| Aircraft registration | |
|---|---|
| A Van's Aircraft RV-7 displaying registration G-KELS. The G prefix denotes a civil aircraft registered in the United Kingdom |
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile. In accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation all aircraft must be registered with a national aviation authority and they must carry proof of this registration in the form of a legal document called a Certificate of Registration at all times when in operation. Most countries also require the aircraft registration to be imprinted on a permanent fireproof plate mounted on the fuselage for the purposes of post-fire/post-crash aircraft accident investigation.
Because airplanes typically display their registration numbers on the aft fuselage just forward of the tail, in earlier times more often on the tail itself, the registration is often referred to as the "tail number".
Although each aircraft registration is unique, some, but not all countries allow it to be re-used when the aircraft has been sold, destroyed or retired. For example N3794N is assigned to a Mooney M20F.[1] It had been previously assigned to a Beechcraft Bonanza (specifically, the aircraft in which Buddy Holly was killed). Also note that an individual aircraft may be assigned different registrations during its existence. This can be because the aircraft changes ownership, state of registration, or in some cases for vanity reasons. An example of this is Middle East Airlines which has changed registrations on part of its Airbus A321-200 fleet from French registrations to Lebanese ones.
Contents |
The Certificate of Registration contains contact information used by national authorities for enforcement purposes, and for the purposes of disseminating Airworthiness Directives to aircraft owners. Most national authorities require that the aircraft owner update said contact information immediately or as soon as possible any time there is a change in the same.
for information about registering aircraft ELTs.
The first use of aircraft registrations was based on the radio callsigns allocated at the London International Radiotelegraphic Conference in 1913. This was modified by agreement by the International Bureau at Berne and published on April 23, 1913. Although initial allocations were not specifically for aircraft but for any radio user, the International Air Navigation Convention held in Paris in 1919 made allocations specifically for aircraft registrations based on the 1913 callsign list. The agreement stipulated that the nationality marks were to be followed by a hyphen then a group of four letters that must include a vowel (and for the convention Y was considered to be a vowel).
At the International Radiotelegraph Convention at Washington in 1927 the list of markings was revised and adopted from 1928, these allocations are the basis of the currently used registrations. The marking have been amended and added to over the years and the allocations and standard are managed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Article 20 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation (signed in 1944) requires that all signatory countries register aircraft over a certain weight with a national aviation authority. Upon registration, the aircraft receives its unique "registration" which must be displayed prominently on the aircraft.
Annex 7 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation describes the definitions, location, and measurement of nationality and registration marks. The aircraft registration is made up of a prefix selected from the country's callsign prefix allocated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (making the registration a quick way of determining the country of origin) and the registration suffix. Depending on the country of registration, this suffix is a numeric or alphanumeric code and consists of one to five digits or characters respectively.
The ICAO provides a supplement to Annex 7 which provides an updated list of approved Nationality and Common Marks used by various countries.
When painted on the fuselage, the prefix and suffix are separated by a dash (for example YR-BMA), but when entered in a flight plan, the dash is omitted (for example YRBMA). In the United States, the prefix and suffix are painted without a dash. Aircraft flying privately usually use their registration as their radio callsign, but many aircraft flying in commercial operations (especially charter, cargo, and airlines) use the ICAO airline designator or a company callsign. In some instances, it may be sufficient to simply display the suffix letters, with the country prefix omitted. For example, gliders registered in Australia would omit the VH prefix and simply display the suffix. Obviously this is only suitable where the aircraft does not fly in the airspace of another country.
Even if the suffix consists solely of alphabetical characters in a certain country, gliders and ultralights may sometimes use digits instead. For example, in Germany, D-ABCD can be a powered airplane while D-1234 is a glider. In Australia, early glider registration suffixes began with the letters "G-AU", and it is not uncommon to find such gliders only displaying the last two letters of the suffix, as they lacked the range to travel internationally. For example, VH-GIQ would simply be displayed as IQ.
Different countries have different registration schemes: Canadian registrations start with C, British with G, German with D, and so forth. A comprehensive list is tabulated below.
