Regulations

This is the longest chapter on the site because it is the largest slice of the test. The FAA’s test specification gives regulations 48 percent of the scored questions, which on a sixty-question sitting is about twenty-nine of them. Airspace is next at 20 percent, and every other area is smaller. A reader who knows this chapter well and is only decent at weather can still pass. The reverse is hard.

PSI UAG Applicant Information Bulletin (eff. 29 Sep 2025), test specifications

§ 2.1 — THE LAY OF THE LAND

How to read a regulation

A regulation is not a list of facts to memorize. It is a list of conditions, and each condition exists because someone, somewhere, got hurt or nearly did. If you can name the failure a rule prevents, you can usually reconstruct the number, and you can certainly spot the wrong answer whose number is slightly off. So every rule below comes in the same order: the reason first, then the rule, then the citation, and where it matters, a note on how the test words it.

Three documents carry most of the load. Part 107 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations is the rulebook for small drones flown outside the recreational exception. Part 48 covers registration and marking. Part 89 covers Remote ID. A few rules reach into Part 91, the general rules for manned aircraft, by cross-reference: alcohol and drugs, right-of-way, and temporary flight restrictions. The FAA’s Advisory Circular 107-2A is its plain-language commentary on all of it. An advisory circular is guidance, not law; when it says “must”, it is describing something a regulation already requires.

AC 107-2A ¶ 1.1.1 · ACS FAA-S-ACS-10, Area I task references

Part 107 itself is laid out in blocks. Subpart A (§ 107.1 to 107.9) says what the rules cover and what you owe the FAA: honesty, inspection, accident reports. Subpart B (§ 107.11 to 107.53) is the operating rules, the part you will live in. Subpart C (§ 107.56 to 107.79) is the certificate. Subpart D (§ 107.100 to 107.165) is flying over people and moving vehicles. The waiver sections (§ 107.200 and 107.205) close it out. The ACS, the FAA’s list of what the test covers, files waivers as a task of their own and labels it “subpart D”; the sections it means are § 107.200 and 107.205.

14 CFR § 107.11 · 14 CFR § 107.56 · 14 CFR § 107.100 · 14 CFR § 107.200

§ 2.2 — SUBPART A: GENERAL

Where the rules apply, and what you owe the FAA

Applicability, and the recreational exception

Part 107 applies to the registration, airman certification, and operation of civil small unmanned aircraft systems within the United States. It also decides which small aircraft are eligible to fly over people. “Civil” matters: government aircraft flown as public aircraft operations are outside it, along with air carrier operations.

14 CFR § 107.1(a) · AC 107-2A ¶ 4.1

The rule then lists what it does not cover. Air carrier operations are out. So is any aircraft subject to 49 U.S.C. 44809, which is the statute for limited recreational flying. So is an operation that someone holding a section 333 or 44807 exemption chooses to conduct under that exemption, and so is an operation someone elects to conduct under Part 91 with a small drone that has an airworthiness certificate. The AC adds, as outside Part 107, operations conducted outside the United States, amateur rockets, moored balloons, unmanned free balloons, and kites.

14 CFR § 107.1(b) · AC 107-2A ¶ 4.1

The recreational exception is the one you already know from the TRUST course. The statute lets a person fly a small drone without Part 107 certification if every one of a list of conditions holds: the flight is strictly recreational; it follows the safety guidelines of a community-based organization; it stays within visual line of sight of the operator or a co-located visual observer; it gives way to manned aircraft; it has prior authorization in Class B, C, D, or the surface area of Class E; in Class G it stays at or below 400 feet above ground level; the operator has passed the recreational aeronautical knowledge and safety test and can show proof; and the aircraft is registered and marked. Break any one condition and the flight is not a 44809 flight, which means it falls under Part 107 and its rules.

AC 107-2A ¶ 4.1, note 1 (49 U.S.C. § 44809(a))

What counts as “small”, and the other definitions

A small unmanned aircraft weighs less than 55 pounds on takeoff, including everything on board or otherwise attached to it. The reason is in the last clause. The FAA counts the camera, the battery, the sprayer tank, the thing you strapped to the belly. Weight is what determines how much damage a falling aircraft does, so the rule weighs the aircraft the way gravity does. “Less than 55” also means exactly 55 pounds is not small.

14 CFR § 107.3

The small unmanned aircraft system, “small UAS”, is the aircraft plus everything else needed to fly it safely: the communication links and the components that control it. So a regulation that says “the system must…” reaches the controller and the radio link, not only the airframe. The control station is the interface the remote pilot uses to control the flight path. Corrective lenses are spectacles or contact lenses, and nothing else; that definition is the hinge of the line-of-sight rule below. A visual observer is a person the remote pilot designates to help the remote pilot and the person at the controls see and avoid other air traffic and objects. The declaration of compliance is a record submitted to the FAA saying an aircraft meets the Category 2 or 3 requirements, and you will meet it again in the over-people section.

14 CFR § 107.3

The AC adds two role definitions you need. The remote pilot in command, or remote PIC, holds a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating and has final authority and responsibility for the operation and safety of the flight. The person manipulating the controls is someone other than the remote PIC who is flying under the remote PIC’s supervision. Anyone whose involvement is necessary for the safe operation is a direct participant. These three groups come up constantly, because Part 107 assigns duties by role.

AC 107-2A ¶ 4.2.6, 4.2.7, 5.1

One more point of scope: the FAA’s certification rules for aircraft (Part 21) do not apply to small UAS flown under Part 107, with a single exception. If the aircraft is going to fly over people under Category 4, it needs an airworthiness certificate issued under Part 21.

14 CFR § 107.2 · 14 CFR § 107.140(b)(1)

Falsification, reproduction, and alteration

The FAA cannot watch every flight. It depends on what owners, operators, and pilots tell it: on applications, reports, records, and certificates. So the rule is blunt. The government may act against an owner, operator, remote PIC, applicant for a declaration of compliance, or anyone else who fraudulently or knowingly provides false records or reports, or who reproduces or alters records, reports, or other information for fraudulent purposes. The sanctions include civil penalties and suspension or revocation of a certificate or a waiver. This covers a certificate, a rating, an authorization, a record, or a report, which is the ACS’s phrasing.

14 CFR § 107.5 · AC 107-2A ¶ 4.3

Carrying the certificate, and letting the FAA look

When you are exercising the privileges of the certificate, you must have your remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating and identification in your physical possession and readily accessible. A photo of it on your phone is a gamble; the rule says physical possession. The remote PIC, the owner, or the person at the controls must present the certificate and identification, on request, to the Administrator, an authorized representative of the NTSB, any federal, state, or local law enforcement officer, or an authorized representative of the TSA. The identification must show the photograph, signature, and date of birth items that the knowledge test also requires. You must also make available any document, record, or report required to be kept.

