Date: 202009
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Flight conditions: VMC
Light: Night
Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing
Operator: Corporate
Operating under: Part 125
Flight plan: IFR
Flight phase: Takeoff / Launch
Aircraft component: Aircraft Documentation
Component problem: Improperly Operated
Reporter organization: Corporate
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Human factors: Communication Breakdown
Second reporter function: Pilot Not Flying; First Officer
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Other Person
Result: General None Reported / Taken
Contributing factors: Procedure; Manuals; Environment - Non Weather Related; Human Factors
Primary problem: Human Factors

Narrative: I was scheduled to complete 3 takeoff and landings for currency.  The flight was completed uneventfully.  Today; I was contacted by a manager that it was discovered the aircraft registration had expired.  Typically we would be flying this aircraft frequently; but all of the passenger flights had been cancelled the remainder of the year due to COVID concerns. Crews (myself included) are scheduled at various times to complete currency takeoff and landings.  While we checked to make sure the registration was on board during our preflight; we did not notice that the date had expired.  When this was just discovered by management and maintenance of the expirations; our company self-notified to the appropriate agency.There are several factors that contributed to this. I had my own contribution to this error by not verifying the date on the registration was current. It was determined the paperwork got mailed to a central location to the company and not directly to our hangar location. With COVID causing a reduced workforce in the location of mail delivery; we never got the paperwork forwarded of renewal and it wasn't until the second notification (delayed by a several weeks) that we got the notification. We have also been shifting different service providers for flight/trip planning and never was a flag raised that we were close to expiration on this document. We also discovered this wasn't tracked specifically on a maintenance program. Lastly; we would typically fly an international trip several times a year (but haven't flown any in 2020) that the registration would also be copied and verified current. There was not just one; but several contributing factors to this error.  All these actions have already been corrected to prevent a future re occurrence. I have also learned from this that I made an assumption when checking to make sure the registration was on board that it was current; and that I didn't verify the date because I assumed it was tracked by several methods.  The take away that I have from this; even if I assumed somebody else has tracked and checked some of the items that was included on our interior inspection preflight; I need to be more detailed on some of my checks. This is even more prevalent in the current times when the flight hours are drastically reduced.


Second narrative: I flew an aircraft with an expired registration for landing currency. I ensured that the document was on board; but am guilty of not checking the date. It is my understanding that the registration is addressed to our corporate headquarters; not the hangar; and due to COVID restrictions limiting staff at headquarters; the reminder postcards never made it to our team. This is not an excuse for my actions; but I do believe it is a contributing factor in this event happening.We have already implemented corrective actions to ensure this never happens again. All of our registration certificates are now being tracked on our maintenance tracking software. We hired a company to automatically renew our registrations and have them delivered directly to our hangar. Additional training and language will be added to our company manuals to emphasize the need to ensure that we have valid and current documents on board for every flight.


Synopsis: Corporate flight crew reported flying the aircraft with the registration expired. US mail had been delayed plus a shortage of office staff due to COVID-19; were cited as factors in the procedural deviation.