Definition
The office within the Federal Aviation Administration responsible for receiving, processing, and recording all U.S. civil aircraft registration applications, ownership transfers, and related documents. It maintains the official registry of aircraft registered in the United States and issues the Certificate of Aircraft Registration (AC Form 8050-3) to the lawful owner.
Plain English
The FAA office that handles all paperwork for registering an aircraft in the United States. When you buy, sell, or re-register a plane, this is the office that records it and sends back the registration certificate.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft document discussions, especially when checking or applying for a Certificate of Aircraft Registration.
Derivation
Registration comes from an older word meaning an official written record. That helps here because this Branch’s job is not to inspect the airplane; it is to keep and update the FAA’s official aircraft registration record.
Why Pilots Care
An aircraft must have a valid registration certificate from this branch to be operated legally.
Intuition Check
Do not read Branch as a local office at every airport. Here it means the FAA’s central office for aircraft registration records, not the office that issues pilot certificates or approves aircraft condition.
Example Sentence 1
After purchasing the Cessna, the new owner mailed the bill of sale and registration application to the FAA Aircraft Registration Branch in Oklahoma City.
Example Sentence 2
Before departure the pilot confirmed the registration number matched the one issued by the FAA Aircraft Registration Branch.