The Part 107 Rules

Regulations are the biggest single area on the exam. Most questions test a number (55 pounds, 400 feet, 87 knots, 10 days) or who is responsible. This lesson walks Part 107 in the order the rule is written.

Who Part 107 covers (§107.1, §107.3)

A small unmanned aircraft weighs less than 55 pounds on takeoff, including everything on board or attached: battery, gimbal, payload, any strapped-on accessory.

Part 107 does not apply to:

• Air carrier operations
• Recreational flying under 49 U.S.C. 44809
• Operations under a section 333 or 44807 exemption
• Operations a person elects to fly under Part 91 with an airworthiness certificate

Registration (Part 48)

• Every aircraft flown under Part 107 must be registered, whatever it weighs. The 0.55 pound exception applies only to recreational flying. A 0.4 pound drone on a paid shoot needs a registration number.
• The number goes on an external surface of the aircraft. Inside the battery compartment stopped counting in February 2019.

Certificates, records and reporting

• Getting the certificate (§107.61): at least 16, able to read, speak, write and understand English, in a condition to fly safely, pass the initial knowledge test, clear TSA vetting. No flight test, no medical certificate.
• Carry it (§107.7): the certificate must be in your physical possession and readily accessible. Present it on request to the FAA, the NTSB, any federal, state or local law enforcement officer, or the TSA. A photo on a phone left in the truck does not count.
• Inspection (§107.7): on FAA request, make the certificate and any required document, record or report available.
• Falsification (§107.5): a false or altered record, like a changed training date, is grounds to suspend or revoke any certificate, rating, authorization or waiver you hold.

Safety event reporting (§107.9)

Report to the FAA within 10 calendar days of an operation that causes:

• Serious injury or loss of consciousness, or
• Damage to property other than the drone, unless the repair costs $500 or less (or the fair market value is $500 or less in a total loss)

Damage to your own aircraft never counts. A $640 bill to fix a parked car is reportable. The section was renamed from "Accident reporting" in December 2022; older material uses the old name.

The crew

• Remote pilot in command (rPIC): directly responsible for, and the final authority on, the operation (§107.19). A client paying for the flight cannot overrule the rPIC.
• Uncertificated person at the controls (§107.12): allowed only under direct supervision of an rPIC who can immediately take direct control.
• Preflight condition check (§107.15): the rPIC checks the system is safe before each flight.
• Medical condition (§107.17): no medical certificate exists, so the duty is self-grounding. If you know or have reason to know a condition (a migraine that blurs your vision) would interfere, you may not fly or serve as visual observer.
• Alcohol (§107.27, §91.17): not within 8 hours of drinking, and not at 0.04 percent blood alcohol or more. Both have to be true. One beer at 10 p.m. and a 7 a.m. launch is legal if you are below 0.04.
• Emergencies (§107.21): the rPIC may deviate from any Part 107 rule to the extent needed. A written report is due only if the FAA asks for one.
• One aircraft at a time (§107.35), as pilot, rPIC or visual observer. Swarms need a waiver.

How you fly

• Visual line of sight (§107.31): unaided eyes, with corrective lenses (glasses or contacts) only. Binoculars and the camera feed can be used in addition, never instead. Automated missions are allowed if you keep the drone in sight and can take over at any time.
• Visual observer (§107.33): the rPIC, the person at the controls and the observer keep effective communication at all times. Any method that works is fine.
• Careless or reckless (§107.23): low passes over a crowded beach. Dropping an object is allowed if it creates no undue hazard to people or property.
• Moving vehicles (§107.25): from a moving car or boat only over a sparsely populated area and not carrying others' property for hire. From a moving aircraft, never.
• Hazardous material (§107.36): never. This is the one prohibition that cannot be waived.
• Right of way (§107.37): the drone yields to all aircraft, every time, and does not pass over, under or ahead of one unless well clear.
• Over people (§107.39): always allowed over someone directly participating, under a covered structure, or inside a stationary vehicle. Everyone else requires Category 1, 2, 3 or 4.
• Carrying property for pay: total weight under 55 pounds, within visual line of sight, not from a moving vehicle, within one state.
• Transponder (§107.52) and ADS-B Out (§107.53): off, unless the FAA authorizes them.

Airspace and restrictions

• Controlled airspace (§107.41): Class B, C, D, and the surface area of Class E for an airport need prior ATC authorization, usually through LAANC.
• Airports (§107.43): do not interfere with traffic at any airport, heliport or seaplane base.
• Restricted and prohibited areas (§107.45): permission from the using or controlling agency. ATC cannot grant it.
• TFRs (§107.47): a LAANC authorization does not override a TFR. The TFR wins.
• Preflight assessment (§107.49): local weather, airspace and flight restrictions, people and property below, ground hazards. Brief everyone taking part.

The limits (§107.51)

A 700 foot tower lets you climb to 1,100 ft AGL, but only inside the 400 foot radius. Drift outside it and the ceiling drops back to 400 ft AGL.

Night and twilight (§107.29)

• Night operations need anti-collision lighting visible for 3 statute miles and a pilot who passed the knowledge test or training after April 6,
• No waiver needed.
• Civil twilight (outside Alaska) is the 30 minutes before official sunrise and the 30 minutes after official sunset. The same lighting rule applies.
• The rPIC may dim the lights if that is safer, but may never turn them off.

Waivers (§107.200-107.205)

Apply through FAA DroneZone, describing the operation and showing it can be done safely under the waiver's terms. Many operating rules can be waived: visual line of sight, operations over people, the 400 foot ceiling, one aircraft per pilot. The hazardous material prohibition (§107.36) cannot.