The national drone registry the FAA created through an expedited rulemaking last year marked its one-year anniversary on December 21. As of that date, more than 616,000 people had registered via the agency’s site to operate one or more small drones for recreation. The FAA convened an industry-government task force to develop the registration system in November 2015 and quickly enacted a regulation out of concern that hundreds of thousands of drones given as holiday gifts would flood the airspace system, with no way of identifying operators who fly irresponsibly. The agency now requires that owners of drones weighing from 250 grams—or about half a pound—up to 55 pounds register online and affix an identification number to each aircraft they own. Registration costs $5 and remains valid for three years.
“As part of the process, applicants receive and must acknowledge some basic safety information. That means more than 600,000 drone operators now have the basic aviation knowledge to keep themselves and their friends and neighbors safe when they fly,” the FAA stated in a first-anniversary release. “We wanted you to know you’re part of something bigger, and to convey a sense of shared responsibility,” Administrator Michael Huerta added in a video accompanying the release.
Separately, the FAA as of early December had processed more than 22,000 applications for remote-pilot certificates to operate small drones commercially under its Part 107 regulation, which took effect on August 29. Applicants who are already trained as pilots must pass an online test to fly drones commercially; non-pilots must pay $150 and pass a 60-question aeronautical knowledge test.