ICAO Annex 7: Aircraft Nationality and Registration Marks

010-02-03Pablo Asensio Martínez2026-04-011 min

Annex 7 to the Chicago Convention establishes the standards for aircraft nationality and registration marks.

Key Definitions

  • Aircraft: Any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth’s surface.
  • Aeroplane: A power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, deriving its lift in flight chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces which remain fixed under given conditions of flight.
  • State of Registry: The State on whose register the aircraft is entered.

Format of Marks

The nationality and registration mark shall consist of a group of characters (3.1).

  1. Nationality Mark: Is selected from the series of nationality symbols included in the radio call signs allocated to the State of Registry by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This mark must be notified to ICAO.
  2. Registration Mark: Is assigned by the State of Registry or the common mark registering authority. It may consist of letters, numbers, or a combination of both.
  3. Order and Separation: The nationality mark precedes the registration mark. If the first character of the registration mark is a letter, it must be preceded by a hyphen.