faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server

faa-aircraft-registry-mcp-server: search registrations

faa_search_registrations

Read-onlyIdempotent

Search active US civil aircraft registrations by owner name, make/model, exact manufacturerModelCode, serial number, state, aircraft type, or Mode S (hex) code. Discover codes with faa_search_aircraft_types and get full records with faa_lookup_registration. Filters are AND-combined and at least one is required. Owner-name search is available on deployments that expose owner PII. Responses report totalCount across all pages and return nextOffset when more matches remain.

Tool call template

This tool declares no required parameters. Add optional parameters from the input schema as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {},
    "name": "faa_search_registrations"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No	Requested page size (positive integer, default 25); requests above 200 are clamped.
`state`	No	Two ASCII letters for a state, territory or military postal code (e.g. WA, GU, AE, AP; exact match). Trimmed and uppercased; blank is unset.
`offset`	No	Zero-based index of the first result to return — pass the nextOffset from a previous response, with identical filters, to page forward (default 0).
`makeModel`	No	Aircraft make or model. Each search term matches a token prefix, such as 172 matching 172S.
`modeSCode`	No	Six hexadecimal characters for the Mode S code (ICAO 24-bit address), exact match. Trimmed and uppercased; blank is unset.
`ownerName`	No	Registrant name to match (full-text). Rejected when owner-PII redaction is on.
`aircraftType`	No	FAA aircraft type code: 1–9, H (Hybrid Lift), O (Other), exact match. Trimmed and uppercased; blank is unset.
`serialNumber`	No	Exact manufacturer serial number, trimmed and matched case-insensitively. Leading zeros, punctuation, and internal spaces are significant. Blank is unset. Use manufacturerModelCode or makeModel to narrow duplicate serials.
`manufacturerModelCode`	No	Exact FAA manufacturer/model/series code: 6–7 alphanumeric characters, trimmed and uppercased; blank is unset. Discover codes with faa_search_aircraft_types. AND-combined with other filters.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`cap`	No	Applied page limit when truncated.
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`shown`	No	Number of results on this page when truncated.
`notice`	No	Refresh, limit, or search guidance when applicable.
`dataAsOf`	No	Source date of the FAA registry snapshot, YYYY-MM-DD.
`truncated`	No	Present and true when more matches remain.
`nextOffset`	No	Offset for the next page, when more matches remain.
`totalCount`	No	Total matches across all pages. Always present.
`registrations`	No	Matching registration summaries for this page (up to limit).

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed14 schema fields changedNov 11, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / limit / description

Previous value: -"Maximum number of results to return (1–200, default 25)."New value: +"Requested page size (positive integer, default 25); requests above 200 are clamped."

removedInput schema / properties / limit / maximum
```
Removed value: -200
```

changedInput schema / properties / makeModel / description

Previous value: -"Aircraft make and/or model to match (full-text)."New value: +"Aircraft make or model. Each search term matches a token prefix, such as 172 matching 172S."

addedInput schema / properties / serialNumber

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Exact manufacturer serial number, trimmed and matched case-insensitively. Leading zeros, punctuation, and internal spaces are significant. Blank is unset. Use manufacturerModelCode or makeModel to narrow duplicate serials.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / cap / description

Previous value: -"The limit that was applied (present only when truncated is set)."New value: +"Applied page limit when truncated."