14 CFR § 107.7(a) · 14 CFR § 107.67(b)

The second half of the rule is about the aircraft and the people. The remote PIC, visual observer, owner, operator, or person at the controls must, on request, allow the Administrator to make any test or inspection of the small UAS, the remote PIC, the person at the controls, and the visual observer, to determine compliance. Anyone holding an accepted declaration of compliance must also hand over that declaration and its records, and let the FAA inspect facilities, technical data, and manufactured aircraft.

14 CFR § 107.7(b), (c), (d)

When something goes wrong: accident reporting

Not every crash is reportable, and the thresholds are the question. Within 10 calendar days of the operation, the remote PIC must report to the FAA any operation of the small drone that involved at least one of two things. First, serious injury to any person, or any loss of consciousness. Second, damage to property other than the drone itself, unless the cost of repair (materials and labor) does not exceed $500, or the fair market value of the property does not exceed $500 in the event of total loss.

14 CFR § 107.9

Read the property test twice, because it is built backwards from how it feels. Property damage is reportable unless it is cheap to fix, or the property was cheap to begin with. So both numbers must exceed $500 for a report to be required. The AC’s examples: a $200 object that costs $600 to repair is not reportable, because its market value is under $500; a $600 object with $200 of damage is not reportable either, because the repair cost is under $500. “Serious injury” means level 3 or higher on the Abbreviated Injury Scale: a person who needs hospitalization but can fully heal, such as a broken bone or a cut that needs stitches.

AC 107-2A ¶ 4.4

The report goes to the FAA, electronically or by telephone to the regional operations center, or to the responsible Flight Standards office. It should include your name and contact information, certificate number, the aircraft registration number, the location, date and local time, whether anyone was seriously injured or killed, what was damaged and how badly, and what happened. Separately, the NTSB’s own regulations, 49 CFR Part 830, require immediate notification of a drone accident in which anyone suffers death or serious injury, or in which an aircraft of 300 pounds or more sustains substantial damage. The FAA report and the NTSB notification are different obligations.

AC 107-2A ¶ 4.4.1, 4.4.2

Three loose ends the ACS files under “General”

Record retention. A remote pilot flying a small drone under Part 107 is not required by Part 107 to keep a flight log, though the AC encourages maintenance and inspection recordkeeping because it shows a pattern and a service history. The retention rules in the regulation attach to people who produce and declare things. A person who submits a declaration of compliance must keep the supporting information for two years after production of the aircraft ends (if they produced it) or two years after they submitted the declaration (if they designed or modified it). A person who submits a means of compliance must keep its description and justification for as long as it remains accepted. For Category 4, the owner keeps maintenance, alteration, and inspection records for one year from completion of the work or until the work is repeated or superseded, and the records on life-limited parts, inspection status, and airworthiness directives travel with the aircraft when it is sold. And whatever the records are, section 107.7 says you must make them available to the Administrator on request.

14 CFR § 107.165 · 14 CFR § 107.140(c)(4) · 14 CFR § 107.7(a)(3) · AC 107-2A ¶ 7.3.5

Multiple category aircraft. Some drones can behave as a Category 2 aircraft in one mode and as an ordinary aircraft in another, or can be reconfigured with different propellers or guards. The regulation allows this, on one condition: the remote PIC cannot inadvertently switch between modes or configurations. The reasoning is plain. A label that says Category 2 is a promise about the aircraft as it will fly. If a stray tap on the controller can turn it into something else mid-flight, the promise is empty. The AC’s sample operating instructions show a three-position flight mode switch: mode G for any operation not over people, mode 2 for Category 2 operations, and mode 3 for Category 3.

14 CFR § 107.150 · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.12.2, Fig. 8-2

Previously manufactured aircraft. A drone built before the over-people rules existed is not grounded by them. It can fly under Part 107 like any other small aircraft. What it cannot do is be treated as Category 2 or 3 by default. If it was never labeled, the remote pilot has to find out whether the aircraft is listed on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance, and if it is, the pilot is responsible for labeling it as Section 107.135 requires. If a Category 2 or 3 label is damaged, destroyed, or missing, the remote PIC must replace it with one that is in English, legible, prominent, and will stay on for the duration of the operation, before flying over people. The same logic applies to Remote ID: an older aircraft without built-in broadcast can still fly legally if it carries a broadcast module, or if it flies inside a recognized identification area, as covered below.

14 CFR § 107.135 · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.11.2.3 · 14 CFR § 89.115

§ 2.3 — SUBPART B: THE PILOT AND THE AIRCRAFT

Who may fly, and what must be true of the aircraft

The certificate, and the supervised hand

No one may manipulate the flight controls of a small UAS unless they hold a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating and are current under § 107.65, or are under the direct supervision of a remote PIC who can immediately take direct control. No one may act as remote PIC without the certificate and the currency. The second clause is what lets you hand the controller to a friend or a trainee: they need no certificate, but you need your hand ready to take over. The AC gives three ways to satisfy that. A “buddy box” with two control stations lets the remote PIC override. The remote PIC can stand close enough to take the controller physically. Or an automation mode, such as hover or return home, can be engaged on command.

14 CFR § 107.12(a), (b) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.2.2

Two certificated pilots may also hand over the remote PIC role mid-flight, as long as the handover is positively communicated and both can keep the aircraft in visual line of sight. The one who takes the role takes the responsibility. The FAA may also authorize a foreign airman to fly a foreign-registered small drone without an FAA certificate.

AC 107-2A ¶ 5.2.1.1 · 14 CFR § 107.12(c)

Registration

Section 107.13 is one sentence: a person operating a civil small UAS must comply with the aircraft registration rule in § 91.203(a)(2). In plain terms, the aircraft has to be registered. The details of who registers what, and for how much, live in Part 48, and they are collected in their own section near the end of this chapter.

14 CFR § 107.13

Condition for safe operation

Before each flight, the remote PIC must check the system to see whether it is in a condition for safe operation, and no one may operate a small UAS that is not. Separately, no one may continue a flight once they know or have reason to know the system is no longer safe. The second half is the one pilots forget: the duty does not end at takeoff. A low-battery warning that goes unheeded, a vibration that was not there a minute ago, a control that feels mushy, all trigger it.

14 CFR § 107.15

The check belongs to the remote PIC, not to the manufacturer or the owner. Manufacturers’ inspection procedures are the best guide, and where none exist the operator should build one: the AC suggests the Part 43 appendix D inspection list as a model, and recommends setting your own maintenance schedule when the maker supplies none.

