FAA Announces Big Change for Displaying Drone Registration Number

New rules regarding marking the drone registration number on your drone will become effective for all flights as of February 23, 2019.

The FAA has posted the new rule in the Federal Register which will require that the registration number for your small unmanned aircraft needs to be displayed on an outside surface of the drone rather than in an inside compartment and it must be readily visible.

The change has come about because of safety concerns to first responders who could be at risk of a concealed explosive device going off when opening up a battery compartment to find a registration number.

The rule has been made an Interim Final Rule which means that it will go into effect during the public comment period.

“The FAA issues interim final rules when delaying implementation of the rule would be impractical, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest,” says the FAA announcement. “In this case, the agency has determined the importance of mitigating the risk to first responders outweighs the minimal inconvenience this change may impose on small drone owners, and justifies implementation without a prior public comment period.”

You can submit comments during the 30-day comment period which is from now until March 15, 2019. The FAA will review the submissions and decide if any changes should be made to the ultimate Final Rule.

If you would like to submit a comment, click through here and search for “RIN 2120-AL32.”

Please note: The FAA charges $5.00 to register your drone and it is valid for 3 years.
Don’t be fooled by some drone registration sites out there that try to charge you as much as $200.

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