Aircraft Tail Numbers Database — Registration Number Lookup API

Aircraft tail numbers database. Look up any aircraft by tail number (registration number), ICAO24 hex address or manufacturer serial number. Aircraft tail number lookup API, airplane registration database and N-number search.

Sergey St.

Published on May 29th 26

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What Is an Aircraft Tail Number?

An aircraft tail number is a unique alphanumeric code painted on the fuselage or tail of every aircraft in the world. Formally known as the aircraft registration number or registration mark, this code serves as the aircraft's legal identity — much like a license plate on a car. No two aircraft in the same country can share the same tail number, making it a reliable identifier for tracking, maintenance, ownership and regulatory purposes.

Each country assigns tail numbers using a national prefix defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The prefix tells you immediately which country the aircraft is registered in. For example, all aircraft registered in the United States carry a tail number starting with "N" (known as an N-number), while aircraft registered in the United Kingdom use the prefix "G".

Here are the registration prefixes used by the largest aviation markets:

Understanding tail number formats is essential for developers building aviation applications. When a user searches for an aircraft by its tail number, your application needs to validate the format, look it up in a database and return the associated aircraft details — operator, model, manufacturing year, engine type and current status.

How to Look Up Aircraft Tail Numbers

The AirLabs Fleets Database provides a comprehensive aircraft tail number lookup service. You can query any aircraft by its registration number and receive detailed information about the airframe, including the operating airline, aircraft model, manufacturer, engine configuration, manufacturing year and even the last known geographic position.

Here is an example — looking up the American Airlines Boeing 777-300ER with tail number N732AN:

https://airlabs.co/api/v9/fleets?reg_number=N732AN&api_key={API_KEY}

[{
  "hex": "A9D286",
  "reg_number": "N732AN",
  "flag": "US",
  "airline_icao": "AAL",
  "airline_iata": "AA",
  "icao": "B77W",
  "iata": "77W",
  "model": "Boeing 777-300ER pax",
  "engine": "jet",
  "engine_count": "2",
  "manufacturer": "BOEING",
  "type": "landplane",
  "category": "H",
  "built": 2015,
  "age": 11,
  "msn": "31549",
  "line": "1257"
}]

A single API call returns everything you need to know about the aircraft: the tail number (N732AN), its ICAO24 hex transponder address (A9D286), the operator (American Airlines, IATA: AA), the exact model (Boeing 777-300ER passenger variant), the engine type (jet, 2 engines), the year it was built (2015), its current age (11 years) and the manufacturer serial number (MSN 31549).

Aircraft Tail Number Database Fields

The AirLabs Fleets Database stores detailed records for aircraft worldwide. Here is a complete reference of the data available for each aircraft:

Multiple Ways to Search the Aircraft Database

The AirLabs Fleets API supports several search methods beyond tail number lookup. Depending on your use case, you can query the database by any of the following identifiers:

• By registration number (reg_number) — search by the aircraft's tail number, for example reg_number=N732AN or reg_number=G-ZBKA. This is the most common lookup method, used when a user has spotted an aircraft or needs to verify ownership.
• By ICAO24 hex address (hex) — every aircraft transponder broadcasts a unique 24-bit address in hexadecimal format. ADS-B tracking applications use this identifier to correlate live position data with aircraft records. For example, hex=A9D286 returns the same N732AN aircraft.
• By manufacturer serial number (msn) — each aircraft receives a unique serial number from the manufacturer at the factory. This identifier never changes even when the aircraft is sold, re-registered or transferred between airlines. For example, msn=31549.
• By airline (airline_iata or airline_icao) — retrieve the complete fleet of any airline worldwide. For example, airline_iata=AA returns every aircraft operated by American Airlines, including tail numbers, models, ages and engine types.
• By country (flag) — retrieve all aircraft registered in a specific country. For example, flag=US returns all US-registered aircraft (N-numbers).

What Are Aircraft Tail Numbers Used For?

Aircraft tail numbers are far more than an identification label. They are a critical data point used across the entire aviation ecosystem:

Aviation Tracking and Spotting

Aircraft enthusiasts and plane spotters use tail numbers to identify specific airframes, track their history and log sightings. Applications like flight trackers correlate tail numbers with live ADS-B transponder data to show which specific aircraft is operating each flight. The AirLabs Real-Time Flights API returns the reg_number field for live flights, allowing you to link a flight in the air to its full aircraft record in the Fleets Database.

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

Airlines and MRO providers track every aircraft by its registration number and manufacturer serial number (MSN) to manage maintenance schedules, airworthiness directives and component lifecycle records. The tail number is the primary key that links an aircraft to its complete maintenance history, inspection records and modification status.

Ownership and Leasing

The aircraft leasing industry — which manages over 50% of the world's commercial fleet — uses tail numbers to track asset ownership, lease agreements and transitions between operators. When an aircraft moves from one airline to another, it may receive a new tail number (reflecting the new country of registration) but its MSN remains constant, providing continuity across ownership changes.