In the United States, the registration number is also referred to as an "N-number", as all aircraft registered there have a number starting with N. An alpha-numeric system is used because of the large numbers of aircraft registered in the United States. An N-number may only consist of one to five characters, must start with a digit other than zero, and cannot end in a run of more than two letters. In addition, N-numbers may not contain the letters I or O, due to their similarities with the numerals 1 and 0.[2]
Each alphabetic character in the suffix can have one of 24 discrete values, while each numeric digit can be one of 10, except the first, which can take on only nine values. This yields a total of 915,399 possible registration numbers in the namespace, though certain combinations are reserved either for government use or for other special purposes.[2] With so many possible calls radio shortcuts are used. Normally when flying entirely within the United States an aircraft would not identify itself starting with "N", since that is assumed. Also, after initial contact is made with an aircraft control site only the last two or three characters are typically used.
The following are the combinations that could be used:
An older aircraft (registered before 31 December 1948) may have a second letter in its identifier, identifying the category of aircraft. This additional letter is not actually part of the aircraft identification (e.g. NC12345 is the same registration as N12345). Aircraft category letters have not been included on any registration numbers issued since 1 January 1949, but they still appear on antique aircraft for authenticity purposes. The categories were:
For example, N-X-211, the Ryan NYP aircraft flown by Charles Lindbergh as the Spirit of St. Louis, was registered in the experimental category.
The impact of decolonisation and independence on aircraft registration schemes has varied from place to place. Most countries on independence have had a new allocation granted taken from either an existing ITU allocation or the former countries ITU allocation. For example after partition in 1947 India retained the VT designation used by the British Raj, while Pakistan adopted the AP designation from the newly allocated ITU callsigns APA-ASZ. Hong Kong, which formerly used the VR-H designation, had the "VR" replaced with the Chinese "B" upon the 1997 Handover to China, resulting in aircraft designations with only four letters in total (as opposed to the international norm of five letters).
| Country / Region | Registration Prefix | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | YA | YA-AAA to YA-ZZZ |
| Albania | ZA | ZA-AAA to ZA-ZZZ |
| Algeria | 7T | 7T-AAA to 7T-ZZZ |
| Andorra | C3 | C3-AAA to C3-ZZZ |
| Angola | D2 | D2-AAA to D2-ZZZ |
| Anguilla | VP-A | VP-AAA to VP-AZZ |
