Yes, you can now ask the FAA to keep your name and address off the public side of the aircraft registry, but it is a request with a specific legal basis, not a setting you flip, and it does not erase the records underneath. FAA aircraft registry privacy comes in four separate flavors that people constantly mix up: withholding your personal information from the public registry, registering through an LLC or a trust, blocking your tail number from public flight tracking, and flying with a temporary ADS-B address.
Getting this right matters for money and compliance, not just comfort. A registration address the FAA cannot deliver mail to can cost you your registration. An LLC built badly can cost you a state sales tax fight or an insurance claim. And if you are the buyer, every layer of privacy the seller added is a layer you have to see through before you wire funds. This article defines each term exactly, shows where each one applies, and explains what changes at closing.
Key Takeaways
The U.S. Civil Aviation Registry in Oklahoma City has always been a public record, much like a county deed office, and the FAA publishes the whole database for download. Congress changed that default in Section 803 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which directed the FAA to create a way for owners and operators registered under 14 CFR Part 47 to request that their personally identifiable information be withheld from public display, and the FAA opened an electronic request process for that in 2025. Privacy through an LLC or an owner trust is a different tool with different consequences, and it never hides the chain of title from a professional title search. Flight-tracking privacy comes from two separate programs, LADD and PIA, neither of which touches your registration record. Whatever you choose, the FAA still requires a real physical address under 14 CFR 47.45 and still requires the registered owner of record to sign the bill of sale at closing.
Why the Registry Is Public at All
Aircraft registration in the United States runs on statute, not on custom. Under 49 U.S.C. 44103 the FAA issues a certificate of registration for each aircraft, and under 49 U.S.C. 44107 the agency records bills of sale, security agreements, leases and releases against that aircraft. Those recorded conveyances are what make a clean title possible: a lender in Texas can see that a mechanic's lien in Ohio was filed against the same airframe serial number.
That public character is a feature for buyers. It is how you confirm the person selling you the airplane actually owns it, how a title company finds an unreleased 1998 bank lien, and how a mechanic tracks down the owner of an airplane that has sat on the ramp for three years. Our guide on how to identify the owner of an aircraft quickly and legally walks through that lookup in order.
The problem Congress responded to is that the same openness exposes a private individual's home address to anyone with a browser. A deed office at least makes you show up. The FAA registry database can be downloaded in bulk and reposted anywhere.
Good to Know: The registry record and the flight-tracking feed are two different systems. Removing your name from the registry does nothing to stop someone watching your tail number move across a tracking website, and blocking the tracking feed does nothing to hide your name in the registry. You need the right tool for the thing you actually want to be private.
What Each Term and Form Actually Means
Most of the confusion in this topic comes from people using one word for four different mechanisms. Here is the plain-language version.
| Term or form | What it actually means |
| Civil Aviation Registry | The FAA office in Oklahoma City that holds every U.S. aircraft registration file and every recorded conveyance. The public search tool is called Aircraft Inquiry. |
| 14 CFR Part 47 | The registration rules: who may register an aircraft, what you file, and how you keep the record current. |
| 14 CFR Part 49 | The recording rules for titles, bills of sale, security agreements and leases. This is where liens live. |
| PII | Personally identifiable information: for the registry, mainly the owner's name and the address on file. |
| Section 803 withholding request | The request, authorized by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, asking the FAA not to display your PII in the public-facing registry. It is a request about display, not a deletion of the record. |
| AC Form 8050-1 | Aircraft Registration Application. The form that puts a name and address into the registry in the first place. |
| AC Form 8050-2 | Aircraft Bill of Sale. Must be signed by the registered owner of record, whether that is a person, an LLC or a trustee. |
| Owner trust | A trustee holds legal title and appears in the registry; the beneficial owner sits behind the trust agreement, which is filed with the FAA under Part 47. |
| LADD | Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed. An FAA program that blocks a tail number from public dissemination of FAA-sourced flight data. Formerly known as BARR. |
| PIA | Privacy ICAO Address. A temporary, alternate ADS-B address for U.S.-registered aircraft flying domestically, so the broadcast address does not tie straight back to your N-number. |
| Registered agent address | An address used for service of process on an entity. It does not by itself replace the mailing and physical-address information the FAA requires for aircraft registration. |
Heads Up: A post office box alone is not a registry address. Under 14 CFR 47.45, if your mailing address is a P.O. box or a mail drop, you must also give the FAA a physical address. Owners who try to use a box as a privacy shield usually end up out of compliance rather than private.