AC 107-2A ¶ 5.5, 7.2.1.1, 7.3.3

Medical condition

You do not need an aviation medical certificate. You do need honesty. No one may manipulate the controls or act as remote PIC, visual observer, or direct participant if they know or have reason to know they have a physical or mental condition that would interfere with safe operation. The AC’s examples are practical: losing the dexterity to operate the controller, blurred vision that defeats see-and-avoid, medication that warns against driving, a migraine or severe pain, or a hearing or speech problem that blocks communication with the crew. In that last case the remote PIC arranges another means, such as sign language. Conditions like epilepsy are the remote PIC’s call: the AC puts the responsibility on the pilot to decide whether the condition is under control.

14 CFR § 107.17 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.6, 5.6.1, 5.16.1

The remote pilot in command

A remote PIC must be designated before or during the flight. That person is directly responsible for, and the final authority as to, the operation of the system. They must ensure the aircraft poses no undue hazard to other people, other aircraft, or property in the event of loss of control “for any reason”, must ensure the operation complies with all applicable regulations, and must be able to direct the aircraft to ensure that compliance.

14 CFR § 107.19

Automation does not change who is responsible. In an automated flight, the pilot enters a plan, and the aircraft flies it. The remote PIC must still be able to change the route or altitude, or command a landing, at any moment. Using automation also does not allow anyone to fly more than one aircraft at a time.

AC 107-2A ¶ 5.2.3, 5.2.3.1, 5.2.3.2

In-flight emergencies

In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the remote PIC may deviate from any rule of Part 107 to the extent necessary to meet the emergency. A remote PIC who does so must, only if the Administrator asks, send a written report of the deviation. The AC defines an in-flight emergency as an unexpected and unforeseen serious occurrence that requires urgent, prompt action, and says to act so as to minimize injury or damage.

14 CFR § 107.21 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.18

§ 2.4 — SUBPART B: CONDUCT

What you may not do while flying

Careless, reckless, and dropping things

No one may operate a small UAS in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another. No one may allow an object to be dropped from the aircraft in a manner that creates an undue hazard to persons or property. Look at the second clause: it does not ban dropping things, only hazardous drops. A crop-spray drone drops liquid on purpose; a package drone releases a parcel. The rule bites when the drop lands on someone. The AC’s example of careless operation is a pilot who ignores wind effects near structures, trees, or rolling terrain in a populated area.

14 CFR § 107.23 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.19

Moving vehicles and aircraft

No one may operate a small UAS from a moving aircraft. No one may operate it from a moving land or water-borne vehicle unless the drone is flown over a sparsely populated area and is not carrying another person’s property for compensation or hire. The logic: a moving aircraft is a poor place to keep watch on another aircraft, so that is a flat ban. A moving car or boat is allowed only where a failure endangers no one, which is what “sparsely populated” is for: think of a boat survey or a slow farm vehicle. State and local traffic laws still apply to anyone driving.

14 CFR § 107.25 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.14, 5.14.2

This rule can be waived, including the sparsely-populated condition, but never to carry another person’s property for pay.

14 CFR § 107.205(a) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.14.1

Alcohol and drugs

Anyone manipulating the controls, acting as remote PIC, or serving as visual observer must comply with §§ 91.17 and 91.19. The rules in § 91.17 come down to this: no one may serve in those roles within 8 hours after drinking any alcoholic beverage, while under the influence of alcohol, with a blood alcohol concentration of .04 percent or greater, or while using a drug that affects mental or physical capabilities. Section 91.19 is the companion rule on narcotics, marijuana, and depressant or stimulant drugs.

14 CFR § 107.27 · 14 CFR § 91.17 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.16

The certificate itself is at risk too. A conviction under a federal or state drug statute is grounds for denying a certificate application for up to one year after the final conviction, or for suspending or revoking an existing certificate. Committing an act prohibited by § 91.17(a) or § 91.19(a) carries the same consequences, with the one-year clock running from the act. And refusing a law enforcement request for an alcohol test, or refusing to furnish or authorize release of test results the FAA asks for, is grounds for the same denial, suspension, or revocation.

14 CFR § 107.57 · 14 CFR § 107.59

Hazardous materials, property, and multiple aircraft

A small drone may not carry hazardous material as defined in 49 CFR 171.8, unless the operator holds an exemption that permits it. Carrying ordinary property for pay is allowed, but within limits: the AC says it must be conducted within a confined area, wholly inside a single State, within visual line of sight, with the aircraft and its load together under 55 pounds. Visual line of sight cannot be waived for carrying another person’s property for compensation or hire, and a moving vehicle cannot be the launch point for such a flight either.

14 CFR § 107.36 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.15, 5.15.1, 5.15.2 · 14 CFR § 107.205(c)

No person may manipulate the controls of, or act as remote PIC or visual observer for, more than one unmanned aircraft at the same time. One pilot’s attention is the limited resource. The rule can be waived (one of the waivable items), but the waiver is a deliberate safety case, not a default.

14 CFR § 107.35 · 14 CFR § 107.205(e)

§ 2.5 — SUBPART B: SEEING AND BEING SEEN

Line of sight, observers, right-of-way, and the dark

Visual line of sight

With vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, the remote PIC, the visual observer if one is used, and the person at the controls must be able to see the aircraft throughout the entire flight. The point of seeing it is fourfold: to know where it is; to determine its attitude, altitude, and direction of flight; to observe the airspace for other traffic or hazards; and to determine that it does not endanger anyone’s life or property. That ability is exercised either by the remote PIC and the person at the controls, or by a visual observer.

14 CFR § 107.31

“Unaided” is where the test lives. Binoculars may be used only momentarily, for example to check you are not about to drift over a person. First-person-view goggles and the live video on your controller screen do not satisfy the rule, because a camera shows what the camera sees and not the sky around the aircraft. Glancing down at a battery readout is fine. There is no stated number of seconds you may look away, precisely because a fixed number would permit a hazardous gap; regain sight as soon as practicable, and have a plan (hover, land, return home) for when you cannot. At night, you cannot lean solely on the aircraft’s light or the telemetry display to meet the rule.

AC 107-2A ¶ 5.9, 5.9.1, 5.9.3

Visual observers

A visual observer is optional. If you use one, the remote PIC, the person at the controls, and the observer must maintain effective communication at all times; the remote PIC must make sure the observer can see the aircraft as § 107.31 describes; and the three must coordinate to scan the airspace for collision hazards and keep track of the aircraft by direct visual observation. The AC adds that the method of communication must be settled before the flight, and a handheld radio is acceptable. The observer lets the pilot look at displays while someone else keeps eyes on the aircraft, but the pilot and the person at the controls still keep the capability to see it.