| Antigua and Barbuda | V2 | V2-AAA to V2-ZZZ |
| Argentina | LV
LQ |
LV-AAA to LV-ZZZ
LQ-AAA to LQ-ZZZ (Official use only) |
| Armenia | EK | EK-10000 to EK-99999 |
| Aruba | P4 | P4-AAA to P4-ZZZ |
| Australia | VH | VH-AAA to VH-ZZZ |
| Austria | OE | OE-AAA to OE-KZZ
OE-BAA to OE-BZZ (governmental service) OE-LAA to OE-LZZ (airlines operating scheduled flights) OE-VAA to OE-VZZ (test registrations) OE-WAA to OE-WZZ (amphibian and sea planes) OE-XAA to OE-XZZ (helicopters) OE-0001 to OE-5999 (gliders) OE-9000 to OE-9999 (motor gliders) |
| Azerbaijan | 4K | 4K-AZ1 to 4K-AZ999
4K-10000 to 4K-99999 |
| Bahamas | C6 | C6-AAA to C6-ZZZ |
| Bahrain | A9C | A9C-AA to A9C-ZZ |
| Bangladesh | S2 | S2-AAA to S2-ZZZ |
| Barbados | 8P | 8P-AAA to 8P-ZZZ |
| Belarus | EW | EW-10000 to EW-99999 (ex-Soviet Union registrations)
EW-100AA to EW-999ZZ Aircraft in general, except: EW-200PA to EW-299PA for Boeing 737 EW-100PJ to ER-299PJ for CRJ EW-001PA, EW-85815 governmental EW-0001L to EW-9999L for balloons |
| Belgium | OO | OO-AAA to OO-ZZZ (OO-Q never used)
OO-BAA to OO-BZZ (preferred for Balloons) OO-YAA to OO-ZAA (preferred for gliders) OO-01 to OO-499 (Homebuilt aircraft) OO-501 to OO-999 & OO-A01 to OO-Z99 (Microlights) |
| Belize | V3 | V3-AAA to V3-ZZZ |
| Benin | TY | TY-AAA to TY-ZZZ |
| Bermuda | VP-B, VQ-B | VP-BAA to VP-BZZ, VQ-BAA to VQ-BZZ |
| Bhutan | A5 | A5-AAA to A5-ZZZ |
| Bolivia | CP | CP-1000 to CP-9999 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | T9 | T9-AAA to T9-ZZZ |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | E7 | E7-AAA to E7-ZZZ |
| Botswana | A2 | A2-AAA to A2-ZZZ |
| Brazil | PP
PR PT PU |
PP-AAA to PP-ZZZ
PR-AAA to PR-ZZZ PT-AAA to PT-ZZZ PU-AAA to PU-ZZZ (Microlights/Experimental aircraft) |
| British Virgin Islands | VP-L | VP-LAA to VP-LZZ |
| Brunei | V8 | V8-AAA to V8-ZZZ
V8-AA1 to V8-ZZ9 V8-001 to V8-999 |
| Bulgaria | LZ | LZ-AAA to LZ-ZZZ |
| Burkina Faso | XT | XT-AAA to XT-ZZZ |
| Burundi | 9U | 9U-AAA to 9U-ZZZ |
| Cambodia | XU | XU-AAA to XU-ZZZ |
| Cameroon | TJ | TJ-AAA to TJ-ZZZ |
| Canada | C | C-FAAA to C-FZZZ
C-GAAA to C-GZZZ C-IAAA to C-IZZZ (ultralight aeroplanes only) |
| Cape Verde | D4 | D4-AAA to D4-ZZZ |
| Cayman Islands | VP-C | VP-CAA to VP-CZZ |
| Central African Republic | TL | TL-AAA to TL-ZZZ |
| Chad | TT | TT-AAA to TT-ZZZ |
| Chile | CC | CC-AAA to CC-ZZZ
CC-CAA to CC-CZZ (commercial aircraft) CC-PAA to CC-PZZ (private aircraft) |
| Republic of China (Taiwan) | B | B-10000 to B-99999 |
| People's Republic of China | B | B-1000 to B-9999 |
| Hong Kong, China | B-H (formerly VR-H)
B-K B-L |
B-HAA to B-HZZ
B-KAA to B-KZZ B-LAA to B-LZZ |
| Macau, China | B-M (formerly CS- during Portuguese rule before 1999) | B-MAA to B-MZZ |
| Colombia | HJ
HK |
HJ-1000A to HJ-9999Z (Microlights)
HK-1000A to HK-9999Z |
| Comoros | D6 | D6-AAA to D6-ZZZ |