The Four Ways Owners Actually Get Privacy
1. Ask the FAA to withhold your PII
This is the newest and, for most individual owners, the simplest route. Section 803 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 told the FAA to establish a procedure allowing an owner or operator registered under Part 47 to ask that their personally identifiable information not be made available to the public, except at the owner's request or where law requires disclosure. The FAA stood up an electronic request process for that in 2025. Check the agency's current registry page before you file, because the FAA has said further rulemaking and refinement were still coming.
What it does: withholds eligible personally identifiable information, such as an individual's name and address, from broad public dissemination by the FAA. It does not delete the FAA's underlying ownership records, affect law-enforcement or other authorized government access, or erase recorded title and security documents associated with the aircraft.
2. Register through an LLC or corporation
Registering in the name of a limited liability company puts the LLC's legal name in the registry instead of your individual name, but the FAA still requires a valid mailing address and, if a P.O. box or mail drop is used, the LLC must also provide its physical address or location.
The catch is citizenship. Under 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(15) and 14 CFR 47.3, a U.S.-registered aircraft must be owned by a U.S. citizen, a resident alien, or a U.S. corporation that meets the citizenship test. For an LLC, the FAA will want to see the membership and citizenship information, not just a certificate of formation. A single-member LLC formed in a state you have never set foot in can also trigger state sales and use tax questions, so talk to a tax advisor before you file anything.
3. Register through an owner trust
With an owner trust, a professional trustee is the registered owner and the beneficial owner sits behind the trust agreement. This is the standard path for non-U.S. citizens who want an N-number, under the trustee provisions of Part 47. It is heavier, costs an annual fee, and the trust agreement itself is filed with the registry, so it is not a cloak. It is a legal structure that happens to change whose name is on the certificate.
4. Block the flight data: LADD and PIA
LADD lets an owner or operator request that their tail number be withheld from public distribution of FAA-sourced flight data. PIA goes a step further for eligible U.S.-registered aircraft using 1090 MHz ADS-B Out and a third-party call sign: the FAA issues a temporary alternate ICAO address that is not associated with the owner in the Civil Aircraft Registry. It may be used in U.S. sovereign and territorial airspace and U.S.-managed offshore flight information regions, but not on flights that enter foreign airspace. Neither program edits your registry entry, and PIA is not available for international flights, where your assigned address must match the registry.
Flying411 keeps aircraft listings, specs and ownership guides in one place, so you can compare airplanes and the paperwork that comes with them before you make an offer.
What Privacy Never Hides
Every privacy tool above has the same boundary: the chain of title stays recorded. Bills of sale, security agreements, liens and releases filed under Part 49 remain part of the aircraft's document file in Oklahoma City. A title search orders that file. That is exactly what you want as a buyer, and it is why these privacy measures do not break aircraft transactions.
Also unaffected: airworthiness directives and service bulletin applicability, accident and incident records tied to the tail number, your obligations as the owner of record, and the FAA's ability to reach you. Our rundown of what the responsibilities of an aircraft owner actually are covers the duties that follow the certificate no matter whose name is on it.
Why It Matters: The single most common way owners lose a registration is mail they never received. The FAA sends renewal notices to the address on file, and 14 CFR 47.45 gives you 30 days to report a change of address. If your privacy structure routes mail through an agent who does not forward it, you can end up flying an aircraft with an expired certificate. Our guide on fixing an expired aircraft registration explains the cleanup, which is far more painful than the prevention.
What It Changes When You Buy or Sell
If you are selling
The bill of sale has to be signed by the registered owner of record. If that is an LLC, the signer needs a title and the FAA may want evidence of authority. If it is a trust, the trustee signs. Buyers and escrow agents will ask for formation documents or the trust agreement, so have them ready before you list. Everything else about the sale runs normally, as described in our step-by-step guide to selling an aircraft.
