailed my new E-AB registration last Tuesday. I'll report time line when I'm notified.
 
Time line

Mailed my EA registration Feb 3, check cashed Feb 9. N number obtained last year. Still not seen anything.
 
N88810

Waiting on N88810. N442RV has been valid for some time. Appreciate the wishful input. Hopefully soon. I applied early for this I know. Paying sales tax in 2023 helpful going into retirement......;)
 
Registration - Affidavit of Owndership

Just received a letter from the FAA saying they need:

"Show serial number for the engine installed on the enclosed affidavit of ownership for amateur built."

I might have made the mistake of putting Lycoming and the model number on the line that requests - Manufacture, Model and Serial Number. For my previous EAB registrations I just put the model number and nothing else. No manufacture or serial number just model number. My data plate on the fuselage will just have the model number. Before I call the FAA any input if we should be using Manufacture, Model and Serial Number or just model number. I was under the impression we could call it almost anything we wanted but maybe by adding Lycoming was to much information??
 
Is there a specific point of contact on the letter so that your updated affidavit can easily be married up with the rest of your packet?
Yep, engine SN required on affidavit.
No engine data required on the fuselage data plate.
Key to the data plate is the manufacturer, model and aircraft SN must match registration exactly.
 
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Is there a specific point of contact on the letter so that your updated affidavit can easily be married up with the rest of your packet?
Yep, engine SN required on affidavit.
No engine data required on the fuselage data plate.
Key to the data plate is the manufacturer, model and aircraft SN must match registration exactly.

There is not a specific point of contact to reply to just their general number, but I do have a name. Reading through some other posts I think when I used the engine manufactures name and model number, I opened the door to needing to also supply the serial number. My previous 3 EAB's using form 8050-88 I just used the model number with one of those a totally made-up number which I think is allowed or at least went through and nobody at the FAA flagged it. Mayber Mel will chime in on this one. Previous comments where you can call it whatever you want but I guess calling it a Lycoming and then a model number locks one into needing to add the serial number? I probably just should have called it using a model number or made-up number. I am going to try and call the number later on and ask if I can use the FAA registration e-mail address for further communications. I have heard that is a better and faster method to communicate with them. Fortunately, I have plenty of time to get this resolved and they did give me a file number to reference.
 
Give them a call.
Decades ago I had a glitch on an Aircraft Bill of Sale. I got a letter and called the phone number and it went to the general Aircraft Registry line. But I was quickly transferred to the person who’s in-basket held my paperwork. She gave me her name to “ATTENTION” on the envelope containing the necessary correction.
Obviously that was before the work at home and long delays that we enjoy now.
Glad you’ve got time to get it sorted.
 
Engine Serial Number

Like all CFRs this may not be absolute, may be something elsewhere that allows not submitting it. Likely why it’s on the form. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-47

47.33 (c)

The owner of an amateur-built aircraft who applies for registration under paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section must describe the aircraft by class (airplane, rotorcraft, glider, or balloon), serial number, number of seats, type of engine installed, (reciprocating, turbopropeller, turbojet, or other), number of engines installed, and make, model, and serial number of each engine installed; and must state whether the aircraft is built for land or water operation. Also, he must submit as evidence of ownership an affidavit giving the U.S. registration number, and stating that the aircraft was built from parts and that he is the owner. If he built the aircraft from a kit, the applicant must also submit a bill of sale from the manufacturer of the kit.
 
False security

My last EAB registration on form 8050-88 I just used LIO390DWMExp for the line asking for Manufacture, Model and Serial number and it was processed no issues. I think I was looking at posts that stated you can use anything you want but I think that reference was to each component of the 3 needed. It appears you do need 3 made up references of some sort for Manufacture, Model and Serial number. You could use X, Y, Z I think but why push the limits.

I have e-mailed in the newly notarized 8050-88 and we will see. Tried to call in and was put on a 45-minute hold that disconnected 15:30 OK time.

Anybody filling out 8050-88 I would use 3 distinct names for Manufacture, Model and Serial number for your engine to satisfy the FAA.

Good luck and safe document submittal........
 
Talking to the FAA about registration

Called first thing Friday morning and a live person actually picked up my call. (After going through the voice mail prompts of course) Seemed very willing to help. I explained the issue to her, and she thought at one time you could put almost anything for the engine description line but now (She was not sure when this policy was changed) you need to designate a manufacture, model and serial number separated by ,s. Unfortunately, since this page needs a notarization, one can't use a digital signature as the notary most likely cannot do this and needs to be mailed in. I have used in the past e-mailing documents ([email protected]) that just require a signature (And not notarized) using digital signatures and the document gets posted almost immediately. Note the FAA requires a time and date stamp on the digital signature and some electronic signing services don't use both. (PDF Filler is not acceptable vs. DocuSign is acceptable)
 
Closing the loop

Appears N88810 has been registered. It appears they are still giving registration priority and if I had not screwed up the engine description the FAA would have had this done easily in less than 2 weeks. N number requests takes a little longer. (5+ months)
 
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