| Congo, Republic of | TN | TN-AAA to TN-ZZZ |
| Cook Islands | E5 | E5-AAA to E5-ZZZ |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of | 9Q | 9Q-AAA to 9Q-ZZZ |
| Costa Rica | TI | TI-AAA to TI-ZZZ |
| Côte d'Ivoire | TU | TU-AAA to TU-ZZZ |
| Croatia | 9A | 9A-AAA to 9A-ZZZ
9A-GAA to 9A-GZZ (Gliders) 9A-HAA to 9A-HZZ (Helicopters) |
| Cuba | CU | CU-C1000 to CU-C1999 (Airlines, cargo operations)[3]
CU-E1000 to CU-E1999 (Agricultural Aircraft)[4] CU-H1000 to CU-H1999 (Helicopters) CU-N1000 to CU-N1999 (Private Aircraft) CU-T1000 to CU-T1999 (Airlines, passenger flights) CU-U1000 to CU-U1999 (Ultralights)[5] |
| Cyprus, Republic of | 5B | 5B-AAA to 5B-ZZZ |
| Czech Republic | OK | OK-AAA to OK-ZZZ
OK-AAA 00 to OK-ZZZ 99 (Microlights) OK-0000 to OK-9999 (Gliders & balloons) OK-A000 to OK-A999 (Ultralight gliders)[6] |
| Denmark | OY N2 | OY-AAA to OY-ZZZ
OY-HAA to OY-HZZ (Helicopters) |
| Djibouti | J2 | J2-AAA to J2-ZZZ |
| Dominica | J7 | J7-AAA to J7-ZZZ |
| Dominican Republic | HI | HI-100AA to HI-999ZZ |
| East Timor | 4W N1 | |
| Ecuador | HC | HC-AAA to HC-ZZZ |
| Egypt | SU | SU-AAA to SU-XXZ
SU-ZAA to SU-ZZZ SU-001 to SU-999 (Gliders and balloons) |
| El Salvador | YS | YS-AAA to YS-ZZZ |
| Equatorial Guinea | 3C | 3C-AAA to 3C-ZZZ |
| Eritrea | E3 | E3-AAAA to E3-ZZZZ |
| Estonia | ES | ES-AAA to ES-ZZZ |
| Ethiopia | ET | ET-AAA to ET-ZZZ |
| Falkland Islands | VP-F | VP-FAA to VP-FZZ |
| Faroe Islands | OY N2 | OY-AAA to OY-ZZZ
OY-HAA to OY-HZZ (Helicopters) OY-XAA to OY-XZZ (Gliders) |
| Fiji Islands | DQ | DQ-AAA to DQ-ZZZ |
| Finland | OH | OH-AAA to OH-ZZZ
OH-001 to OH-999 (gliders) OH-G001 to OH-G999 (autogyros) OH-U001 to OH-U999 (ultralights) |
| France | F | F-AAAA to F-ZZZZ
F-CAAA to F-CZZZ (Gliders) F-OAAA to F-OZZZ (Overseas Territories) F-PAAA to F-PZZZ (Homebuilt) F-WAAA to F-WZZZ (Test and Delivery) F-ZAAA to F-ZZZZ (State owned) "department number"-AA to -ZZ & -AAA to -ZZZ (Ultralights)[e.g.: 59-ABC] |
| French West Indies | F-OG | F-OGAA to F-OGZZ |
| French Guyana | F-O | F-OAAA to F-OZZZ |
| Gabon | TR | TR-AAA to TR-ZZZ |
| Gambia | C5 | C5-AAA to C5-ZZZ |
| Georgia | 4L | 4L-AAA to 4L-ZZZ
4L-10000 to 4L-99999 |
| Germany | D | D-AAAA to D-AZZZ for aircraft with more than 20t MTOW
D-BAAA to D-BZZZ for aircraft with 14t-20t MTOW D-CAAA to D-CZZZ for aircraft with 5,7t-14t MTOW D-EAAA to D-EZZZ for single engine aircraft up to 2t MTOW D-FAAA to D-FZZZ for single engine aircraft from to 2t-5,7t MTOW D-GAAA to D-GZZZ for multi-engine aircraft up to 2t MTOW D-IAAA to D-IZZZ for multi-engine aircraft from 2t-5,7t MTOW D-HAAA to D-HZZZ for rotorcraft D-KAAA to D-KZZZ for powered gliders D-LAAA to D-LZZZ for airships D-MAAA to D-MZZZ for powered sports aircraft D-NAAA to D-NZZZ for non-powered sports aircraft D-OAAA to D-OZZZ for manned free ballons D-0001 to D-9999 for Gliders |
