Aircraft Registration Prefixes
Current ICAO Aircraft Registration Prefix
Aircraft Registration Prefixes by Country
Every civil aircraft is assigned a unique registration number, typically displayed on the tail. The first segment of this number, the registration prefix, identifies the country of registration. These prefixes are standardized by the ICAO, forming a globally recognized system.
✅ Why Registration Prefixes Matter
- Nationality Identification: Instant recognition of where the aircraft is registered.
- Regulatory Clarity: Indicates the country overseeing safety inspections, legal jurisdiction, and compliance.
- International Standard: ICAO ensures no two countries share the same prefix, simplifying ATC coordination.
🛩️ Full ICAO Alphabetical List of Registration Prefixes
Below is the complete list of ICAO-assigned aircraft registration prefixes, arranged alphabetically by prefix:
- 2-letter or numeric prefixes:
- 3A – Monaco
- 3B – Mauritius
- 3C – Equatorial Guinea
- 3D – Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
- 3X – Guinea
- 4K – Azerbaijan
- 4L – Georgia
- 4O – Montenegro
- 4R – Sri Lanka
- 4X – Israel
- 5A – Libya
- 5B – Cyprus
- 5H – Tanzania
- 5N – Nigeria
- 5R – Madagascar
- 5T – Mauritania
- 5U – Niger
- 5X – Uganda
- 5Y – Kenya
- 6O – Somalia
- 6V/6W – Senegal
- 6Y – Jamaica
- 7O – Yemen
- 7P – Lesotho
- 7Q – Malawi
- 7T – Algeria
- 8P – Barbados
- 8Q – Maldives
- 8R – Guyana
- 9A – Croatia
- 9G – Ghana
- 9H – Malta
- 9J – Zambia
- 9K – Kuwait
- 9L – Sierra Leone
- 9M – Malaysia
- 9N – Nepal
- 9Q – Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 9U – Burundi
- 9V – Singapore
- 9XR – Rwanda
- 9Y – Trinidad & Tobago
- A–E prefixes:
- A2 – Botswana
- A3 – Tonga
- A4O – Oman
- A5 – Bhutan
- A6 – United Arab Emirates
- A7 – Qatar
- A8 – Liberia
- A9C – Bahrain
- AP – Pakistan
- B – China (including Hong Kong & Macau SARs)
- C*/CF – Canada, Nauru (C2), Gambia (C5), Bahamas (C6), Mozambique (C9)
- CC – Chile
- CN – Morocco
- CP – Bolivia
- CR – Portugal / Macau (CR-M)
- CS – Portugal
- CU – Cuba
- CX – Uruguay
- D – Germany
- D2 – Angola
- D4 – Cape Verde
- D6 – Comoros
- DQ – Fiji
- EC – Spain
- EI/EJ – Ireland
- EK – Armenia
- EL – Liberia (previously)
- EP – Iran
- ER – Moldova
- ES – Estonia
- ET – Ethiopia
- EW – Belarus
- EX – Kyrgyzstan
- EY – Tajikistan
- EZ – Turkmenistan
- F–K prefixes:
- F – France (and overseas regions like F-O)
- G – United Kingdom
- H4 – Solomon Islands
- HA – Hungary
- HB – Switzerland & Liechtenstein
- HC – Ecuador
- HH – Haiti
- HI – Dominican Republic
- HJ/HK – Colombia
- HL – South Korea
- HP – Panama
- HR – Honduras
- HS – Thailand
- HZ – Saudi Arabia
- I – Italy
- J2 – Djibouti
- JA – Japan
- JY – Jordan
- LN – Norway
- LV – Argentina
- LX – Luxembourg
- LY – Lithuania
- LZ – Bulgaria
- M – Isle of Man
- N – United States (N, NC, NR, NS, NX)
- O–T prefixes:
- OB – Peru
- OD – Lebanon
- OE – Austria
- OH – Finland
- OK – Czech Republic
- OM – Slovakia
- OO – Belgium
- OY – Denmark
- P2 – Papua New Guinea
- P4 – Aruba
- PH – Netherlands
- PJ – Netherlands Antilles
- PK – Indonesia
- PP/PR/PS/PT/PU – Brazil
- PZ – Suriname
- RA – Russian Federation
- RDPL – Laos
- RP – Philippines
- S2 – Bangladesh
- S5 – Slovenia
- S7 – Seychelles
- S9 – São Tomé & Príncipe
- SE – Sweden
- SP – Poland
- ST – Sudan
- SU – Egypt
- SX – Greece
- TC – Turkey
- TF – Iceland
- TG – Guatemala
- TI – Costa Rica
- TJ – Cameroon
- TN – Congo
- TR – Gabon
- TS – Tunisia
- TU – Ivory Coast
- U–Z prefixes:
- UK – Uzbekistan
- UR – Ukraine
- V2 – Antigua & Barbuda
- V3 – Belize
- V5 – Namibia
- V7 – Marshall Islands
- V8 – Brunei
- VH – Australia
- VN – Vietnam
- VP‑B/VP‑C/VQ‑B/VR‑C – Bermuda, Cayman Islands
- VP‑F – Falkland Islands
- VT – India
- XA/XB/XC – Mexico (commercial, private, government)
- YA – Afghanistan
- YI – Iraq
- YJ – Vanuatu
- YK – Syria
- YL – Latvia
- YR – Romania
- YS – El Salvador
- YU – Serbia
- YV – Venezuela
- Z – Zimbabwe
- Z3 – North Macedonia
- ZK – New Zealand
- ZP – Paraguay
- ZS – South Africa
📌 How These Prefixes Are Used
Beyond the prefix, each registration includes a series of letters/numbers (suffix) assigned nationally. For instance, a U.S. aircraft might be N123AB, while a German one could be D-ABCD. Operators often select memorable suffixes for private or corporate use.
Some registries (e.g. Bermuda’s VP‑B or Malta’s 9H) are popular with aircraft lessors or corporate jets using a "flag of convenience."
🔍 Source & References
The above list is compiled from official ICAO nationality marks as notified and the comprehensive Wikipedia list of registration prefixes :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}.
🧭 Final Thoughts
Whether you're a pilot, plane spotter, or aviation enthusiast, knowing aircraft registration prefixes by country is essential for identifying an aircraft’s nationality and regulator. ICAO's standardized system ensures clarity and consistency worldwide.
