Aircraft records checklist for buyers
Updated Nov 11, 2026
In short
Before you pay for a pre-purchase inspection, ask the seller for the complete airframe, engine and propeller logbooks, the current total times, the date of the last annual and of the other dated inspections, the airworthiness directive compliance record, the FAA Form 337 for every major repair and alteration, the current weight and balance and equipment list, and the airworthiness and registration certificates. The seller must hand the aircraft's status records over at the sale (14 CFR 91.419), so missing records are the seller's problem before the sale and yours after it. Records show what was written down; only an inspection by your own mechanic shows the condition of the aircraft.
The checklist
Ask for copies before you travel. A seller with nothing to hide can scan the logbooks or share them by link.
- Airframe logbooks, complete from the date of manufacture, with no gaps in dates or in total time.
- Engine logbooks for each engine, including the entry for the last overhaul and the time since it.
- Propeller logbook, including the last overhaul.
- Current total time in service of the airframe, each engine and each propeller (14 CFR 91.417(a)(2)(i)).
- The last annual inspection entry: date, total time, and the signature and certificate number of the person who approved the aircraft for return to service (14 CFR 91.409(a), 43.11).
- The date of the last ELT inspection and the battery expiration date (14 CFR 91.207).
- The dates of the last transponder test and, for an IFR aircraft, the altimeter and static system test (14 CFR 91.413, 91.411).
- The airworthiness directive compliance record: each applicable AD with the method of compliance, the AD number and revision date, and the next due time for recurring ADs (14 CFR 91.417(a)(2)(v)).
- The status of life-limited parts and of items overhauled on a time basis (14 CFR 91.417(a)(2)(ii) and (iii)).
- FAA Form 337 for each major repair and major alteration, and the supplemental type certificate paperwork for each STC installed (14 CFR 43.9(d), 91.417(a)(2)(vi)).
- The current weight and balance report and equipment list, dated after the last change of equipment.
- The approved flight manual or operating handbook with every supplement for installed equipment (14 CFR 91.9).
- The airworthiness certificate and the registration certificate, with the registration's expiration date (14 CFR 91.203, 47.40).
- Any list of discrepancies from the last inspection that are not yet repaired (14 CFR 43.11(b)).
How to read what you are given
Follow total time from the first entry to the last. A jump, a period of years with no entries, or a tach or Hobbs replacement without an entry reconciling the times are the questions to ask first.
Compare the engine's time since overhaul with the overhaul entry itself, and check who did the overhaul and to what standard. A top overhaul is not a major overhaul.
Read the AD record against the logbook entries it refers to. An AD listed as complied with should have a matching signed entry.
Look for damage history: entries for repairs to structure, a Form 337 for a major repair, propeller strikes and engine teardown inspections. Missing logbooks are a finding in themselves, because the history before the gap cannot be shown.
What the public record adds
Some of the history is public and can be checked before you speak to the seller. Voydar's aircraft pages show, for a US registration, the registration and airworthiness dates, earlier N-numbers of the same airframe, the airworthiness class and the National Transportation Safety Board record for the registration. An accident in the NTSB record that the logbooks do not mention is a question for the seller.
The public record does not show liens, ownership disputes or the content of the maintenance records. The FAA Aircraft Registry in Oklahoma City holds the registration and recorded-document file for each aircraft, and title and escrow companies search it.
What the seller must hand over
At the time of sale the seller transfers the records required by 14 CFR 91.417(a)(2): total times, life-limited part status, time since overhaul, inspection status, AD status and the major alteration forms. The work records of 91.417(a)(1) not included in those are transferred too, or kept by the seller on the buyer's behalf; either way the new owner becomes responsible for making them available to the FAA and the NTSB (14 CFR 91.419).
From the day you own the aircraft you are the person primarily responsible for its airworthiness (14 CFR 91.403(a)), including ADs the previous owner did not comply with.
Records are not an inspection
A pre-purchase inspection is not defined in the regulations and is not an annual inspection unless you and the mechanic agree that it will be one. Use a mechanic who knows the type and who has not been maintaining the aircraft for the seller, and agree in writing what will be inspected.
A complete, consistent set of records makes that inspection faster and cheaper. It is not a substitute for it.
If you are the seller
Buyers decide quickly when the records arrive in order. Voydar Hangar lets an owner share the recorded logbook entries, tracked dates, latest times and chosen document kinds with a buyer by a link that expires and can be revoked, with every view logged. Hangar is in a staff test and is not open yet.
Sources
- 14 CFR 91.417, 91.419: maintenance records and their transfer at sale
- 14 CFR 91.403, 91.409: responsibility and inspections
- 14 CFR 43.9, 43.11 and appendix B to part 43: entries and the recording of major repairs and alterations
- 14 CFR part 47: aircraft registration
- National Transportation Safety Board aviation investigation records
This guide explains the published rules in plain words. It is not legal advice. The owner or operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in an airworthy condition (14 CFR 91.403(a)); ask an appropriately certificated mechanic about your aircraft.