How To Easily Register Your Drone or Quadcopter with the FAA
With new laws and restrictions hitting the airspace due to the spike in drone ownership, you are now required to “register” your aircraft. Don’t be intimidated. That word makes it seem so much worse than it is, but it’s actually very simple! As long as you’re just flying for fun (not for business purposes), then you only have to take a few simple steps and you’re on your way. We’ll show you how to register your drone or quadcopter in 15 minutes at most.
We did it and it only took about 5 minutes. All you have to do is create an account and pay a $5 registration fee. To make life even easier, we’ve created a step by step guide to help you register your drone.
We want to ensure it’s as quick and painless as possible. Let’s get started, shall we?
How to Register Your Drone or Quadcopter
1.) Find out if you even need to register
You don’t need to read on how to register your drone or quadcopter if it doesn’t meet the FAA’s requirements. Possibly save yourself some time by checking out the bottom of this page. We’ve provided a table of all the latest quadcopters on the market. There you can see whether your drone needs to be registered or not. Keep in mind, if you’re buying a tiny quad to fly in your house or around the office, odds are you will not need to go through the process. It all comes down to the weight of your quadcopter. If it weighs more than .55 lbs, then you are required to take these steps towards registration. Just review the additional requirements below and then we will get started!
Requirements for registering your drone or quadcopter:
-
Must be 13+ years old to register.
- Younger than 13? Must have someone who is 13 years old or older register it for you.
- Must be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
- “Visiting foreign nationals must register their UAS upon arrival in the United States (online registration serves as a certificate of ownership).
2.) Visit the FAA’s website to register your drone
Go to resitermyuas.faa.gov to begin the process.
3.) Create an account
Once clicking through to the link provided above, select “register” and you’ll be taken to a form page. You’ll need to create an account using your email and a new password.
4.) Confirm your account
Now go to your email inbox. You’ll receive an email from [email protected] almost instantly. If nothing shows up after a few minutes, you can have the site resend a confirmation email. Once you’ve received your confirmation email, click on the blue url at the bottom to confirm and you’ll be brought back to the site.
5.) Agree to Registration Site System Use Notice
When routed back to the site, the Terms and Conditions will pop up. Feel free to read through and click on the additional link to find out exactly what they’re using your information for. The most important portion to read and understand is found below:
“For any lawful Government purposes, such as identifying wrongful attempts to upload or change information in the system or otherwise cause damage to the web service, the Government may monitor and intercept information transiting or stored on the system. Use of this system constitutes consent to such monitoring or interception. Unauthorized or improper use of this information system may result in civil and criminal penalties.”
Seems fair, right? Remember, the information you provide is for Government-authorized use only. Once you’re done reviewing and don’t have a problem with anything you’ve read, select “I Agree.” You’ll be taken back to the login screen. Now that you’ve created and confirmed an account, you must log back in to finish up the final steps.
6.) Select Model Aircraft
Now that you’re logged in, make sure you select “Model Aircraft” on the left hand side . This is for pilots who are just flying as a hobby. If you’re planning on using it for commercial use, you’ll need to follow different steps. Please see this article if you plan on flying commercially.
7.) Pay Registration Fee
In order to receive the registration code, you must pay a $5 fee. It’s unbelievably cheap. We would’ve guessed at least $20… But hey, we’re not complaining. Trust us when we say it’s worth it. If you avoid registration and end up receiving a ticket, you’ll be looking at a much larger fee. Now you’ll enter in your name, alternate email, physical address, and mailing address (if different than physical). There are certain pieces that aren’t required such as your phone number and suffix.
8.) Acknowledgement of Safety Guidance
After you’re done filling out your account information, you must read through and accept the “Acknowledgment of Safety Guidance.” You’re agreeing that you’ll fly below 400 feet, the drone will be in your visual line of sight, and you’re aware of FAA airspace require (definitely give this a read), Also, you will not fly directly over people, stadiums, or sporting events, near aircraft (airports in general), under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or near emergency response efforts. There have been instances where pilots fly above forest fires… this can be extremely dangerous. After reviewing, check off “I have read and understand the safety guidance” and click “Next.”