addedOutput schema / properties / dataAsOf

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Source date of the FAA registry snapshot, YYYY-MM-DD.",
+  "format": "date",
+  "pattern": "^(?:(?:\\d\\d[2468][048]|\\d\\d[13579][26]|\\d\\d0[48]|[02468][048]00|[13579][26]00)-02-29|\\d{4}-(?:(?:0[13578]|1[02])-(?:0[1-9]|[12]\\d|3[01])|(?:0[469]|11)-(?:0[1-9]|[12]\\d|30)|(?:02)-(?:0[1-9]|1\\d|2[0-8])))$",
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_code`: manufacturerModelCode is not 6–7 alphanumeric characters after normalization. `invalid_state`: state is not two ASCII letters. `invalid_mode_s_code`: modeSCode is not six hexadecimal characters. `invalid_aircraft_type`: aircraftType is not 1–9, H or O. `owner_search_disabled`: ownerName was supplied while owner-PII redaction is enabled on this deployment. `no_filters`: No search filter was supplied. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `mirror_loading`: The FAA registry mirror has a refresh that has not completed. `invalid_code`: manufacturerModelCode is not 6–7 alphanumeric characters after normalization. `invalid_state`: state is not two ASCII letters. `invalid_mode_s_code`: modeSCode is not six hexadecimal characters. `invalid_aircraft_type`: aircraftType is not 1–9, H or O. `owner_search_disabled`: ownerName was supplied while owner-PII redaction is enabled on this deployment. `no_filters`: No search filter was supplied. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples

Previous value: -[
-  "invalid_code",
-  "invalid_state",
-  "invalid_mode_s_code",
-  "invalid_aircraft_type",
-  "owner_search_disabled",
-  "no_filters"
-]New value: +[
+  "mirror_loading",
+  "invalid_code",
+  "invalid_state",
+  "invalid_mode_s_code",
+  "invalid_aircraft_type",
+  "owner_search_disabled",
+  "no_filters"
+]

changedOutput schema / properties / nextOffset / description

Previous value: -"Offset to request the next page; absent when this page reached the end of the matches."New value: +"Offset for the next page, when more matches remain."

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Guidance when no registrations matched, or when more matches remain."New value: +"Refresh, limit, or search guidance when applicable."

addedOutput schema / properties / registrations / items / properties / serialNumber

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Manufacturer serial number as stored by the FAA.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / shown / description

Previous value: -"Number of results on this page (present only when truncated is set)."New value: +"Number of results on this page when truncated."

changedOutput schema / properties / totalCount / description

Previous value: -"Total registrations matching the filters, across all pages. Always present."New value: +"Total matches across all pages. Always present."

changedOutput schema / properties / truncated / description

Previous value: -"Present and true only when matches remain beyond this page."New value: +"Present and true when more matches remain."

Changed7 schema fields changedOct 16, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / aircraftType / description

Previous value: -"Aircraft type code to match exactly (e.g. \"4\" for fixed-wing single-engine)."New value: +"FAA aircraft type code: 1–9, H (Hybrid Lift), O (Other), exact match. Trimmed and uppercased; blank is unset."

addedInput schema / properties / manufacturerModelCode

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Exact FAA manufacturer/model/series code: 6–7 alphanumeric characters, trimmed and uppercased; blank is unset. Discover codes with faa_search_aircraft_types. AND-combined with other filters.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedInput schema / properties / modeSCode / description

Previous value: -"Mode S code in hex to match exactly (ICAO 24-bit address)."New value: +"Six hexadecimal characters for the Mode S code (ICAO 24-bit address), exact match. Trimmed and uppercased; blank is unset."

changedInput schema / properties / state / description

Previous value: -"Two-letter state/territory abbreviation (exact match)."New value: +"Two ASCII letters for a state, territory or military postal code (e.g. WA, GU, AE, AP; exact match). Trimmed and uppercased; blank is unset."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `owner_search_disabled`: ownerName was supplied while owner-PII redaction is enabled on this deployment. `no_filters`: No search filter was supplied. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `invalid_code`: manufacturerModelCode is not 6–7 alphanumeric characters after normalization. `invalid_state`: state is not two ASCII letters. `invalid_mode_s_code`: modeSCode is not six hexadecimal characters. `invalid_aircraft_type`: aircraftType is not 1–9, H or O. `owner_search_disabled`: ownerName was supplied while owner-PII redaction is enabled on this deployment. `no_filters`: No search filter was supplied. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples

