Official Guide to Aircraft Registration – how to choose a registry
There’s a world of choice when it comes to selecting a registry for your new business aircraft – whether fixed-wing or helicopter. The Official Guide to Aircraft Registration 2025 aims to make that choice easier by setting out the options to consider.
Selecting the right registry for your business needs is not just a case of what letters you want to appear on the fuselage of your aircraft. The selection has powerful implications for how you can use your aircraft – solely for private use or availability for charter – tax implications, how it’s financed, who can fly it and many other factors.
Weighing the various implications of your prospective choice can amount to a bewildering maze of details. Our expert guides will help you navigate a path between the various options and how best to answer the question: Which choice best suits my business and personal needs?
We begin with a report from this publication’s global sponsor, the United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), about how the nation’s new Golden Package of reforms is designed to reshape the business jet industry. Its wide-ranging series of measures aims to lower aircraft finance costs, simplify regulations and grow investor confidence.
From the Middle East, we move to succinct advice from six leading aviation lawyers about how best to choose a registry. The same topic is examined in more detail by two top lawyers who we consulted for more detailed guidance about how the choice of aircraft registry can determine how you can operate the aircraft, where it should be based plus the tax, financing and cost implications and more. Both lawyers conclude: “Don’t let the tail wag the dog,” when making your registry selection.
From the general, we move to the specific as our Jurisdiction Survey section profiles four leading registries – the Isle of Man, Malta, Switzerland and the USA. Starting with a snapshot of each registry’s metrics, we explore how aircraft on the registry can be used, structuring requirements, registration services, costs and more. We also look specifically at the tax implications of registering business aircraft in Switzerland.
Our Country Survey Section summarises all the key information about 50 of the world’s leading registries in one handy, at-a-glance format. From Australia to the USA (and many countries in between), this section offers details of the type of aircraft eligible to be registered, the operations permitted and financing details.
Finally, our guide to aircraft pre-fixes features the registration letters of more than 150 countries worldwide countries, as recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). You probably already knew B represents China and D signifies Germany, but do you know your F-OG from your F-OD? If that leaves you bewildered, consult our guide for speedy answers to all your pre-fix queries. (It could also prove essential reading before your next aviation-themed pub quiz). Read the full guide here.
OGAR 2025 highlights
- Jurisdiction Survey: Isle of Man
- Jurisdiction Survey: Malta
- Tax in Switzerland
- Jurisdiction Survey: Switzerland
- Jurisdiction Survey: USA