| Ghana | 9G | 9G-AAA to 9G-ZZZ |
| Gibraltar | VP-G | VP-GAA to VP-GZZ |
| Greece | SX | SX-AAA to SX-ZZZ |
| Greenland | OY N2 | OY-AAA to OY-ZZZ |
| Grenada | J3 | J3-AAA to J3-ZZZ |
| Guatemala | TG | TG-AAA to TG-ZZZ |
| Guinea | 3X | 3X-AAA to 3X-ZZZ |
| Guinea Bissau | J5 | J5-AAA to J5-ZZZ |
| Guyana | 8R | 8R-AAA to 8R-ZZZ |
| Haiti | HH | HH-AAA to HH-ZZZ |
| Honduras | HR | HR-AAA to HR-ZZZ |
| Hungary | HA | HA-AAA to HA-ZZZ |
| Iceland | TF | TF-AAA to TF-ZZZ
TF-100 to TF-999 (Microlights) |
| India | VT | VT-AAA to VT-ZZZ
VT-HAA to VT-HZZ (Helicopters) |
| Indonesia | PK | PK-AAA to PK-ZZZ |
| Iran | EP | EP-AAA to EP-ZZZ |
| Iraq | YI | YI-AAA to YI-ZZZ |
| Ireland | EI | EI-AAA to EI-ZZZ |
| Isle of Man[7] | M | M-AAAA to M-ZZZZ |
| Israel | 4X | 4X-AAA to 4X-ZZZ |
| Italy | I | I-AAAA to I-ZZZZ |
| Jamaica | 6Y | 6Y-AAA to 6Y-ZZZ |
| Japan | JA | JA-0001 to JA-9999
JA-001A to JA-999Z JA-01AA to JA-99ZZ JA-A001 to JA-A999 (Balloons) |
| Jordan | JY | JY-AAA to JY-ZZZ |
| Republic of Kosovo | Z6 | Z6-AAA to Z6-ZZZ |
| Kazakhstan | UP | UP-AAA01 to UP-ZZZ99 (Suffix letters refer to aircraft type) |
| Kenya | 5Y | 5Y-AAA to 5Y-ZZZ |
| Kiribati | T3 | T3-AAA to T3-ZZZ |
| Korea, People's Democratic Rep. | P | P-500 to P-999 |
| Korea, Republic of | HL[8] | HL0000 to HL0599 for glider
HL0600 to HL0799 for airship HL1000 to HL1799 for piston engine HL2000 to HL2099 for piston engine HL5100 to HL5499 for turbo prop HL6100 to HL6199 HL6200 to HL6299 HL7100 to HL7199 for single turbojet HL7200 to HL7299 HL7300 to HL7399 HL7400 to HL7499 HL7500 to HL7599 HL7600 to HL7699 HL8200 to HL8299 HL8400 to HL8499 HL8600 to HL8699 HL9100 to HL9199 HL9200 to HL9299 HL9200 to HL9299 HL9300 to HL9399 HL9400 to HL9499 HL9500 to HL9599 HL9600 to HL9699 |
| Kuwait | 9K | 9K-AAA to 9K-ZZZ |
| Kyrgyzstan | EX | EX-100 to EX-999
EX-10000 to EX-99999 |
| Laos | RDPL | RDPL-10000 to RDPL-99999 |
| Latvia | YL | YL-AAA to YL-ZZZ |
| Lebanon | OD | OD-AAA to OD-ZZZ |
| Lesotho | 7P | 7P-AAA to 7P-ZZZ |
| Liberia | A8 | A8-AAA to A8-ZZZ |
| Libya | 5A | 5A-AAA to 5A-ZZZ |
| Liechtenstein | HB | HB-AAA to HB-ZZZ (shares allocation with Switzerland) |
| Lithuania | LY | LY-AAA to LY-ZZZ |
| Luxembourg | LX | LX-AAA to LX-ZZZ
LX-BAA to LX-BZZ (Balloons) LX-CAA to LX-CZZ (Glider) LX-HAA to LX-HZZ (Helicopters) LX-XAA to LX-XZZ (Ultralights) |
| Macedonia | Z3 | Z3-AAA to Z3-ZZZ
Z3-HAA to Z3-HZZ (Helicopters) Z3-UA-001 to Z3-UA-999 (Ultralight) Z3-OAA to Z3-OZZ (Hot air balloons) |
| Madagascar | 5R | 5R-AAA to 5R-ZZZ |
| Malawi | 7Q | 7Q-AAA to 7Q-ZZZ |
| Malaysia | 9M | 9M-AAA to 9M-ZZZ
9M-EAA to 9M-EZZ (Amateur-built) 9M-UAA to 9M-UZZ (Microlight) |
| Maldives | 8Q | 8Q-AAA to 8Q-ZZZ |
| Mali | TZ | TZ-AAA to TZ-ZZZ |
| Malta | 9H | 9H-AAA to 9H-ZZZ |
| Marshall Islands | V7 | V7-0001 to V7-9999 |
| Mauritania | 5T | 5T-AAA to 5T-ZZZ |