14 CFR § 107.33 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.9.2, 5.9.2.1, 5.9.2.2

Staying away from other aircraft

Every small unmanned aircraft must yield the right of way to all aircraft, airborne vehicles, and launch and reentry vehicles. Yielding means giving way and not passing over, under, or ahead unless well clear. In addition, no one may operate so close to another aircraft as to create a collision hazard.

14 CFR § 107.37

Why so absolute? Among manned aircraft there is a ladder of who gives way to whom: the aircraft on the right has the right of way when two converge, a balloon beats every other category, a glider beats a powered aircraft. A drone is not on the ladder. It is below the bottom rung, always, because the pilot of a manned aircraft cannot be expected to find and dodge an object the size of a dinner plate. Section 91.113 uses the same words, “well clear”, and requires vigilance to see and avoid. The practical technique is a scan in short stops, not a stare. The FAA study guide describes stops about 30 degrees wide, none longer than two to three seconds, each overlapping the last by 10 degrees. The FAA’s sample question on this asks which technique to use, and the answer is to focus systematically on different segments of the sky for short intervals; “continuously scan from right to left” is the tempting wrong option. See right-of-way and see-and-avoid for encounter scenes.

14 CFR § 91.113(b), (d) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.13 · FAA-G-8082-22, Ch. 9 · FAA sample question 6

You must also act before the other aircraft has to. The AC says the remote PIC must take action so that other aircraft will not need to maneuver to avoid the drone.

AC 107-2A ¶ 5.13

Daylight, civil twilight, and night

Think of the day in three bands. Daylight needs nothing special: no light is required. The half hour around sunrise and sunset, civil twilight, needs the aircraft’s anti-collision lighting. Real night, after the evening twilight ends and before the morning twilight begins, needs the lighting and a pilot who has passed the updated knowledge test or training. The lighting must be visible for at least 3 statute miles and have a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision. The remote PIC may reduce its intensity, but may not extinguish it, if they decide that dimming is in the interest of safety.

14 CFR § 107.29(a), (b)

For the purpose of this rule, civil twilight outside Alaska is the 30 minutes before official sunrise (ending at sunrise) and the 30 minutes after official sunset (starting at sunset). In Alaska it follows the Air Almanac. Night, in the AC’s account of the FAA’s general definition, runs from the end of evening civil twilight to the start of morning civil twilight. So an hour after sunset is night; twenty minutes after sunset is civil twilight.

14 CFR § 107.29(c) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.7

The training condition is dated. A pilot must have completed an initial knowledge test, or recurrent training, after April 6, 2021, because the material on night physiology and night visual illusions entered both on that date. If your certificate predates the change, your next recurrent training adds the night material and brings your night privileges with it. If you are taking the test today, you have it already.

14 CFR § 107.29(a)(1) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.7.2, 5.7.2.1 FAA sample questions 27 and 40 · 14 CFR § 107.205(b)

Operations over people at night follow the same categories as in daylight. The categories do not change because it is dark; manufacturers of Category 2 and 3 aircraft that want night privileges should account for the light’s weight in their injury-energy numbers.

AC 107-2A ¶ 8.14, 8.14.1

§ 2.6 — SUBPART B: WHERE YOU MAY FLY

Airspace, airports, restricted areas, and temporary restrictions

This section is the regulation side of airspace: the rule that says “you need permission here”. What the airspace classes look like, and how to recognize them on a chart, is the job of the airspace chapter and the charts chapter. Here you only need the rules.

Controlled airspace needs prior authorization

No one may operate a small unmanned aircraft in Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace, or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, without prior authorization from air traffic control. Controllers in those areas are sequencing manned aircraft on a plan; a drone appearing in the middle of it is a surprise they cannot manage. In Class G and in the rest of Class E, no authorization is needed. The key word is “prior”: you ask first, you do not call after launch.

14 CFR § 107.41 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.10 · FAA-G-8082-22, Ch. 2

In practice the FAA offers an automated way to request it, called LAANC; Part 107 itself never mentions LAANC, and the test asks only about the requirement. The AC points to the FAA UAS website for the current process and to the B4UFLY app and current charts for knowing what airspace you are in. It also says that ATC may approve or deny based on traffic density, controller workload, and other factors, and that ATC does not weigh extra equipment such as geo-fencing; a pilot who wants to rely on such mitigations applies for a certificate of waiver instead. This rule is waivable.

AC 107-2A ¶ 5.10, 5.10.2, 5.10.4 · 14 CFR § 107.205(h)

Airports and traffic patterns

Even where no authorization is needed, no one may operate a small unmanned aircraft in a manner that interferes with operations and traffic patterns at any airport, heliport, or seaplane base. An airport in Class G airspace needs no notification, but the pilot must know and stay out of the traffic pattern and approach corridors, and must yield right of way to all other aircraft, including those on the surface. The AC’s example is a drone hovering 200 feet above a runway: it breaks no right-of-way rule, but it makes a manned aircraft hold short or delay a landing, and that alone is interference.

14 CFR § 107.43 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.10.1, 5.10.1.1, 5.10.1.2

Prohibited and restricted areas

No one may operate a small unmanned aircraft in prohibited or restricted areas without permission from the using or controlling agency, as appropriate. These are areas the government has set aside for national security or hazardous activity. The permission has to come from whoever runs the area.

14 CFR § 107.45

Temporary flight restrictions and NOTAMs

The remote PIC must comply with §§ 91.137 through 91.145 and § 99.7, the rules for temporary flight restrictions around disasters, hazards, VIP movements, and large public events. The AC tells the remote PIC to check NOTAMs before every flight, and names 1800wxbrief.com and tfr.faa.gov. A company sponsoring a race does not exempt its drone from a TFR over the race, and a notification to the people at the event is not a substitute.

14 CFR § 107.47 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.10.3 · FAA sample questions 14, 46

§ 2.7 — SUBPART B: BEFORE AND DURING FLIGHT

Preflight, and the four operating limits

Preflight

Before flight the remote PIC must assess the operating environment, including risks to people and property on the surface and in the air. The assessment must cover local weather, local airspace and flight restrictions, the location of persons and property on the surface, and other ground hazards. The remote PIC must also make sure everyone directly participating is told the operating conditions, emergency and contingency procedures, roles, and hazards; that the control links work; that there is enough power for the intended flight time; that anything carried is secure and does not hurt controllability; and, for an operation over people, that the aircraft meets the relevant subpart D requirements.

14 CFR § 107.49 FAA sample questions 29 and 33 · 14 CFR § 107.15 · 14 CFR § 107.49

Groundspeed

The groundspeed of the aircraft may not exceed 87 knots, which is 100 miles per hour. Groundspeed is speed over the ground, so a tailwind adds to it. A drone with an airspeed of 70 knots in a 20-knot tailwind is doing 90 over the ground, and that is a violation.

