A used aircraft changes hands under two sets of rules. The sale itself is a contract under the civil law of each country. The aircraft's papers, and who answers for them, follow Part-ML for most certified light aircraft and national rules for microlights.
This guide follows a sale in order: before signing, at signing, after signing and before the first flight. The national steps are given for France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland; elsewhere, the civil aviation authority of the country of registration is the one to ask. The figures come from the 2,603 aircraft advertised for sale on PlaneNest on 4 October 2026.
Who sells, and what adverts say
Read on 4 October 2026 across 2,603 aircraft for sale on PlaneNest.
60%
are sold by private owners
14%
say whether VAT is paid
20%
give no price
Before signing
Have the aircraft and its papers inspected first. Our pre-purchase inspection guide lists what to check, with a checklist to print.
Then check what is registered against the aircraft. In France, a mortgage is entered on the aircraft register and binds third parties only from that entry Code des transports, art. L6122-8, and anyone can ask the registry in writing for a certified copy of its entries art. D6111-31. In Germany, liens are kept in a separate register at the local court of Braunschweig, open to anyone LuftFzgG § 85.
In Switzerland, rights over an aircraft, such as mortgages, are entered in the aircraft record (Luftfahrzeugbuch), which the FOCA keeps apart from the register. It is public, and whoever relies on it in good faith is protected LBG, art. 13 and 16; an aircraft is in it only if its owner asked LBG, art. 1(2), so ask the FOCA for a certified extract. In Austria, the aircraft register records the holder, not the charges on the aircraft LFG § 16; a pledge on a movable thing requires the creditor to take it into custody ABGB § 451.
The international registry of the Cape Town Convention covers airframes certified for at least eight people, engines of at least 550 shaft horsepower and helicopters certified for at least five people Aircraft Protocol, art. I(2). Most light aircraft fall below these thresholds; some five-seat helicopters do not.
Ask about VAT. A private owner selling their own aircraft charges none: VAT applies to supplies made by a taxable person acting as such Directive 2006/112/EC, art. 2(1)(a), someone who carries out an economic activity art. 9(1). A dealer can sell a second-hand aircraft under the margin scheme, which taxes the difference between their selling and purchase prices art. 313(1) art. 315. Only 14% of adverts say where VAT stands.
What the deed of sale should say
No European text sets its content, and each registry has its own requirements. France's civil aviation authority publishes a model deed and wants an original signed by buyers and sellers DGAC, aircraft registration. Germany's LBA does not accept a purchase contract alone as proof that ownership has passed LBA, registration FAQ.
The parties
Full names and addresses of the sellers and the buyers, every co-owner included.
The aircraft
Type, serial number and registration, the serial numbers of the engine and the propeller, and their hours on the day.
The papers handed over
The logbooks and continuing airworthiness records, which go with the aircraft ML.A.307(a), the registration certificate, the flight manual and the mass and balance report.
Price and VAT
The price, how and when it is paid, and whether VAT is included, not due or charged on the margin.
Condition
The result of the pre-purchase inspection, the defects known on the day and any damage the aircraft has had.
Handover
The date and place of handover, and who insures the aircraft until then.
At signing
The seller hands the continuing airworthiness records over with the aircraft ML.A.307(a), and their retention periods carry on with the buyer ML.A.307(c).
The registration certificate goes back to the authority. In France, the former owner returns it to the registry art. D6111-20. In Belgium, it stops being valid when the holder's rights end and is to be returned at once Royal Decree of 15 March 1954, art. 11. In Germany, the old certificate goes with the new owner's application form LBA-Nr. 10.
A sale does not end the airworthiness review certificate by itself. The ARC lapses if, among other cases, the aircraft leaves the register of an EU Member State ML.A.902(a). On PlaneNest, 670 adverts give a date until which the aircraft is declared airworthy, and 218 of those dates have already passed.
After signing: register the new owner
The procedure in three countries
Each country keeps its own register. Here is the procedure as the French, Belgian and German authorities publish it.
France
The new owner sends the form 'Inscription d'un aéronef au registre d'immatriculation' to DSAC Nord, Mission des immatriculations, with the original deed of sale and the original registration certificate, within three months of the sale art. D6111-20. Until it is on the register, the sale does not bind third parties art. L6121-2.
France, microlights
The seller declares the sale within 15 days on form R8-ULM-F502. The buyer asks the aviation office of the new home base for an identification card on form R8-ULM-F503, for a fee of €20. With the crossed-out card and the declaration, the new owner may fly for one month DGAC, ULM procedures.
Belgium
The new owner applies to the Directorate-General for Air Transport of the FPS Mobility, through its Aviation Portal or on paper, with the documents proving their rights (an invoice, for instance), the DL2 customs certificate, the old registration certificate and the logbook FPS Mobility, registration. Changes to the registration details are to be notified within thirty days Royal Decree of 15 March 1954, art. 8.
Germany
The new owner files form LBA-Nr. 10 with the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, box 'Eigentumswechsel' ticked, with the old certificate, an identity document and, if the keeper changes, a new insurance confirmation form LBA-Nr. 10. The LBA expects the change to be reported without delay LBA, registration FAQ.
Elsewhere
The civil aviation authority of the country of registration publishes its own form and list of documents. Ask for them before signing, so the deed contains what the registry will want.
Three more registers
Germany registers its microlights apart from other aircraft, and Austria and Switzerland keep registers of their own.
