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Pursuant to the Arizona Supreme Court’s opinion, MVD interprets a “day” to mean a 24-hour period when determining non-resident status of an aircraft.

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Pursuant to the Arizona Supreme Court’s opinion in BSI Holdings, L.L.C. v. State of Arizona, MVD interprets a “day” to mean a 24-hour period when determining non-resident status of an aircraft.

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Aircraft Exemptions

Aircraft Exemptions

An aircraft may qualify for exemption from registration, license tax or both if one of these conditions exists:

  • The aircraft is operated by regularly scheduled airline company.
  • The aircraft is owned by a government agency or Civil Air Patrol.
  • The aircraft is owned and held by an Arizona licensed aircraft dealer for resale and is operated only for demonstration purposes.
  • The aircraft is owned by a person on active military duty with a home of record other than Arizona (requires a copy of active-duty assignment papers).
  • The aircraft is owned by a Native American, is based on a reservation and stays within the reservation boundaries.

To claim exempt, nonresident or stored, salvage or repair aircraft tax status, an owner must complete an Aircraft Exemption Affidavit and file it with the Motor Vehicle Division Aircraft Registration Unit on or before the last day of February or, if it is a new registration in the state, within 60 days of purchase or entry into Arizona.

Aircraft Exemption Affidavits must be notarized.

An aircraft owner who fails to claim the appropriate exemption by the time limit specified must pay the assessed license tax, plus a penalty of $25 with an additional $5 late fee for each subsequent month of delinquency.

Verifying Exempt Status

Upon request, an owner claiming an exemption must make available the aircraft log book for inspection and the names of any pilot who has flown the aircraft during the period for which the exemption is claimed.