Regulatory Compliance

Aviation authorities worldwide (FAA in the US, EASA in Europe, CASA in Australia) maintain official registration databases indexed by tail number. These registries record the current owner, operator, airworthiness status and any accidents or incidents associated with each aircraft. The AirLabs Fleets Database aggregates data across these registries into a single, unified API.

Insurance and Risk Assessment

Aviation insurers and risk assessors use tail number lookups to evaluate the age, type and history of aircraft when underwriting policies. An aircraft's manufacturing year, engine type and total flight hours are critical inputs to insurance risk models. The built and age fields in the AirLabs Fleets API provide this data instantly.

N-Number Lookup — United States Aircraft Registry

The most commonly searched tail number format is the US N-number system. Managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the N-number registry contains over 300,000 aircraft registered in the United States — from single-engine Cessnas to Boeing 787 widebodies.

An N-number consists of the prefix "N" followed by up to five characters that can be digits, letters, or a combination. The FAA assigns N-numbers according to specific rules: one to five digits (N1 through N99999), or one to four digits followed by one or two letters (N1A through N9999Z). The letters I and O are excluded to avoid confusion with the digits 1 and 0.

With the AirLabs Fleets Database, you can look up any N-number and instantly retrieve the aircraft details:

https://airlabs.co/api/v9/fleets?reg_number=N787AL&api_key={API_KEY}

[{
  "hex": "A12345",
  "reg_number": "N787AL",
  "flag": "US",
  "airline_icao": "AAL",
  "airline_iata": "AA",
  "icao": "B789",
  "iata": "789",
  "model": "Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner",
  "engine": "jet",
  "engine_count": "2",
  "manufacturer": "BOEING",
  "type": "landplane",
  "category": "H",
  "built": 2019,
  "age": 7,
  "msn": "66500"
}]

For applications serving US-based users, N-number lookup is the most frequent tail number query. The AirLabs API handles all global registration formats equally — the same endpoint and parameter (reg_number) work for US N-numbers, European registrations (G-XXXX, D-XXXX, F-XXXX), Asian formats (JA, B-, 9V-) and every other national prefix worldwide.

Connecting Tail Numbers to Live Flight Data

One of the most powerful capabilities of the AirLabs platform is connecting static aircraft records (tail numbers, models, age) with live operational data (real-time position, flight number, route). This is done by linking the Fleets Database with the Real-Time Flights API.

The workflow is straightforward:

• A user enters a tail number — for example, N732AN
• Query the Fleets Database — GET /fleets?reg_number=N732AN returns the aircraft details (model, airline, age, MSN)
• Find the live flight — GET /flights?reg_number=N732AN returns the current flight information if the aircraft is airborne, including flight number, route, position, altitude and speed
• Show flight status — if the aircraft is operating a flight, GET /flight?flight_iata=AA100 returns the full status including departure/arrival times, gate, terminal, delay and status

This chain — tail number → aircraft record → live flight → flight status — is the foundation of every aircraft tracking application. The AirLabs API provides every link in this chain through a consistent, RESTful interface.

Querying Entire Airline Fleets

Beyond individual tail number lookups, the Fleets Database supports bulk fleet queries. This is essential for airline analytics, fleet comparison and competitor research:

https://airlabs.co/api/v9/fleets?airline_iata=EK&api_key={API_KEY}

Returns the complete Emirates fleet: 250+ aircraft with tail numbers,
models (A380, 777-300ER, 777F), ages, MSNs and engine data.

Bulk fleet data enables use cases like calculating the average fleet age per airline, comparing widebody vs narrowbody fleet composition, tracking fleet growth or retirement trends, and identifying which aircraft types an airline operates on specific routes.

Combined with the Airlines Database (which returns total fleet size and average age per carrier) and the Routes Database (which shows which airports each airline serves), the Fleets API forms a complete aviation intelligence layer.

Aircraft Tail Numbers Database for Developers

If you are building a flight tracking application, an aviation analytics tool, an MRO system, a plane spotting app or any product that needs to identify aircraft by their tail number, the AirLabs Fleets Database provides everything you need.

Supported API Features

Our Developer API allows you to create a custom experience for your users and increase the value of your product:

• Aircraft Fleets Database with tail numbers, ICAO24 hex, MSN, model, manufacturer, engine type and age.
• Lookup by registration number, ICAO24 hex address, manufacturer serial number, airline or country.
• Real-Time Flights API with tail number in the response for live aircraft identification.
• Flight Information API for individual flight status linked to specific aircraft.
• Airlines Database with fleet size, average fleet age and carrier details for 15,000+ airlines.
• Airports Database with IATA/ICAO codes, geolocation and timezone for 9,000+ airports.
• Airport Schedules API with live departures and arrivals.
• Name Suggestion API for autocomplete of airline and airport names.

You can try it right now without any obligation! Get a free flight API plan and see for yourself that we have exactly the data you need!

If you need more information, don't hesitate to contact us. We are always happy to chat with our customers and are sure to find a customized solution for each request.