14 CFR § 107.51(a) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.12.1

Altitude: 400 feet, and the structure exception

The aircraft may not be higher than 400 feet above ground level, unless it is flown within a 400-foot radius of a structure and does not fly higher than 400 feet above the structure’s immediate uppermost limit. Two details trip people. The 400 is measured above the ground below the aircraft, not above your launch point, so flying uphill on rising terrain keeps you at 400 AGL even as your MSL altitude climbs. And the structure exception is a pair of conditions at once: within the radius and under the new ceiling.

14 CFR § 107.51(b) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.12.2

Visibility

The minimum flight visibility, observed from the location of the control station, may not be less than 3 statute miles. Flight visibility is defined as the average slant distance from the control station at which prominent unlighted objects can be seen and identified by day, and prominent lighted objects by night. The measure is taken where you stand, not at the airport three miles away; the AC says to use the nearest representative aviation weather report, and that if none is available, you cannot fly until you determine the visibility by other reliable means.

14 CFR § 107.51(c) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.12.3

Cloud clearance

The aircraft must stay at least 500 feet below a cloud and at least 2,000 feet horizontally from it. The reason is not arbitrary. A manned aircraft can drop out of a cloud at 150 knots with no chance to see you, and the buffers are the time a pilot needs to spot a small object and get clear of it. Visualize a keep-out zone: the cloud, a 2,000-foot apron around it, and a 500-foot skirt beneath. Try it yourself in the cloud clearance lesson.

14 CFR § 107.51(d) · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.12.3

Section 107.51 is on the waivable list, which covers all four limits: a waiver might allow, for example, a higher altitude in a defined area, on stated conditions.

14 CFR § 107.205(i)

Transponders and ADS-B Out

Unless otherwise authorized, no one may operate a small UAS under Part 107 with an ATC transponder on, or with ADS-B Out equipment in transmit mode. Those systems are built for aircraft with pilots aboard; the logic is that a drone using them would put traffic on the displays of pilots and controllers that looks like a manned aircraft and is not. Remote ID, which tells the ground who a drone is, is the system built for drones, and the Remote ID rules separately say ADS-B Out cannot be used to meet them.

14 CFR § 107.52 · 14 CFR § 107.53 · 14 CFR § 89.125

§ 2.8 — SUBPART D: OVER PEOPLE AND MOVING VEHICLES

Flying over human beings

The base rule, and why it exists

No one may operate a small unmanned aircraft over a human being unless one of three things is true. The person is directly participating in the operation. Or the person is under a covered structure or inside a stationary vehicle that can provide reasonable protection from a falling aircraft. Or the operation meets the requirements of one of the four operational categories in subpart D.

14 CFR § 107.39

Remember that the remote PIC must ensure no undue hazard if control is lost for any reason. Over people there are only two honest ways to meet that. Keep people out from underneath, or build an aircraft that will not seriously hurt someone when it comes down. The first is operational and the second is engineering, and the categories are the engineering answer. Direct participants are the crew: the remote PIC, anyone at the controls, a visual observer, and anyone else whose role is necessary for the safe flight.

AC 107-2A ¶ 8.3

Choosing the area, and the distance question

The simplest compliance is a location with no people and none expected for the duration, and a plan to keep people clear if some are around: ask them to stay indoors or under cover, hold the flight until they are clear, and fly no route that passes over moving vehicles. The remote PIC should account for course, speed, trajectory, and the possibility of a failure.

AC 107-2A ¶ 8.3

Here is a place where intuition misleads. Part 107 does not set a minimum stand-off distance from people. There is no “keep 25 feet away” rule. The AC says the remote PIC may choose a distance and gives factors: the aircraft’s performance, wind and gusts, how people and vehicles are moving, probable failures and the ability to land in an emergency, and the pilot’s own familiarity with the machine. Distance is a judgment, and the judgment is yours.

AC 107-2A ¶ 8.3.1

When flying over people under a category, the remote PIC has extra duties on top of the usual ones: confirm the aircraft is in the category being flown, confirm it carries the required label and appears on an accepted declaration of compliance (the FAA keeps a public list), and do a more thorough preflight. Section 107.49(f) puts the check in the regulation.

AC 107-2A ¶ 8.12.2.3, 8.13 · 14 CFR § 107.49(f)

The four categories

Category 1 is the lightest. The aircraft must weigh 0.55 pounds or less on takeoff and throughout the operation, including everything on board or attached, and must have no exposed rotating parts that would lacerate human skin on impact. No declaration and no label are required; the pilot is the one who checks the weight and the propellers. The AC gives 0.55 pounds as 250 grams. The weight must hold the whole time, so a heavier battery or a bolted-on camera that tips it over 0.55 pounds takes it out of Category 1.

14 CFR § 107.110(a) · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.2, 8.3.4, 8.11.1

Category 2 and Category 3 are performance-based. The aircraft must be designed, produced, or modified so that it will not cause an injury equal to or greater than that of a transfer of a stated amount of kinetic energy from a rigid object: 11 foot-pounds for Category 2 and 25 for Category 3. It must have no exposed rotating parts that would lacerate skin and no safety defects. And it must be on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance and wear a label saying which category it is.

14 CFR § 107.115(a) · 14 CFR § 107.120(a) · 14 CFR § 107.125(a) · 14 CFR § 107.130(a)

The difference between them is where you may fly. Category 2 carries no location limit beyond the open-air-assembly condition below. Category 3 allows a heavier hit, so it comes with location limits: it may not be flown over open-air assemblies at all, and it may operate over people only inside a closed or restricted-access site where everyone is on notice that a drone may fly over them, or elsewhere only if it does not maintain sustained flight over any person who is not participating and not under cover.

14 CFR § 107.125(b), (c)

Category 4 is the certified route. The aircraft must have an airworthiness certificate under Part 21, must be flown within the operating limitations of its flight manual (which must not prohibit flying over people), and must be maintained under § 107.140(c). The owner keeps maintenance records for one year, and the records on life-limited parts, inspection status, and airworthiness directives go with the aircraft when it is sold. Compliance with Part 43 and Part 91, subpart E, satisfies the maintenance items.

