The new regulations on the registration of civil aircraft in Spain enter into force

• As of today, some of the provisions of Royal Decree 1029/2025 come into application, which modernizes and simplifies the regulations on aircraft required to register in the AESA Register.
• Among the main novelties are the retention of the registration of other Member States in Spain, the flexibility of registration for certain ultralight aircraft and greater agility in some procedures.

Madrid, 3 December 2025 (AESA).

The State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), as the authority responsible for the Registration Register of Civil Aircraft in Spain, reports that today, December 3, 2025, the first provisions of Royal Decree 1029/2025, which establishes the new regulation applicable in this matter, enter into force. 

This regulation, which replaces the previous one, adapts the Spanish system to European regulations, strengthening the security and competitiveness of the sector. 

The regulation was approved by the Council of Ministers, at the request of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, and published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on November 13.

Among the main novelties of RD 1029/2025 are:

• Aircraft may maintain the registration of other Member States of the European Union (EU) or the EASA environment, eliminating the obligation to register in Spain in order to continue their activity.
• Ultralight powered aircraft (ULM) with a maximum take-off mass of 120 kg or less shall not require registration or certificate of airworthiness by EASA.
• The deadlines are extended: in the case of the registration reservation, it goes from six months to one year; and in the case of provisional registration, from three to six months.
• To ease and expedite the procedures in obtaining registration, it is allowed to prove the possession and use of an aircraft with any supporting document, not only with the lease agreement.
• In the case of aircraft intended at the time of the application for private, sporting or recreational use, it may be established by means of a declaration by the person concerned, stating, under his or her responsibility, that he or she is the rightful owner or holder of the aircraft and that the aircraft is intended at the time of the application for such use.

Other provisions, such as that relating to the registration of used aircraft built by amateurs in another State (fourth provision), as well as Chapters II, III and IV, the latter relating to test registration, will enter into force on 13 May 2026.

This regulatory advance, in whose preparation AESA and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) have participated, responds to the commitment to modernize aeronautical regulation, reduce administrative burdens and favor the economic activity of the sector.

About AESA

AESA is the State body, attached to the Secretary of State for Transport of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, which ensures that civil aviation standards are complied with in all aeronautical activity in Spain.

The Agency has the missions of Supervision, Inspection and Management of Air Transport, Air Navigation and Airport Security. It assesses risks to transport safety and has the power to impose penalties for breaches of civil aviation rules.