Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Registration of the Nationality of Civil Aircraft — Full English Translation (2020)

Promulgated by State Council Order No. 232 on October 21, 1997; revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending and Repealing Certain Administrative Regulations on November 29, 2020.

Table of Contents

Chapter I — General Provisions

Article 1 — These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Aviation Law of the People’s Republic of China for the purpose of strengthening the administration of the nationality of civil aircraft, ensuring the safety of civil aviation activities and maintaining the order of civil aviation activities.

Article 2 — The following civil aircraft shall undergo nationality registration in accordance with these Regulations:

(1) civil aircraft of the state institutions of the People’s Republic of China;

(2) civil aircraft of enterprise legal persons established in accordance with the laws of the People’s Republic of China;

(3) other civil aircraft the registration of which is permitted by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council.

For a civil aircraft leased from outside the territory, where the lessee satisfies the provisions of the preceding paragraph and the crew of the civil aircraft is provided by the lessee, the lessee may apply for registration of the nationality of the People’s Republic of China; however, the original nationality registration of the civil aircraft must first be cancelled.

Article 3 — A civil aircraft acquires the nationality of the People’s Republic of China after being registered in accordance with law.

Article 4 — A civil aircraft may not have dual nationality. A civil aircraft whose foreign nationality has not been cancelled may not undergo nationality registration in the People’s Republic of China; a civil aircraft whose nationality of the People’s Republic of China has not been cancelled may not undergo nationality registration in a foreign country.

Article 5 — The competent civil aviation authority under the State Council shall be in charge of the work of nationality registration of civil aircraft of the People’s Republic of China, and shall establish the register of nationality of civil aircraft of the People’s Republic of China to uniformly record the matters of nationality registration of civil aircraft.

Article 6 — The nationality registration of a civil aircraft may not serve as evidence of the ownership of the civil aircraft.

Chapter II — Nationality Registration

Article 7 — An applicant for nationality registration of a civil aircraft of the People’s Republic of China shall truthfully fill in the application form for nationality registration of the civil aircraft in accordance with the format prescribed by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council, and submit the following documents to the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council:

(1) documents proving the lawful identity of the applicant;

(2) the purchase contract and handover documents serving as proof of acquisition of ownership of the civil aircraft, or the lease contract and handover documents serving as proof of possession of the civil aircraft;

(3) proof that the civil aircraft has not been registered in a foreign country or that its foreign nationality has been cancelled;

(4) other relevant documents required by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council.

Article 8 — The competent civil aviation authority under the State Council shall, within 7 working days from the date of receipt of the application for nationality registration of the civil aircraft, examine the application and the relevant supporting documents; where upon examination the requirements of these Regulations are satisfied, it shall issue to the applicant a certificate of nationality registration of the civil aircraft of the People’s Republic of China.

Article 9 — The competent civil aviation authority under the State Council shall record the following matters in the register of nationality of civil aircraft:

(1) the nationality mark and registration mark of the civil aircraft;

(2) the name of the manufacturer of the civil aircraft;

(3) the model of the civil aircraft;

(4) the serial number of the civil aircraft;

(5) the name and address of the owner of the civil aircraft;

(6) the name and address of the possessor of the civil aircraft;

(7) the date of registration of the civil aircraft;

(8) the name of the person signing and issuing the certificate of nationality registration of the civil aircraft.

Article 10 — The certificate of nationality registration of a civil aircraft shall be placed in a conspicuous position in the civil aircraft for inspection.

Article 11 — Where a civil aircraft that has acquired the nationality of the People’s Republic of China meets any of the following circumstances, an application shall be made for alteration registration:

(1) the owner of the civil aircraft or its address has changed;

(2) the possessor of the civil aircraft or its address has changed;

(3) other circumstances in which alteration registration is required as prescribed by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council.

Article 12 — Where a civil aircraft that has acquired the nationality of the People’s Republic of China meets any of the following circumstances, an application shall be made for cancellation of registration:

(1) the ownership of the civil aircraft has been lawfully transferred outside the territory and an export airworthiness certificate has been obtained;

(2) the civil aircraft has been withdrawn from use or scrapped;

(3) the civil aircraft has been lost or gone missing and the search has been discontinued;

(4) the lease contract of a civil aircraft satisfying the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 2 of these Regulations has been terminated;

(5) other circumstances in which cancellation of registration is required as prescribed by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council.

Article 13 — An applicant handling the nationality registration of a civil aircraft shall pay a registration fee. The fee standard for the registration fee shall be formulated by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council together with the competent pricing authority under the State Council.

Article 14 — Where a civil aircraft has no certificate of nationality registration or does not carry it, the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council or its authorized regional civil aviation administration may prohibit the civil aircraft from taking off.

Chapter III — Nationality Marks and Registration Marks

Article 15 — The nationality mark of a civil aircraft of the People’s Republic of China shall be the Roman capital letter “B”.

The registration mark of a civil aircraft of the People’s Republic of China shall be Arabic numerals, Roman capital letters or a combination of the two.

Article 16 — The nationality mark of a civil aircraft of the People’s Republic of China shall be placed before the registration mark, with a short horizontal line between the nationality mark and the registration mark.

Article 17 — A civil aircraft that has acquired the nationality of the People’s Republic of China shall have the nationality mark and registration mark painted on the civil aircraft or attached to the civil aircraft by other means capable of maintaining equal durability, and shall keep them clearly visible.

The position, size and font of the nationality mark and registration mark on the civil aircraft shall be prescribed by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council.

Article 18 — No unit or individual may paint or affix on a civil aircraft any pattern, mark or symbol that is easily confused with the nationality mark and registration mark.

Article 19 — A civil aircraft that has acquired the nationality of the People’s Republic of China shall carry an identification plate engraved with the nationality mark and registration mark and made of fire-resistant metal or other fire-resistant materials.

Chapter IV — Provisional Registration

Article 20 — For a civil aircraft that has not obtained a certificate of nationality registration, the applicant shall, within 30 days before conducting the following flights, truthfully fill in the application form in accordance with the format prescribed by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council, and submit the relevant supporting documents to the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council for provisional registration:

(1) verification test flights and production test flights;

(2) demonstration flights;

(3) ferry flights for delivery or export;

(4) other necessary flights.

The applicant referred to in the preceding paragraph means the manufacturer or seller of the civil aircraft, or other applicant recognized by the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council.

Where the competent civil aviation authority under the State Council approves provisional registration, it shall determine the provisional registration mark and issue a provisional registration certificate.

Article 21 — When a civil aircraft that has obtained a provisional registration mark is exported, the provisional registration mark may be attached to the civil aircraft using materials that are easy to remove, and the foreign nationality marks and registration marks required by the foreign party to be painted in advance shall be completely covered.

Chapter V — Supplementary Provisions

Article 22 — These Regulations shall take effect on the date of promulgation.

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