How much does it cost to register an aircraft in Bermuda?
Registration and airworthiness fees, customs duty, mortgage and deregistration costs on the Bermuda aircraft register.
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory outside the European Union and outside EASA, and its aircraft register is run by the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority. Registration itself is charged flat, but the airworthiness certificate is charged by mass, so the size of the aircraft moves the annual bill far more than the registration line does.
What does Bermuda charge to register an aircraft?Link to this section
Separate the two charges. Registration is a flat sum whatever the aircraft, while the airworthiness certificate is priced on mass and is where the size of the airframe shows up. There is no annual registration fee as such, so a budget built on the registration line alone will be badly short.
| Item | Published position |
|---|---|
| Registration fees | Registration or deregistration is a flat $500; commercial airworthiness fees run $1,000 to $101,500 by mass.Air Navigation (Fees for Certificates and Services) Regulations 2022, BR 36 / 2022 (Bermuda), made by the Governor under article 4(3) of the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013 as applied to Bermuda, operative date 1 May 2022, the BCAA's published PDFwww.bcaa.bm · Schedule, Part 4(a)Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2022-05-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Annual registration fee | No annual registration fee; a private aircraft pays $100 per 500 kg for its 12-month airworthiness certificate, and a grounded aircraft pays an estimated $2,000 to $3,000 a year.Air Navigation (Fees for Certificates and Services) Regulations 2022, BR 36 / 2022 (Bermuda), made by the Governor under article 4(3) of the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013 as applied to Bermuda, operative date 1 May 2022, the BCAA's published PDFwww.bcaa.bm · Schedule, Part 2(b)Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2022-05-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
Does private or commercial operation change the cost?Link to this section
Operating intent changes the oversight and the cost. Private flying needs a non-commercial approval; an air operator certificate issued here needs a place of business in the territory, and few operators hold one. The registry sits outside EASA and accepts certification from several other authorities, including the United Kingdom's.
| Item | Published position |
|---|---|
| Private and AOC operations | Private flying needs a non-commercial approval; a Bermuda AOC needs a place of business in Bermuda and about three operators hold one, with no published streamlined route.Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, Private Aircraft Operations (NCC)www.bcaa.bmRetrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| EASA status | Bermuda is not an EASA member; since its 2021 Brexit notice it accepts UK CAA certification alongside FAA, EASA, Transport Canada and Brazil's ANAC.Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, Aircraft Type Acceptance Certificate (with the BCAA's published list of Type Acceptance Certificates granted)www.bcaa.bmRetrieved 2026-09-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
With no VAT and no sales tax, what does an import cost?Link to this section
Bermuda levies no value added tax and no sales tax. An aircraft imported into the territory meets customs duty instead, with relief available for a temporary importation. For most owners the aircraft never lands there, so the import position that counts is that of the states the aircraft operates from.
| Item | Published position |
|---|---|
| Import VAT and customs | Bermuda has no VAT or sales tax; an imported aircraft carries 25% customs duty, with temporary importation relief at 0%.Government of Bermuda, First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act 1970 (Bermuda Nomenclature and Import Duties), 2026 edition dated 31 March 2026, Chapter 88 'Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts thereof' at page 409www.gov.bm · First Schedule, heading 88.02Retrieved 2026-08-27Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
When does continuing airworthiness management become mandatory?Link to this section
Continuing airworthiness management becomes mandatory above a mass threshold and is held either by the owner or by a contracted organization. That is a recurring commercial cost paid to a private provider rather than a government fee, and it is usually a larger line than anything the registry charges.
| Item | Published position |
|---|---|
| CAMO requirements | Aircraft above 2,700 kg MTOM need continuing airworthiness management under OTAR Part 39, held by the owner or a contracted CAMO.Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, Continued Airworthiness Management Organisation Approvalswww.bcaa.bmRetrieved 2026-08-27Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
What do the statutory mortgage registers cost a financed owner?Link to this section
A financed aircraft carries costs the registry does set. The territory keeps statutory aircraft and engine mortgage registers, priority runs by the time of entry, and the fee steps up above a value threshold. A recorded deregistration authorization under the Cape Town Convention is priced separately again.
| Item | Published position |
|---|---|
| Mortgages and charges | Bermuda keeps statutory aircraft and engine mortgage registers that rank by time of entry; registering costs $800, or $1,600 above $20 million.Mortgaging of Aircraft (Procedures) Regulations 1999, BR 41 / 1999 (Bermuda), consolidated text as amended by 2016 : 28, Bermuda Laws Online, Government of Bermudawww.bermudalaws.bm · reg. 3(1), (6), (7)Retrieved 2026-08-27Effective 2022-04-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Cape Town Convention and IDERA | The Cape Town Convention has been Bermuda law since 1 January 2018; a recorded IDERA controls deregistration and costs $300.Bermuda International Interests in Mobile Equipment (Cape Town Convention) Act 2016 (2016 : 38), consolidated text including Schedule 3 (the declarations lodged by the United Kingdom in respect of Bermuda), Bermuda Laws Online, Government of Bermudawww.bermudalaws.bm · s. 3Retrieved 2026-08-27Effective 2018-01-01Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
Which aircraft will the Bermuda Aircraft Registry accept?Link to this section
What can be registered bounds the exercise. The registry publishes no weight limit and no age limit, so eligibility turns on who owns the aircraft and on the type being accepted rather than on the airframe's specification. Owners outside the qualifying nationalities use a local company or a demise charter.
| Item | Published position |
|---|---|
| MTOW and aircraft age limits | Bermuda publishes no weight limit and no age limit; eligibility turns on who owns the aircraft and on the aircraft type being accepted.Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, Eligibility (Bermuda Aircraft Registry)www.bcaa.bmRetrieved 2026-08-27Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Who may register an aircraft | Commonwealth, EEA or Swiss citizens, nationals and companies may own a Bermuda aircraft; others use a Bermuda company or a demise charter.The Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013 (S.I. 2013 No. 2870), latest available revised text, legislation.gov.uk, The National Archiveswww.legislation.gov.uk · art. 16(1)Retrieved 2026-08-29Effective 2021-07-22Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
What is charged when an aircraft leaves the register?Link to this section
Exit costs belong in the entry budget. Deregistration is charged, and it needs a board resolution, the mortgagee's consent or a recorded deregistration authorization, plus payment of anything outstanding. The size of the register has moved substantially in recent years, which is worth reading before choosing it.
| Item | Published position |
|---|---|
| Deregistration process | The deregistration fee itself is $500; a board resolution, mortgagee consent or a recorded IDERA and any outstanding fees are needed too, and the mortgage discharge and export certificate are charged separately.Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, De-registering an Aircraftwww.bcaa.bmRetrieved 2026-08-29Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
| Register size | The BCAA's own chart shows about 450 aircraft at 31 March 2024, down from a peak near 890 in 2019; the current register is estimated at roughly 400.Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority Annual Report 2023/2024, 'Our Registered Aircraft' chart at page 7, the BCAA's own published copywww.bcaa.bm · p. 7, 'Our Registered Aircraft' chart, fiscal years 2015 to 2024Retrieved 2026-09-01Effective 2024-03-31Open sourceInformational only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Contact a qualified professional for current information. |
How do you turn this into a Bermuda budget?Link to this section
Read the positions above against the alternatives, then have a firm price them for the aircraft. Compare on the Bermuda aircraft pillar and against the Cayman Islands, model the fees with the flag cost comparator and the aircraft import and VAT question finder, read the registration process guide, then ask a specialist.
This page is informational, not legal or tax advice.
Informational only, not legal, tax or financial advice.
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