14 CFR § 107.140

How an aircraft earns its category

Anyone who designs, produces, or modifies a small aircraft for Category 2 or 3 is the “applicant”. The applicant proves the aircraft meets the injury and laceration limits using a means of compliance, which must consist of test, analysis, or inspection, and which the FAA must accept before anyone relies on it. A means of compliance can come from a voluntary consensus standards body such as ASTM or SAE, or from an individual, or from the FAA itself. The FAA provides one: calculate the maximum impact kinetic energy as 0.0155 times the weight in pounds times the square of the impact speed in feet per second. A 1.0-pound aircraft hitting at 26 feet per second comes to about 10.5 foot-pounds, inside the Category 2 limit of 11; at 40 feet per second it is about 24.8, just inside Category 3’s 25. Heavier aircraft must be slower: 3 pounds is limited to about 15 feet per second for Category 2.

14 CFR § 107.155 · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.5, 8.6.1.5, 8.6.1.6, Table 8-5

Having shown it, the applicant submits a declaration of compliance. It names the applicant, the make and model, the serial numbers it covers, the means of compliance used, and a statement that the aircraft meets the limits, has no safety defects, and that the applicant keeps a product support and notification process to tell owners and the FAA about problems, and will let the FAA inspect. The FAA publishes accepted declarations and can rescind one. The applicant keeps the supporting information for two years. The rule on exposed rotating parts turns on the word “lacerate”: a laceration is a cut through the skin and an abrasion is a surface scrape, and only the first disqualifies. Propeller guards, ducted fans, and flexible blades are ways to comply.

14 CFR § 107.160 · 14 CFR § 107.165 · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.7.6, 8.9.1, 8.10.4

On the aircraft’s side, three things travel with it. A label, in English, legible, prominent, and permanently affixed. Remote pilot operating instructions, provided on sale or transfer, which must describe the system (the required components, limitations, and categories), the modifications that will not change eligibility, and how to verify and change the mode or configuration if it varies. And the product support process. The AC’s sample instructions list the required components for each category (the airframe, the controller, the battery, and the category-specific blades and guards) and optional components such as a camera: you may swap in only a pre-approved one, and attach no other payload unless the instructions list it.

14 CFR § 107.120(b) · 14 CFR § 107.130(b) · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.12.2, Fig. 8-2 AC 107-2A ¶ 8.3.6.5, 8.4.3, 8.4.4, 8.4.5

Open-air assemblies, closed sites, and moving vehicles

A remote PIC may not operate a Category 1, 2, or 4 aircraft in sustained flight over an open-air assembly of human beings unless the operation meets § 89.110 or § 89.115(a), which means the aircraft is broadcasting Remote ID, either as a standard Remote ID aircraft or with a broadcast module. Flying inside a recognized identification area does not count. Category 3 may not be flown over open-air assemblies at all. The regulation does not define “open-air assembly”. The AC says it means dense gatherings in the open, such as concerts, sporting events, parades, protests, political rallies, festivals, or parks and beaches during events, and that it is decided case by case. A single person on a beach is not an assembly. A brief, one-time transit incidental to a point-to-point flight does not count as sustained flight.

14 CFR § 107.110(b) · 14 CFR § 107.115(b) · 14 CFR § 107.140(a)(2) · 14 CFR § 107.125(b) · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.3.2, 8.3.2.1, 8.3.6.4

A closed or restricted-access site is one where the remote PIC controls who can be present. Everyone inside must be on notice that a drone may fly over them, and the remote PIC is responsible for making sure nobody wanders in. The AC suggests fences and barricades, monitoring personnel, or geographic boundaries such as rivers, cliffs, and dense woods. “Sustained flight” means hovering above a person’s head, flying back and forth over them, or circling so that part of them stays beneath the aircraft.

14 CFR § 107.125(c)(1) · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.3.6.6, 8.3.6.7

Moving vehicles follow the same pattern. No one may operate over a human being inside a moving vehicle unless the operation meets one of the categories, and, for Categories 1 to 3, the aircraft stays within or over a closed or restricted-access site where those inside the vehicles are on notice, or does not maintain sustained flight over moving vehicles. Category 4 follows its flight manual. The two rules that govern all of this, § 107.39 and § 107.145, are both on the waivable list.

14 CFR § 107.145 · 14 CFR § 107.205(g), (j) · AC 107-2A ¶ 8.3.3

§ 2.9 — SUBPART C: THE CERTIFICATE

Getting it, keeping it, losing it

To be eligible for a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating, a person must be at least 16, able to read, speak, write, and understand English (if a medical reason prevents one of these, the FAA may place limits on the certificate instead), have no known physical or mental condition that would interfere with safe operation, and demonstrate aeronautical knowledge. For most people that means passing the initial knowledge test. A holder of a Part 61 pilot certificate (other than a student certificate) with a current flight review completes online training instead.

14 CFR § 107.61 · AC 107-2A ¶ 6.3

The application goes to the FAA with evidence that you passed. The practical path is: get an FAA Tracking Number through the FAA’s IACRA website before you test, pass the test at an approved testing center, then apply online with FAA Form 8710-13. The TSA vets you, and you can print a temporary certificate. A temporary certificate lasts up to 120 calendar days, until the permanent one arrives, or until a notice of denial or revocation. The step-by-step version is on the logistics page.

14 CFR § 107.63 · 14 CFR § 107.64 · AC 107-2A ¶ 6.4, 6.5, 6.6

The test, as the regulation sees it

The test is given in the manner the Administrator designates, and you must bring identification with your photograph, signature, date of birth, and permanent mailing address (a residential address if the mailing one is a post office box). The passing grade is set by the Administrator; the FAA’s test specification gives 70 percent of 60 scored questions in 120 minutes, and the passing report stays valid for applying for 24 calendar months. If you fail, you wait 14 calendar days to retest, with no instructor endorsement needed.

14 CFR § 107.67 · 14 CFR § 107.71 · FAA-S-ACS-10, Appendix 1 and 3 · PSI UAG Applicant Information Bulletin

Cheating has teeth. You may not copy or remove the test, give or receive any part of it or any help during it, take it for someone else or be represented by someone else, or use any unauthorized aid. An applicant found to have done so is barred for one year from applying for any certificate, rating, or authorization under the whole chapter and from taking any test, and any certificate already held may be suspended or revoked.

14 CFR § 107.69

The thirteen subjects the test covers are set out in § 107.73: regulations, airspace, weather sources and effects, loading, emergency procedures, crew resource management, radio communication, aircraft performance, physiological effects of drugs and alcohol, aeronautical decision-making, airport operations, maintenance and preflight inspection, and night operations. The shorter training list for Part 61 pilots in § 107.74 drops airspace, radio communication, the physiological effects of drugs and alcohol, decision-making, and airport operations.

