Register your drone. It’s the law.
by
Frank Tobe
The FAA has ruled that everyone who flies a drone must register. Since an estimated 700,000 drones are expected to be sold in the U.S. for the holiday gift-giving season, the registration process is streamlined and will be online as of December 21.
You can register beginning December 21st at http://www.faa.gov/uas/registration/. Registration involves providing your name, home address and email address.
Here are the details:
- Drones weighing .55 pounds and less than 55 pounds must register. It’s the law.
- Drones must be registered before flying them outdoors.
- You must be over 13 years old to register.
- Drones owned before December 21, 2015 must be registered before you fly them (or by February 19, 2016).
- Once registered you’ll get a number that you must put on your drone. If you have multiple drones, the same registration number must appear on all your drones.
- Drones cannot fly above 400 feet, at night, or within 5 miles of an airport.
- Starting January 21, 2016, there will be a $5 registration fee; prior to then the fee is waived.
- There are civil penalties for flying without registering: Up to $27,500 in fines, and up to 3 years imprisonment if failure to comply results in criminal penalties.
- [Drones for commercial use and drones greater than 55 pounds must register differently. It’s also the law. Those details are forthcoming from the FAA.]
A full list of the rules are here. You might also be interested in:
- Drone registration Task Force makes 11 key recommendations
- What we know about the FAA’s new drone registration requirement, and what we don’t
Frank Tobe
guest author
Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.
Robots-as-a-Service
February 24, 2021
February 24, 2021
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