| Mauritius | 3B | 3B-AAA to 3B-ZZZ |
| Mexico | XA
XB XC |
XA-AAA to XA-ZZZ
XB-AAA to XB-ZZZ XC-AAA to XC-ZZZ |
| Micronesia, Federated States of | V6 | V6-AAA to V6-ZZZ |
| Moldova | ER | ER-AAA to ER-ZZZ
ER-10000 to ER-99999 |
| Monaco | 3A | 3A-AAA to 3A-ZZZ
3A-HAA to 3A-HZZ (Helicopters) |
| Mongolia | JU | JU-1000 to JU-9999 |
| Montenegro | 4O | 4O-AAA to 4O-ZZZ |
| Montserrat | VP-M | VP-MAA to VP-MZZ |
| Morocco | CN | CN-AAA to CN-ZZZ |
| Mozambique | C9 | C9-AAA to C9-ZZZ |
| Myanmar | XY
XZ |
XY-AAA to XY-ZZZ
XZ-AAA to XZ-ZZZ (Not Used) |
| Namibia | V5 | V5-AAA to V5-ZZZ |
| Nauru | C2 | C2-AAA to C2-ZZZ |
| Nepal | 9N | 9N-AAA to 9N-ZZZ |
| Netherlands | PH | PH-AAA to PH-ZZZ
PH-1A1 to PH-9Z9 (Microlights) PH-100 to PH-9999 (Gliders) |
| Netherlands Antilles | PJ | PJ-AAA to PJ-ZZZ |
| New Zealand | ZK | ZK-A**, ZK-B**, ZK-GA*, ZK-HA* reserved for historical aircraft including helicopters and gliders since 1987
ZK-FA*, ZK-FB* balloons ZK-G** gliders ZK-H**, ZK-I** helicopters ZK-RA*, ZK-RB*, ZK-RC*, ZK-RD* gyrocopters ZK-Q** marks are prohibited by ICAO Remainder for fixed-wing aircraft[9] |
| Nicaragua | YN | YN-AAA to YN-ZZZ |
| Niger | 5U | 5U-AAA to 5U-ZZZ |
| Nigeria | 5N | 5N-AAA to 5N-ZZZ |
| Norway | LN | LN-AAA to LN-ZZZ Aircraft in general, except:
LN-G**, Gliders LN-O**, Helicopters LN-C**, Balloons LN-Y**, Ultralight Aircraft |
| Oman | A4O | A4O-AA to A4O-ZZ |
| Pakistan | AP | AP-AAA to AP-ZZZ |
| Palestine | SU-Y
E4 |
SU-YAA to SU-YZZ
N1 |
| Panama | HP | HP-1000AA to HP-9999ZZ |
| Papua New Guinea | P2 | P2-AAA to P2-ZZZ |
| Paraguay | ZP | ZP-AAA to ZP-ZZZ |
| Peru | OB | OB-1000 to OB-9999 |
| Philippines | RP-C | RP-C0001 to RP-C9999 |
| Poland | SP,SN | SP-AAA to SP-ZZZ
SP-1000 to SP-3000, SP-8000 (gliders) SP-SAAA to SP-SZZZ (ultralights) SN-00AA (police and border guard) |
| Portugal | CR | CR-AAA to CR-ZZZ |
| Portugal | CS | CS-AAA to CS-ZZZ Aircraft in general, except:
CS-H**, Helicopters CS-X**, Experimental CS-U**, Ultralight Aircraft |
| Qatar | A7 | A7-AAA to A7-ZZZ |
| Réunion Island | F-OD | F-ODAA to F-ODZZ |
| Romania | YR | YR-AAA to YR-ZZZ
YR-1000 to YR-9999 (Gliders) |
| Russian Federation | RA | RA-00001 to RA-99999
RA-0001A to RA-9999Z |
| Russian Federation | RF | RF-00001 to RF-99999 (state-owned aircraft) |
| Rwanda | 9XR | 9XR-AA to 9XR-ZZ |
| Saint Helena/Ascension | VQ-H | VQ-HAA to VQ-HZZ |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | V4 | V4-AAA to V4-ZZZ |
| Saint Lucia | J6 | J6-AAA to J6-ZZZ |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | J8 | J8-AAA to J8-ZZZ |
| Samoa | 5W | 5W-AAA to 5W-ZZZ |
| San Marino | T7 | T7-AAA to T7-ZZZ
T7-001 to T7-999 (Microlights) |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | S9 | S9-AAA to S9-ZZZ |
| Saudi Arabia | HZ | HZ-AAA to HZ-ZZZ
HZ-AA1 to HZ-ZZ99 HZ-AAA1 to HZ-ZZZ99 HZ-AAAA to HZ-ZZZZ |