14 CFR § 107.73 · 14 CFR § 107.74

Staying current

A certificate does not by itself let you fly. To exercise the privileges of remote PIC you must also have, within the previous 24 calendar months, passed the initial knowledge test, or completed recurrent training on the § 107.73 subjects (or, for Part 61 pilots, the § 107.74 training). The word “calendar” matters: the window runs to the end of the 24th month, not 730 days. The FAA’s example is a test passed 13 September 2020, which keeps you current through 30 September 2022. If you let it lapse, you may not act as remote PIC until you complete the training; you can still fly under the direct supervision of a current remote PIC. And if you renew early, the clock restarts from the early date: training done 15 July 2020 means the next is due by 31 July 2022, not September.

14 CFR § 107.65 · 14 CFR § 107.12(a) · AC 107-2A ¶ 6.7.2, Fig. 6-1

Two housekeeping rules close the subpart. If you move, you may not exercise the privileges of your certificate after 30 days unless you have notified the FAA of the new address. And you may voluntarily surrender the certificate for cancellation, with a statement that it will not be reissued unless you meet the requirements again.

14 CFR § 107.77(c) · 14 CFR § 107.79

§ 2.10 — WAIVERS

When the FAA lets you break a rule

The Administrator may issue a certificate of waiver authorizing a deviation from a regulation on the list, if the proposed operation can safely be conducted under the terms of the waiver. The request must contain a complete description of the operation and a justification showing it can be done safely. The FAA may add conditions, and the holder may deviate only to the extent the waiver specifies and must comply with its conditions. The AC encourages applying at least 60 days before the operation.

14 CFR § 107.200 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.20.2

The list is closed. A waiver may reach § 107.25 (moving vehicles), § 107.29(a)(2) and (b) (anti-collision lighting), § 107.31 (line of sight), § 107.33 (visual observer), § 107.35 (multiple aircraft), § 107.37(a) (yielding right of way), § 107.39 (over people), § 107.41 (controlled airspace authorization), § 107.51 (the operating limits), and § 107.145 (moving vehicles over people). Two carve-outs say the FAA will not waive moving-vehicle operation or line of sight so as to carry another person’s property for compensation or hire.

14 CFR § 107.205

Everything not on that list cannot be waived: the certificate requirement, the condition and medical rules, the remote PIC’s responsibility, careless operation, alcohol and drugs, hazardous materials, the airport rule, prohibited areas and TFRs, preflight, and the transponder and ADS-B rules. Notice what splits within one section: the night lighting can be waived, but the night training requirement in § 107.29(a)(1) cannot.

§ 2.11 — REMOTE ID

Remote ID, in brief

Remote ID is a drone’s license plate sent by radio: a broadcast that tells the ground what the aircraft is and where it and its pilot are. After 16 September 2023, no one may operate an unmanned aircraft in U.S. airspace unless the operation meets § 89.110 or § 89.115. It applies to aircraft registered or required to be registered, and to foreign civil aircraft operating here. There are three ways to comply.

14 CFR § 89.101 · 14 CFR § 89.105

A standard Remote ID aircraft has the capability built in. From takeoff to shutdown it must broadcast the message elements of § 89.305: its identity (a serial number or a session ID), the latitude, longitude, and geometric altitude of both the control station and the aircraft, the aircraft’s velocity, a time mark, and its emergency status. Its serial number must be on an accepted declaration of compliance and on the registration, and the function must be working and not disabled. If it stops broadcasting, the person at the controls must land as soon as practicable. A standard aircraft is designed so that it cannot take off if the equipment is not working.

14 CFR § 89.110 · 14 CFR § 89.305 · 14 CFR § 89.310(c), (i)

An aircraft without built-in Remote ID can carry a broadcast module. The module broadcasts its own serial number, the aircraft’s latitude, longitude, geometric altitude and velocity, the take-off location, and a time mark. Note what differs: the module reports the take-off point where a standard aircraft reports the control station’s position, and it sends no emergency status. The module’s serial number must be on the declaration and on the registration, the pilot must check before takeoff that it is working, and the operation must stay within line of sight of the person at the controls. If the broadcast stops, land as soon as practicable.

14 CFR § 89.115(a) · 14 CFR § 89.315

The third way needs no equipment: fly inside an FAA-recognized identification area, a site established on application by a community-based organization or an educational institution, staying within its boundaries and within line of sight. Such an area lasts 48 calendar months unless renewed. The Administrator may also authorize operations without Remote ID solely for aeronautical research or to show compliance with regulations. A foreign-registered aircraft must file a notice of identification and carry the resulting confirmation at the control station.

14 CFR § 89.115(b) · 14 CFR § 89.205 · 14 CFR § 89.225(a) · 14 CFR § 89.120 · 14 CFR § 89.130

Finally, makers of Remote ID equipment must label it: a statement in English that the aircraft or module meets Part 89, legible, prominent, and permanently affixed. And ADS-B Out cannot be used to satisfy any of this.

14 CFR § 89.525 · 14 CFR § 89.125 FAA sample questions 41 and 42 · 14 CFR § 89.110(a)(2) · 14 CFR § 48.110(a)(6), (7)

§ 2.12 — REGISTRATION AND MARKING

Registering the aircraft

Registration is the identity side of Part 107: who owns this aircraft, so the government can find them. Part 48 says no one may operate a small unmanned aircraft eligible for registration unless it has been registered and marked, or it is operated exclusively under the recreational statute and weighs 0.55 pounds or less on takeoff, or it belongs to the armed forces. The consequence for a Part 107 pilot is that even a 250-gram drone must be registered when flown under Part 107, because the 0.55-pound exemption is for recreational flights only.

14 CFR § 107.13 · 14 CFR § 48.15 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.17.1

The owner registers the aircraft, using the owner’s legal name; if the owner is under 13, someone who is at least 13 must register it. The registration expires three years after issue, and the holder renews it by verifying the information, any time in the six months before the month of expiry. The fee is $5, per aircraft for registration used for any purpose other than recreational, or $5 per certificate for recreational. If the information changes, or the aircraft is sold or destroyed, update the record within 14 calendar days.

14 CFR § 48.25(b) · 14 CFR § 48.30 · 14 CFR § 48.100(a), (c) · 14 CFR § 48.105 · 14 CFR § 48.115

The aircraft must display a unique identifier, either the registration number or, if authorized, the serial number. It must be legible, affixed so that it stays on for the duration of each flight, and displayed on an external surface. Check the marking on your preflight, and have the registration certificate available with your pilot certificate.

14 CFR § 48.200 · 14 CFR § 48.205 · AC 107-2A ¶ 5.11.1, 7.3.4 FAA sample questions 34 and 35 · 14 CFR § 48.25(b)

§ 2.13 — THE NUMBERS

Every number in this chapter

Memorize these last, after you can explain the rule behind each. A number you understand survives a question that rephrases it; a number you only memorized does not. The flashcard deck for this chapter and the numbers deck drill them.

