Pilot Groups Press FAA On Aircraft Registry Data

Four aviation groups are asking the FAA to place tighter limits on the public release of aircraft owners’ personal information as the agency implements privacy provisions in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. AOPA, EAA, NBAA and Vertical Aviation International said in a July 31 letter that owner names, addresses and similar information should be disclosed only when necessary for the purposes of the aircraft registry.

Privacy Rules Under Review

Since March 2025, private aircraft owners have been able to request through the FAA’s CARES system that their names and addresses be withheld from public display on agency websites. The FAA has also been considering whether some owner information should be withheld more broadly rather than requiring each owner to submit an individual request.

The aviation groups are urging the agency to preserve access for legitimate governmental and operational purposes while reducing wider distribution of personally identifiable information.

“The statute represents a deliberate policy decision to limit public dissemination of specified aircraft registration information while preserving the FAA’s ability to provide access where legitimate governmental and operational needs exist,” the groups wrote in the letter.

Registry Data And Flight Tracking

The organizations said registry information can be combined with flight-tracking services and other databases to link an aircraft’s movements to its registered owner. They argued that the registry’s primary functions are to establish ownership, record security interests, support aviation safety and assist with regulation of the national airspace, and that personal information should not be broadly distributed for unrelated purposes.

“This is a matter of privacy and security, and both should be protected,” AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy Jim Coon said. “Having consent to release personal information is one thing, but unfettered access for almost any purpose, including airport fee collection, just crosses the line.”