The Federal Aviation Administration has released a task force’s recommendations for setting up a registration system for recreational drones – and the full report includes fresh details about how the system would work.
The main recommendations filtered out two weeks ago, soon after the task force wrapped up its meeting in Washington, D.C.: The registration procedure should apply to unmanned airborne systems that weigh 9 ounces or more, it should be free and easy to register online, and one registration number could be used on multiple drones operated by the same person.
Here are more of the details from the report:
Drone operators would be required to enter their name and street address into a Web-based or app-based registry, but other contact details – such as email and phone number – would be optional. The system would be powered by an API that multiple websites can feed into. That means manufacturers could set up their own registration sites.
New drone owners wouldn’t be required to register at the point of sale. That’s because it wouldn’t be illegal to own an unregistered drone. It’d only be illegal to operate a registered drone outdoors. (Indoor drone flying would be unregulated.)
In return for signing up, operators would get a certificate of registration that they’d have to carry with them (in printed or electronic form) whenever they’re flying their drone. The registration number would have to be marked or affixed legibly on every drone they owned. There’s a loophole, however: If the operator enters the drone’s serial number into the database, and if it’s easy to read the serial number on the drone, they wouldn’t have to mark the drone with the the registration number.
Registration would be limited to those aged 13 or older, to comply with child privacy laws, but younger kids could operate drones that have been registered by a parent or guardian. There’d be an education component built into the registration process, similar to the FAA’s “Know Before You Fly” campaign.
FAA officials are hustling up the regulatory process because they’re worried about coping with the hundreds of thousands of drones that are expected to be sold during the holiday season – particularly in light of high-profile crashes at the White House, the U.S. Open tennis tournament and even in Seattle.
The agency set up the task force just last month, with its membership drawn from Amazon, Walmart, other companies, hobbyist groups, industry associations and police chiefs. The members were told to finish their report by Nov. 20, and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta says the interim rules for the registration system are likely to be released next month.
All drone operators would have to register, which means anyone flying a drone “may now find themselves inadvertently in violation of this new system,” the report said. One big detail has yet to be resolved: the penalty for failing to register.
