Sold, lost or scrapped: what cancels a registration and what you must report

Know the events that end a registration, which of them you must report and how quickly, when the cancellation actually takes effect, and how an aircraft comes back into service afterwards.

• You are the registered owner of the aircraft, because every duty on this page is that person's. CAR 900.18
• You know the aircraft is registered at all — the notification duties sit on the owner of a registered RPA. CAR 900.18
• You can tell notifying the Minister from the registration being cancelled, since they are not the same moment. AIM 3.1.1

A registered owner must notify the Minister within seven days after becoming aware that any of these has happened: CAR 900.18

The event	What it means
The aircraft is destroyed	It no longer exists as an aircraft CAR 900.18
The aircraft is permanently withdrawn from use	Out of service for good, but intact CAR 900.18
The aircraft is missing and the search is terminated	The search has ended without finding it CAR 900.18
The aircraft has been missing for 60 days or more	A clock, not a search outcome CAR 900.18
The owner has transferred legal custody and control	The sale case CAR 900.18

The AIM restates the same five in its own words — destroyed, permanently out of service, missing for more than 60 days, missing with a terminated search, or transferred to a new owner — and adds where the notification goes: the Drone Management Portal. AIM 3.1.1

It is defined rather than left to intuition: an owner has legal custody and control of a remotely piloted aircraft when the owner has complete responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the system of which that aircraft is an element. CAR 900.18

That is the test for the sale case — not who holds the airframe, and not who paid for it. CAR 900.18

Subsection 900.18(3) cancels the certificate of registration when the registered owner dies; when the entity that owns the aircraft is wound up, dissolved or amalgamated with another; or when the owner ceases to be qualified to be a registered owner under section 900.15. CAR 900.18

Note what is different about these three: they are acts of the owner's own legal existence, and the seven-day duty in subsection (1) is on the owner. An owner who has died cannot notify within seven days, which is why the death of the owner appears in the cancelling subsection and not in the reporting one. CAR 900.18

When an event in subsection (1) has occurred, the certificate of registration is cancelled — and the AIM is emphatic that this happens immediately when the condition is met, not when the Minister is notified. CAR 900.18 AIM 3.1.1

That is the whole point of a question that puts an aircraft 70 days missing and a notification ten days after the 60-day mark: the notification was late, but the cancellation did not wait for it. AIM 3.1.1

An aircraft whose registration was cancelled, and for which the Minister has been notified, does not resume its old registration when it is found, fixed or otherwise brought back into service. An application for a new registration must be completed. AIM 3.1.1

Registration data is not frozen. An owner may update the registration to: AIM 3.1.1

• update the nickname or description of the drone;
• fix an incorrect serial number that was entered; or
• update the serial number after a warranty replacement of the same make and model. AIM 3.1.1

The wrong make or model, selected during the initial registration, is not on that list: correcting it means contacting Transport Canada. AIM 3.1.1

A registered owner must notify the Minister of any change in the owner's name or address by not later than seven days after the change. CAR 900.19

Failing to notify under either section carries the same stated exposure: individual penalties of up to $1,000 and corporate penalties of up to $5,000. AIM 3.1.1

Question	The answer
How long does the owner have to notify?	Seven days after becoming aware CAR 900.18
Which events are reportable?	Destroyed; permanently withdrawn from use; missing with the search terminated; missing 60 days or more; legal custody and control transferred CAR 900.18
Which events cancel without a report?	The owner dies; the owning entity is wound up, dissolved or amalgamated; the owner ceases to be qualified CAR 900.18
When is the registration cancelled?	Immediately when the event occurs — not when the Minister is notified AIM 3.1.1
Can a cancelled aircraft be flown again on its old registration?	No — a new registration application is required AIM 3.1.1
What can the owner edit directly?	Nickname or description; an incorrect serial number; a warranty-replacement serial number AIM 3.1.1

• The seven-day clock runs from becoming aware, not from the event CAR 900.18
• 60 days missing cancels regardless of whether the search continues CAR 900.18
• Legal custody and control turns on complete responsibility for operation and maintenance CAR 900.18
• A name or address change is also a seven-day notification CAR 900.19
• A wrong make or model is corrected through Transport Canada, not self-service AIM 3.1.1

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
The cancellation is dated from the notification	It happens at the event	Put the cancellation at the event AIM 3.1.1
The 60-day missing rule is read as needing a terminated search	They are two separate events	Either one cancels CAR 900.18
The dead owner is said to owe a seven-day notice	The duty is the owner's	The death is in the cancelling subsection CAR 900.18
An aircraft found after cancellation is flown on the old number	Re-registration is required	Apply for a new registration AIM 3.1.1
A wrong model is "fixed" in the portal	It is not a self-service field	Contact Transport Canada AIM 3.1.1
A move is thought not to matter	Name and address changes are notified	Notify within seven days CAR 900.19

Practise: Car notification duty

Practise: Car missing aircraft

Practise: Car cancellation events

Practise: Car cancellation effect

Practise: Car legal custody and control

Practise: Registration edit fields

• CAR 900.18 — Cancellation of Certificate of Registration
• CAR 900.19 — Change of Name or Address
• TC AIM RPA 3.1.1 — Modifying a Registration
• TC AIM RPA 3.1.1.1 — Cancelling a Registration