| Senegal | 6V | 6V-AAA to 6V-ZZZ |
| Serbia | YU | YU-AAA to YU-ZZZ |
| Seychelles | S7 | S7-AAA to S7-ZZZ |
| Sierra Leone | 9L | 9L-AAA to 9L-ZZZ |
| Singapore | 9V | 9V-AAA to 9V-ZZZ |
| Slovakia | OM | OM-AAA to OM-ZZZ
OM-AAAA to OM-ZZZZ (Ultralight) OM-M000 to OM-M999 (Microlights) OM-0000 to OM-9999 (Gliders) |
| Slovenia | S5 | S5-AAA to S5-ZZZ
S5-HAA to S5-HZZ (Helicopters) |
| Solomon Islands | H4 | H4-AAA to H4-ZZZ |
| Somalia | 6O | 6O-AAA to 6O-ZZZ |
| South Africa | ZS
ZT ZU |
ZS-AAA to ZS-ZZZ (type certified aircraft)
ZT-AAA to ZT-ZZZ (not used) ZU-AAA to ZU-ZZZ (non-type certified aircraft) |
| South Sudan | ||
| Spain | EC | EC-AAA to EC-WZZ
EC-YAA to EC-ZZZ (Homebuilt aircraft) EC-AA0 to EC-ZZ9 (Ultralight) EC-001 to EC-999 (Test and delivery) |
| Sri Lanka | 4R | 4R-AAA to 4R-ZZZ |
| Sudan | ST | ST-AAA to ST-ZZZ |
| Surinam | PZ | PZ-AAA to PZ-ZZZ |
| Swaziland | 3D | 3D-AAA to 3D-ZZZ |
| Sweden | SE | SE-AAA to SE-ZZZ
SE-YAA to SE-VZZ ultralights |
| Switzerland | HB | HB-AAA to HB-ZZZ
HB-1 to HB-9999 for Gliders and Motorgliders |
| Syria | YK | YK-AAA to YK-ZZZ |
| Tahiti | F-OH | F-OHAA to F-OHZZ |
| Tajikistan | EY | EY-10000 to EY-99999 |
| Tanzania | 5H | 5H-AAA to 5H-ZZZ |
| Thailand | HS | HS-AAA to HS-ZZZ |
| Togo | 5V | 5V-AAA to 5V-ZZZ |
| Tonga | A3 | A3-AAA to A3-ZZZ |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 9Y | 9Y-AAA to 9Y-ZZZ |
| Tunisia | TS | TS-AAA to TS-ZZZ |
| Turkey | TC | TC-AAA to TC-ZZZ |
| Turkmenistan | EZ | EZ-A100 to EZ-Z999 |
| Turks and Caicos | VQ-T | VQ-TAA to VQ-TZZ |
| Tuvalu | T2 | T2-AAA to T2-ZZZ |
| Uganda | 5X | 5X-AAA to 5X-ZZZ |
| Ukraine | UR | UR-AAA to UR-ZZZ
UR-10000 to UR-99999 |
| United Arab Emirates | A6 | A6-AAA to A6-ZZZ |
| United Kingdom | G | G-AAAA to G-ZZZZ
G-1-1 to G-99-99 (Test and delivery) G-A00AA to G-Z99ZZ (Concorde use in 1979 and 1980). |
| United Nations | 4U | 4U-AAA to 4U-ZZZ |
| United States of America | N | N1 to N99999
N1A to N9999Z N1AA to N999ZZ |
| Uruguay | CX | CX-AAA to CX-ZZZ |
| Uzbekistan | UK | UK-10000 to UK-99999 |
| Vanuatu | YJ | YJ-AA1 to YJ-ZZ99 |
| Venezuela | YV | YV0001 to YV9999
YV-0001A to YV-9999P YV-AAA1 to YV-ZZZ9 (Official use) |
| Vietnam | VN | VN-1000 to VN-9999
VN-A100 to VN-A999 |
| Yemen | 7O | 7O-AAA to 7O-ZZZ |
| Zambia | 9J | 9J-AAA to 9J-ZZZ |
| Zimbabwe | Z | Z-AAA to Z-ZZZ |
Note: in the suffix pattern, n represents a number, x represents a letter
| Country / Region | Registration Prefix | Suffix Pattern | 1913 radio call letters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abyssinia | A-B[Note 11] | A-Bxxx | |
| Afghanistan | Y-A[Note 13] | Y-Axxx | |
| Albania | B-A[Note 6] | B-Axxx | |
| Argentina | R-A[Note 9] | R-Axxx | LIA to LRZ |
| Australia | G-AU[10] | G-AUxx | VHA to VKZ |