Aircraft, reporting, and conduct

Small unmanned aircraft	under 55 lb on takeoff, everything attached included	§ 107.3
Accident report deadline	10 calendar days	§ 107.9
Injury that triggers a report	serious injury or any loss of consciousness	§ 107.9(a)
Property damage that triggers a report	both repair cost and value over $500	§ 107.9(b)
Alcohol: waiting period	8 hours after drinking	§ 91.17 via § 107.27
Alcohol: blood alcohol limit	under 0.04 percent	§ 91.17 via § 107.27
Aircraft per pilot	one at a time	§ 107.35

Operating limits and lighting

Maximum groundspeed	87 knots (100 mph)	§ 107.51(a)
Maximum altitude	400 ft AGL	§ 107.51(b)
Structure exception: radius	400 ft from the structure	§ 107.51(b)(1)
Structure exception: ceiling	400 ft above its uppermost limit	§ 107.51(b)(2)
Minimum flight visibility	3 statute miles, from the control station	§ 107.51(c)
Cloud clearance, vertical	500 ft below the cloud	§ 107.51(d)(1)
Cloud clearance, horizontal	2,000 ft from the cloud	§ 107.51(d)(2)
Anti-collision light visibility	3 statute miles	§ 107.29(a)(2), (b)
Morning civil twilight	30 minutes before official sunrise	§ 107.29(c)(1)
Evening civil twilight	30 minutes after official sunset	§ 107.29(c)(2)
Night training cutoff	test or training completed after 6 April 2021	§ 107.29(a)(1)

Operations over people

Category 1 weight	0.55 lb or less, throughout	§ 107.110(a)(1)
Category 2 injury limit	below the severity of 11 ft-lb of kinetic energy	§ 107.120(a)(1)
Category 3 injury limit	below the severity of 25 ft-lb of kinetic energy	§ 107.130(a)(1)
Category 4	airworthiness certificate under Part 21	§ 107.140(b)(1)
FAA-provided MoC formula	KE = 0.0155 x weight (lb) x speed squared (ft/s)	AC 107-2A ¶ 8.6.1.5
Category 4 maintenance records	1 year (some records go with the aircraft)	§ 107.140(c)(4)
Declaration records, designer or modifier	2 years after the declaration	§ 107.165(a)(2)(ii)
Minimum stand-off distance from people	none set by Part 107	AC 107-2A ¶ 8.3.1

Certificate, test, and waivers

Minimum age	16	§ 107.61(a)
Aeronautical knowledge recency	within the previous 24 calendar months	§ 107.65
Retest after failing	wait 14 calendar days	§ 107.71
Temporary certificate	up to 120 calendar days	§ 107.64(a)
Change of address	notify the FAA within 30 days	§ 107.77(c)
Cheating penalty	1 year bar from applications and tests	§ 107.69(b)
Drug or alcohol offense	denial for up to 1 year; suspension or revocation	§ 107.57; § 107.59
Test length	60 scored questions, 120 minutes	PSI UAG bulletin
Passing score	70 percent	FAA-S-ACS-10, App. 1
Test report validity for applying	24 calendar months	FAA-S-ACS-10, App. 3
Waiver lead time encouraged	at least 60 days before the operation	AC 107-2A ¶ 5.20.2

Remote ID and registration

Remote ID required	after 16 September 2023	§ 89.105
Recognized identification area	48 calendar months unless renewed	§ 89.225(a)
Registration exemption	0.55 lb or less and recreational only	§ 48.15(b)
Registration fee	$5	§ 48.30
Registration valid for	3 years	§ 48.100(c)
Renewal window	the 6 months before the expiry month	§ 48.100(c)(1)
Owner under this age cannot register	13 (someone 13 or older registers)	§ 48.25(b)
Update registration information	within 14 calendar days	§ 48.115(b)

§ 2.14 — PUTTING IT TOGETHER

One flight, every rule

A worked example makes the rules stop being a list. You are hired to photograph a 250-foot water tower on the edge of a small town, a mile from a small airport whose chart symbol is ringed by a dashed magenta line. Sunset is at 6:10 and you want the golden light, so you plan to launch at 5:50 and finish by 6:30. The sky is hazy, with a scattered layer you estimate at 1,500 feet. A volunteer fire department is holding a pancake breakfast in the lot below the tower, though it ends at noon.

Start with the paperwork: your certificate on you, with identification, and your 24-month window open. The aircraft must be registered and marked, and its Remote ID must be working. Is the airport’s airspace one that needs prior authorization? That dashed magenta ring marks Class E airspace extending down to the surface, one of the areas § 107.41 names (the charts chapter shows how to read it). So yes: you request authorization before you launch, and if it is refused you do not fly. If it is granted, it may carry a ceiling lower than 400 feet.

On altitude, the tower is the reason the structure rule exists. Within 400 feet of it, you may climb to 400 feet above its top, so your ceiling is 650 feet AGL there, but only there; the moment you move away from it, you are back to 400 feet AGL. Because the layer is at 1,500 feet, you have 850 feet to spare at 650, well over the 500-foot skirt. Flying from 5:50 to 6:10 is daylight, so no lighting is required. From 6:10 to 6:40 is evening civil twilight, so the anti-collision light must be on, visible for 3 miles, and you may dim but not turn it off. You also have to see the aircraft the whole time. Visual line of sight at a tower top in fading light is harder than it sounds, so a visual observer with a radio is a good idea, even though they are optional.

Visibility must be 3 statute miles from where you stand, and the nearest representative report must support it. The breakfast is over by noon; had it run late, you could not fly over the people in the lot unless they were under cover, were part of your crew, or your aircraft qualified for a category. And if the drone falls on a parked car, doing $800 of damage to a $5,000 car, you owe the FAA a report within 10 calendar days, because both numbers exceed $500.

You should now be able to

• Determine whether Part 107 applies to a given flight, and explain how it differs from the recreational exception.
• State the requirements for a remote pilot certificate, its recency, and the consequences of drug, alcohol, or testing offenses.
• Apply the operating limits: groundspeed, altitude and the structure exception, visibility, cloud clearance, daylight, civil twilight, and night.
• Explain the duties of the remote PIC, the visual observer, and the person at the controls, including line of sight, right-of-way, and in-flight emergencies.
• Decide when authorization, permission, or a waiver is required for controlled airspace, airports, restricted areas, and TFRs.
• Distinguish the four categories of operations over people, with their weights, injury limits, labels, and location restrictions.
• Identify the Remote ID options, registration and marking requirements, and the accident-reporting thresholds.
• Recognize which Part 107 provisions can be waived, and what a waiver request must contain.

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