Germany, microlights
Microlights are registered by the DAeC or the DULV, not by the LBA LuftVZO § 14(2). The owner reports a new owner without delay LuftVZO § 11(2). The DULV asks for the original registration certificate, proof of purchase, an annual inspection less than a year old and liability insurance in the new holder's name DULV, traffic approval. Gliders and motor gliders stay with the LBA LuftVZO § 14(1).
Austria
Austro Control registers aeroplanes, rotorcraft and motor gliders; the Austrian Aero Club registers gliders and microlight aeroplanes ÖAeC-Zuständigkeitsverordnung § 1. The register names the holder: a change is reported and applied for without delay, and the old registration certificate returned ZLLV § 9. Austro Control asks for form FO_LFA_AIR_005 with the seller's transfer of ownership on FO_LFA_AIR_013, the original certificate and current insurance Austro Control, register.
Switzerland
The owner and the holder report any change to the FOCA in writing within ten days, with the registration and airworthiness certificates LFV, art. 10. The change request is signed by the new and the former owner FOCA, change of registration. A change of holder voids the maintenance programme of an EASA aircraft: the new holder files a new one with the request FOCA, change of registration. If the aircraft is in the aircraft record, ownership passes only by a written contract and an entry there LBG, art. 23.
Before the first flight
Insure the aircraft. Aircraft operators must hold third-party liability insurance Regulation (EC) No 785/2004, art. 4(1), and the person in whose name the aircraft is registered is presumed to be its operator art. 3(c). The minimum cover per accident depends on the maximum take-off mass: 0.75 million special drawing rights (SDR) below 500 kg, 1.5 million below 1,000 kg, 3 million below 2,700 kg art. 7(1). Gliders and microlights are exempt only from the war and terrorism part art. 2(2)(g). A Member State that is not satisfied keeps the aircraft on the ground until proof of cover is produced art. 8(7).
Take over the maintenance programme. A programme declared by the owner names that owner and carries their signed statement ML.A.302(c)(1) ML.A.302(c)(7): the buyer declares their own, or has a CAMO or CAO approve one ML.A.302(b). From the day of the sale, the buyer answers for the aircraft's continuing airworthiness ML.A.201(a).
If a CAMO or CAO manages the aircraft, the seller must tell it and the authority that the aircraft is sold Part-ML, Appendix I (e)(2)(viii). The contract names the owner Appendix I (c)(2), so the buyer signs a new one.
Have the radio licence changed. The aircraft's radio station has its own licence, issued in Belgium by the BIPT, where the new owner asks for a change of owner on its form BIPT, licence form, and in Germany by the Bundesnetzagentur, to which the new owner applies without delay Bundesnetzagentur, call signs. In France it is issued by the civil aviation authority; a microlight's licence that still bears the former holder's name must be requested again DGAC, note 02/ULM.
In Austria, the licence of an aircraft radio station is granted to the aircraft's holder only, by the telecoms office (Fernmeldebüro) Fernmeldebüro, Flugfunk. In Switzerland, radio use is notified to OFCOM, which issues the Aircraft Station Licence OFCOM, aeronautical radio, and a change of holder has it amended FOCA, change of registration.
Questions sellers and buyers ask
Does a private seller charge VAT?
No. VAT applies to supplies by a taxable person acting as such Directive 2006/112/EC, art. 2(1)(a). A dealer may use the margin scheme art. 313(1).
Is the ARC lost at the sale?
Not by the sale alone. It lapses, among other cases, if the aircraft leaves the register of an EU Member State ML.A.902(a).
Who answers for the aircraft until the register changes?
The person on the register is presumed to be the operator for insurance Regulation (EC) No 785/2004, art. 3(c), and in France the sale binds third parties only once registered art. L6121-2. Register the change quickly, and say in the deed who insures the aircraft until then.
Can the buyer fly a French microlight before the new card arrives?
Yes, for one month, with the crossed-out card and the declaration of sale DGAC, ULM procedures.
Selling an aircraft?
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Buying?
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Sources, read on 4 October 2026.
EASA, Easy Access Rules for Continuing Airworthiness, September 2025 revision: Part-ML, points ML.A.201, ML.A.302, ML.A.307, ML.A.902 and Appendix I.
Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 on insurance requirements, consolidated text, EUR-Lex: articles 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8.
Council Directive 2006/112/EC on VAT, EUR-Lex: articles 2, 9, 313 and 315.
Council Decision 2009/370/EC, Aircraft Protocol to the Cape Town Convention, EUR-Lex: article I(2).
France: Code des transports, art. L6121-2, art. L6122-8, art. D6111-20 and D6111-31, on Légifrance; DGAC, aircraft registration, ULM procedures and technical note 02/ULM.
Belgium: FPS Mobility, aircraft registration; Royal Decree of 15 March 1954 on air navigation, articles 8 and 11, on Justel; BIPT, aeronautical licence form.
Germany: Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, registration FAQ and form LBA-Nr. 10; LuftFzgG § 85; Bundesnetzagentur, aeronautical radio.
Germany, microlights: LuftVZO § 11 and § 14; DULV, traffic approval; DAeC, UL approval and annual inspection.
Austria: LFG § 16, ZLLV § 9 and ÖAeC-Zuständigkeitsverordnung § 1, on RIS; Austro Control, aircraft register; ABGB § 451; Fernmeldebüro, aeronautical radio.
Switzerland: LFG art. 52, LFV art. 10 and LBG art. 1, 13, 16 and 23, on Fedlex; FOCA, change of registration; OFCOM, aeronautical radio.
PlaneNest figures: adverts for aircraft for sale online on 4 October 2026, an aircraft we found on several sites counted once. This guide explains the rules; it is not legal or tax advice on a particular sale.