| Austria-Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina | HAA to HFZ, OGA to OMZ and UNA to UZZ | ||
| Belgium | O-B[Note 1] | O-Bxxx | ONA to OTZ |
| Bolivia | C-B[Note 1] | C-Bxxx | none |
| Brazil | P-B[Note 1] | P-Bxxx | SNA to STZ |
| Canada | G-C[10] | G-Cxxx, except G-CYxx | VAA to VGZ (Newfoundland: VOA to VOZ) |
| G-CY (military aircraft)[10] | G-CYxx | ||
| Bulgaria | B-B[Note 6] | B-Bxxx | LXA to LZZ |
| Chile | B-C[Note 10] | B-Cxxx | COA to CPZ |
| China | X-C[Note 1] | X-Cxxx | none |
| Colombia | C- | C-n to C-nnn | none |
| Costa Rica | K-C[Note 6] | K-Cxxx | |
| Cuba | C-C[Note 1] | C-Cxxx | none |
| Czechoslovakia | L-B[Note 1] | L-Bxxx | |
| Danzig | |||
| Y-M[Note 11] | Y-Mxxx | Not applicable | |
| Dz- | Dz-nnn | ||
| Denmark | T-D[Note 4] | T-Dxxx | OUA to OZZ |
| Dominica | Z-D[Note 13] | Z-Dxxx | |
| Ecuador | E-E[Note 1][Note 5] | E-Exxx | |
| Egypt | SUA to SUZ | ||
| El Salvador | Y-S[Note 12] | Y-Sxxx | |
| Estonia | E-A[Note 8] | E-Axxx | |
| Finland | K-S[Note 8] | K-Sxxx | |
| France | F-[Note 1] | F-xxxx | F and UAA to UMZ |
| Germany | D- | D-nnnn | A, D and KAA to KCZ |
| Greece | S-G[Note 1] | S-Gxxx | SVA to SZZ |
| Guatemala | L-G[Note 1] | L-Gxxx | |
| Haiti | H-H[Note 1][Note 5] | H-Hxxx | |
| Hedjaz | A-H[Note 1] | A-Hxxx | |
| Honduras | X-H[Note 1] | X-Hxxx | |
| Hungary | |||
| H-H[Note 4] | H-Hxxx | ||
| H-O[Note 7] | H-Oxxx | ||
| India | G-I[10] | G-Ixxx | VTA to VWZ |
| Italy | I-[Note 1] | I-xxxx | I |
| Japan | J-[Note 1] | J-xxxx | J |
| Latvia | B-L[Note 3] | B-Lxxx | |
| Liberia | L-L[Note 1] | L-Lxxx | |
| Lithuania | Z-L[Note 8] | Z-Lxxx | |
| Luxembourg | L-U[Note 3] | L-Uxxx | |
| Mexico | XAA to XCZ | ||
| Monaco | M-M[Note 4] | M-Mxxx | CQA to CQZ |
| M-O[Note 7] | M-Oxxx | ||
| Morocco | CNA to CNZ | ||
| Netherlands | H-N[Note 2] | H-Nxxx | PAA to PMZ |
| New Zealand | G-NZ[10] | G-NZxx | VLA to VMZ |
| Nicaragura | A-N[Note 1] | A-Nxxx | |
| Norway | LAA to LHZ | ||
| Panama | S-P[Note 1] | S-Pxxx | |
| Persia | P-I[Note 11] | P-Ixxx | |
| Peru | O-P[Note 1] | O-Pxxx | |
| Poland | P-P[Note 1] | P-Pxxx | |
| Portugal | C-P[Note 1] | C-Pxxx | CRA to CTZ |
| Romania | C-R[Note 1] | C-Rxxx | CVA to CVZ |
| Russia | R | ||
| Serbia-Croatia-Slavonia | X-S[Note 1] | X-Sxxx | |
| Siam | H-S[Note 1] | H-Sxxx | HGA to HHZ |
| South Africa | G-UA[10] | G-UAxx | VNA to VNZ |
| Spain | M-[Note 2] | M-xxxx | EAA to EGZ |
| Sweden | S-A[Note 6] | S-Axxx | SAA to SMZ |
| Switzerland | C-H[Note 2] | C-Hnnn | |
| United States of America | N[Note 1] | N-xxxx | KDA to KZZ, N and W |
| United Kingdom | K[11] | K-nnn | B, G and M (British colonies not autonomous: VPA to VSZ) |
| G-E | G-EAxx, G-EBxx, G-EDCA | ||
| G-F (lighter than air craft) | G-FAAx | ||
| G-G (gliders) | G-GAAx | ||
| Uruguay | C-U[Note 1][Note 5] | C-Uxxx | CWA to CWZ |
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