One practical note: if you have an active PII withholding request, buyers cannot look you up to ask questions. Put a working contact in the listing itself. A phone number in the ad solves the problem your withholding request created.
If you are buying
Do not treat a hidden owner name as a red flag by itself. Thousands of perfectly ordinary airplanes are owned by two-partner LLCs. What you do is order a full title search through an escrow or title company in Oklahoma City, read the recorded documents, and confirm the entity is in good standing in its state. Then close through escrow and file promptly. Our walkthrough of the aircraft closing process, escrow and FAA filing lays out the order of operations, and how long to keep an aircraft bill of sale covers what you hold onto afterward.
Flying411 keeps makes, models and asking prices in one place, so you can compare what is actually on the market instead of guessing at values.
Pro Tip: If you set up an LLC for the purchase, form it and get its tax ID before you sign the purchase agreement, not after. The buyer named in the agreement, the buyer on AC Form 8050-2 and the applicant on AC Form 8050-1 should all be the same legal person. Mismatches are the number one reason registration applications get kicked back.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Four errors show up again and again. First, treating a P.O. box as privacy: 47.45 requires the physical address anyway. Second, assuming an LLC hides you from everyone, when state business filings in most states list a member or manager by name. Third, forgetting the insurance policy: if the LLC owns the airplane but the policy names you personally, a claim can get ugly. Fourth, confusing LADD with registry privacy and then being surprised when your name is still searchable.
Keep in Mind: Beneficial ownership reporting rules outside the FAA have changed substantially. FinCEN's final rule issued in August 2026 keeps U.S.-created companies exempt from Corporate Transparency Act beneficial-ownership reporting; only certain foreign entities registered to do business in the United States remain subject to the reporting regime. That is a Treasury requirement separate from FAA aircraft-registration rules.
Flying411 keeps buying guides, ownership explainers and live listings in one place, so you can line up the paperwork and the airplane at the same time.
Conclusion
Real FAA aircraft registry privacy is available to U.S. owners today, but only if you pick the tool that matches the exposure you care about. Withholding your PII under the Section 803 process handles the public lookup. An LLC or owner trust changes whose name holds title and brings its own tax, citizenship and insurance consequences. LADD and PIA handle flight tracking and leave the registry alone. None of them hide a recorded lien, and none of them excuse you from keeping a valid address on file under 14 CFR 47.45. Decide what you want private, use the right mechanism, and keep the chain of title clean so your airplane is easy to sell when that day comes.
When you are ready to compare listings, visitFlying411and see what is on the market today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I remove my name from the FAA registry entirely?
No. The FAA still has to know who owns the aircraft. What the Section 803 process does is withhold your personally identifiable information from public display. The record itself continues to exist and remains available to law enforcement, to legal process, and in the aircraft's recorded document file.
Does an LLC hide my identity?
Only partly. The registry will show the company name and its address, but most states publish a registered agent and often a member or manager in their business filings. An LLC is better understood as a liability and ownership structure that happens to add a layer, not as anonymity.
Will privacy make my airplane harder to sell?
Not if you plan for it. Keep your entity in good standing, keep the signature authority documented, and put real contact details in your listing. Buyers care about clean title and complete logbooks far more than about whose name is on the certificate. Timing matters more than structure, which is why choosing the right time to sell is worth more thought.
What is the difference between LADD and PIA?
LADD blocks your tail number from public dissemination of FAA-sourced flight data. PIA assigns a temporary alternate ICAO address for ADS-B Out, so the broadcast identity does not point straight at your registration. PIA applies to domestic U.S. operations only; on an international flight you must use the address assigned to your aircraft.
If the owner's name is withheld, how do I check for liens before buying?
Order a title search through an aircraft title and escrow company. Liens and security agreements are recorded against the aircraft under 14 CFR Part 49, indexed by N-number and serial number, so they are found through the aircraft, not through the owner's name.
Do I still have to tell the FAA when I move?
Yes. 14 CFR 47.45 requires the registered owner to notify the FAA of an address change within 30 days. A withholding request does not change that duty, and letting the address go stale is the fastest way to lose a registration you otherwise had no trouble keeping.
