What is Aircraft Registration?

Aircraft registrations were first based on the radio callsigns allocated at the London International Radiotelegraphic Conference in 1913.

Initial allocations were not specifically for aircraft but for any radio user, however the International Air Navigation Convention held in Paris in 1919 made allocations specifically for aircraft registrations based on the 1913 callsign list. The agreement stipulated that the nationality marks were to be followed by a hyphen then a group of four letters that must include a vowel (and for the convention Y was considered to be a vowel). Initially only four countries were allocated a prefix letter, including the USA which was allocated “N”, and the UK which was allocated “G”.

At the International Radiotelegraph Convention at Washington in 1927 the list of markings was revised and adopted from 1928, these allocations are the basis of the currently used registrations. The markings have been amended and added to over the years and the allocations and standard are managed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation requires that all signatory countries register aircraft over a certain weight with a national aviation authority. Upon registration, the aircraft receives its unique "registration" which must be displayed prominently on the aircraft.

The Convention on International Civil Aviation’s Annex describes the definitions, location, and measurement of nationality and registration marks. The aircraft registration is made up of a prefix selected from the country's callsign prefix allocated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (making the registration a quick way of determining the country of origin) and the registration suffix. Depending on the country of registration, this suffix is a numeric or alphanumeric code and consists of one to five digits or characters respectively.

The Origins of the “M” Registry
In 1919, in addition to the prefix “G”, the UK was also allocated “B” and “M”. The “M” registration was never used by the UK, and when the Isle of Man Government decided to launch its own registry in 2007 the CAA gave the Isle of Man the right to use the dormant “M” prefix. This gives the Isle of Man a unique prefix, which is readily identifiable and allows owners to create a combination of letters which can form a word, for example: M-ICKY, M-ONTY, M-ONEY, M-YJET and M-ICRO.

No other offshore registry can offer this unique facility. For example the Caymans, Bermuda and Virgin Island’s prefix is VP.

Unlike most other registries the Isle of Man allows the aircraft owner to transfer the registration from an existing aircraft to a new aircraft, so that a unique registration – and call sign – can be retained.

As the Isle of Man fleet of aircraft grows, the prefix “M” has become widely recognised and acts as an international airborne promotion for the Island - truly Flymann!