Buying a used aircraft is one of the largest purchases most pilots ever make. Unlike buying a car, there's no Carfax. No instant title history. And unlike real estate, there's no escrow agent whose job it is to find the liens before money changes hands.
The result: aircraft change hands every day with outstanding loans, unresolved legal encumbrances, or ownership disputes that the buyer had no idea about. And once you've signed the bill of sale, those problems become yours.
This guide explains how aircraft title and lien checks work, what to look for, and how to protect yourself before you buy.
Why Aircraft Title Checks Matter
An aircraft lien is a legal claim against the aircraft by a creditor — typically a lender who financed the original purchase and hasn't been fully repaid. Under federal law, a properly recorded lien on an aircraft follows the aircraft, not the owner. That means even if you buy the aircraft in good faith, a lienholder can potentially repossess it.
The FAA Aircraft Registry is the official record of aircraft ownership and encumbrances in the United States. Everything is supposed to be recorded there, and buyers are presumed to know what's in it.
The risk: The FAA registry search is free and publicly accessible, but it's not comprehensive. Private liens, state-level judgments, and some financing arrangements can exist outside the federal registry. A serious pre-purchase due diligence involves the federal search plus awareness of the limits of what that search covers.
How to Search the FAA Registry for Free
The FAA's Aircraft Registry is publicly searchable at registry.faa.gov. You can search by N-number, serial number, or owner name.
A basic registry search returns:
- Current registered owner — who the FAA believes owns the aircraft right now
- Registration status — valid, expired, cancelled, or reserved
- Aircraft details — make, model, year, serial number, engine
- Document history — a list of documents recorded against the aircraft
The document history is where the title research happens. Each document has a date, type (Bill of Sale, Lien, Release, etc.), and parties involved. You're looking for any open liens — financing statements or security agreements that show a creditor has a recorded claim.
What you're looking for:
- Security agreements or financing statements (these are liens)
- Any lien without a corresponding release
- Missing bills of sale (gaps in the ownership chain)
- Documents recorded after the last sale that weren't disclosed
What the search won't show:
- Unrecorded liens
- State court judgments not filed with the FAA
- Mechanics' liens that haven't been formalized
- Verbal agreements or undisclosed financing
Reading FAA Registry Documents
Each document in the registry can be viewed as a scanned PDF. For a clean title history, you want to see:
- A complete chain of bills of sale — each previous owner sold to the next, no gaps
- Any security agreements (loans) paired with a corresponding release
- No open financing statements without releases
- The most recent bill of sale matching the person selling to you
If there's a security agreement on file from 2018 and no corresponding release, the aircraft may still have a lien on it. That's a red flag that needs to be resolved before you close.
What a Mechanics' Lien Means
A mechanics' lien is a claim by a shop or mechanic who performed work on an aircraft and wasn't paid. In aviation, mechanics' liens are governed by state law, not federal, which means they may not appear in the FAA registry at all.
If the previous owner didn't pay a shop for a $4,000 annual inspection, that shop may have a valid lien on the aircraft under state law — and you could be buying that problem without knowing it.
Mitigation: Ask the seller directly for receipts and payment confirmations from any recent maintenance. A seller who can't produce paid invoices from the last annual is a seller worth being cautious about.
The Aeradex Pre-Purchase Report
Aeradex pre-purchase reports include a basic FAA registry lien check as part of a broader aircraft due diligence package. When you enter an N-number at aeradex.com/hangar/report, the report pulls:
- FAA registration status — is the registration current, expired, or cancelled
- Registered owner — who the FAA has on record (and whether it matches who's selling to you)
- Applicable airworthiness directives — every AD that applies to this make and model
- Aeradex maintenance history — any maintenance entries logged by previous owners
- Basic encumbrance check — flagging any open security agreements in the FAA document history
The first report is free. Additional reports are $9.99, or unlimited with an Aeradex Pro subscription.
Run a Free Pre-Purchase Report →
This is a starting point, not a complete title guarantee. For high-value aircraft or any situation involving complex financing history, consider a professional title search.
When to Get a Professional Title Search
A professional aviation title search goes beyond the FAA registry scan. Title companies search the complete FAA document history in detail, state court records for judgments, UCC filings at the state level, and historical ownership chains going back to the original manufacturer.
Professional title searches typically cost $100–$300 and take several business days. For aircraft over $30,000–$50,000 in value, the cost is almost always worth it.
The Right Order of Operations for Buying an Aircraft
- Run a free Aeradex pre-purchase report — gets you registry status, ADs, and a basic lien check in minutes
- Review the FAA document history at registry.faa.gov — look for open liens and ownership chain gaps
- Arrange a pre-purchase inspection with an independent A&P mechanic — covers airworthiness
- Get a professional title search if the aircraft is high-value or the registry history looks complex
- Complete the title transfer — using Aeradex, an attorney, or a title service
What to Do If You Find a Lien
Finding a lien doesn't necessarily mean the deal is dead. Many aircraft sales involve aircraft with outstanding loans — the seller just needs to pay off the loan from the proceeds, and the lender records a release.
The right process:
- Seller gets a payoff amount from the lender
- Payoff is satisfied from sale proceeds
- Lender records a lien release with the FAA registry
- You receive confirmation of the release before completing your title transfer
If a seller denies a lien that clearly appears in the FAA registry, walk away.
Ready to Start Your Due Diligence?
Run a free Aeradex pre-purchase report before you make an offer. It takes about two minutes, costs nothing for your first report, and gives you the FAA data, AD compliance picture, and basic title history you need.
Run a Free Pre-Purchase Report →
Once you're ready to close, Aeradex handles the title transfer paperwork — Forms 8050-1 and 8050-2, auto-filled from the FAA registry, with the seller confirmation built in.
Learn How Aircraft Title Transfer Works →