Previous value: -[
-  "owner_search_disabled",
-  "no_filters"
-]New value: +[
+  "invalid_code",
+  "invalid_state",
+  "invalid_mode_s_code",
+  "invalid_aircraft_type",
+  "owner_search_disabled",
+  "no_filters"
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / registrations / items / properties / manufacturerModelCode

Added value: +{
+  "description": "FAA manufacturer/model/series code (6–7 characters); use with faa_get_aircraft_type for specs or manufacturerModelCode to find registrations of the same type.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 25, 2026

changedInput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedOutput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedOutput schema / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "not": {
+      "required": [
+        "error"
+      ]
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "registrations",
+      "totalCount"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "required": [
+      "error"
+    ]
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / error

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
+  "properties": {
+    "code": {
+      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "properties": {
+        "reason": {
+          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `owner_search_disabled`: ownerName was supplied while owner-PII redaction is enabled on this deployment. `no_filters`: No search filter was supplied. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "owner_search_disabled",
+            "no_filters"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "recovery": {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
+          "properties": {
+            "hint": {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": [
+            "hint"
+          ],
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "retryable": {
+          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "code",
+    "message"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "registrations",
-  "totalCount"
-]

Changed9 schema fields changedJul 16, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / offset

Added value: +{
+  "default": 0,
+  "description": "Zero-based index of the first result to return — pass the nextOffset from a previous response, with identical filters, to page forward (default 0).",
+  "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / cap / description

Previous value: -"The limit that was applied (present only when capped)."New value: +"The limit that was applied (present only when truncated is set)."

addedOutput schema / properties / nextOffset

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Offset to request the next page; absent when this page reached the end of the matches.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Guidance when no registrations matched the supplied filters."New value: +"Guidance when no registrations matched, or when more matches remain."

changedOutput schema / properties / registrations / description

Previous value: -"Matching registration summaries (up to limit)."New value: +"Matching registration summaries for this page (up to limit)."

changedOutput schema / properties / shown / description

Previous value: -"Number of results returned (present only when capped)."New value: +"Number of results on this page (present only when truncated is set)."

addedOutput schema / properties / totalCount

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total registrations matching the filters, across all pages. Always present.",
+  "type": "number"
+}

changedOutput schema / properties / truncated / description

Previous value: -"Present and true only when the result set was capped at the limit — more matches exist."New value: +"Present and true only when matches remain beyond this page."

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "registrations"
-]New value: +[
+  "registrations",
+  "totalCount"
+]

First observedJun 16, 2026

TDQS

A4.5/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already declare readOnly/idempotent/closed-world, and the description adds non-obvious behavior: owner-name search is conditional on the deployment exposing owner PII, and responses carry totalCount across all pages plus nextOffset for paging. One friction point: 'at least one is required' conflicts with the schema's empty required list, leaving ambiguity about whether an unfiltered call is rejected.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Four sentences, front-loaded with the searchable dimensions, then alternatives, then constraints, then response shape. Every sentence carries distinct information with no redundancy against the schema or annotations.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a 9-parameter read tool with an output schema, the definition covers the constraint set, sibling routing, conditional owner-PII availability, and pagination contract. Nothing essential to correct invocation is missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so every parameter is already documented with formats, trimming rules and exact-vs-prefix matching. The description mostly restates the filter list, adding only the 'exact manufacturerModelCode' emphasis and the PII gate on ownerName, so the baseline 3 applies.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb ('Search') and resource ('active US civil aircraft registrations') and then enumerates the exact filter dimensions (owner name, make/model, manufacturerModelCode, serial number, state, aircraft type, Mode S). An agent can distinguish this from faa_lookup_registration (single full record) and faa_search_aircraft_types (code discovery) purely from the text.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicitly routes to siblings: use faa_search_aircraft_types to discover manufacturerModelCode values and faa_lookup_registration to expand a match into a full record. Also states the operational constraint that filters are AND-combined and at least one is required, which is exactly the precondition an agent needs before invoking.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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