9.) Pay the $5 Registration Fee
Enter in your payment information such as credit card number and billing address. Afterwards you will be taken to a review page. Make sure all of the information you provided is correct. Then confirm registration. You will then receive a unique registration number. It will apply to any and all quadcopters up to 3 years. After 3 years, you are required to register again.
10.) Label your UAS with the provided registration number
After entering in a method of payment, you’ll be taken to”Review and Pay,” hit next and confirm your registration. Immediately, a registration code will appear on a screen with listed requirements (below). Review the marking requirements and you can click “done.”
Once you’ve clicked through, you can manage your account, and email or print your “Small UAS Certification of Registration.” Take that back to the office and tell everyone you’re a pilot now. Hey, technically you’re certified by the FAA… ha!
Remember, you must mark all aircraft with your registration code before operating. The number must be “visible without tools.” See below for more information. We’ve provided some instructions below, but for more information on tagging and other quires, please visit faa.gov.
That’s how to register your drone or quadcopter. You are now free to move about the country!
Does your aircraft need to be registered?
| UAS | Need To Register? |
|---|---|
| 3DR Iris+ | Yes |
| 3DR Solo (with gimbal) | Yes |
| 3DR Solo (without gimbal) | Yes |
| Air Hogs Millenium Falcon | No |
| Blade 180 QX HD | No |
| Blade 200 QX | No |
| Blade 350 QX3 | Yes |
| Blade Chroma w/ 1080p camera | Yes |
| Blade Chroma w/ 4K camera | Yes |
| Blade Chroma w/ GoPro-ready gimbal | Yes |
| Blade Chroma w/ fixed GoPro mount | Yes |
| Blade Glimpse FPV HD camera | No |
| Blade Inductrix Quadcopter | No |
| Blade Mach25 FPV Racer | Yes |
| Blade Nano QX 3D | No |
| Blade Nano QX FPV BNF w/out Headset | No |
| Blade Nano QX FPV RTF | No |
| Blade Nano QX RTF | No |
| Blade Pico QX RTF | No |
| Blade Vortex 250 Pro | Yes |
| Cheerson CX-10C Nano | No |
| Cheerson CX_STARS Mini | No |
| DJI Inspire 1 | Yes |
| DJI Inspire Pro | Yes |
| DJI Phantom 4 | Yes |
| DJI Phantom 3 Advanced | Yes |
| DJI Phantom 3 Professional | Yes |
| DJI Phantom 3 Standard | Yes |
| DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ | Yes |
| DJI Phantom 2 | Yes |
| DJI Phantom 1 | Yes |
| DJI Spreading Wings S900 | Yes |
| DJI Spreading Wings S1000 | Yes |
| Extreme Filers Micro Drone 2.0 | No |
| Helimax 1SQ | No |
| Helimax 1SQ V-cam | No |
| Halimax 1Si (with camera) | No |
| Helimax 230Si (with camera) | No |
| Helimax FORM500 | Yes |
| Helimax Voltage 500 – 3D | Yes |
| Hubsan x4 (H107L) | No |
| Hubsan x4 FPV | Yes |
| Hubsan x4 Nano | No |
| Hubsan x4 Pro | Yes |
| Hubsan x4 camera | No |
| Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 (Elite Edition) | Yes |
| Parrot Airborne Cargo minidrone | No |
| Parrot Airborne Night minidrone | No |
| Parrot Bebop | Yes |
| Parrot Becop 2 | Yes |
| Parrot Rolling Spider minidrone | No |
| Quanum Nova | Yes |
| Sky Viper m200 Nano | No |
| Sky Viper s670 Stunt Drone | No |
| Sky Viper v950 HD | No |
| Syma X5 | No |
| Syma X5C | No |
| SymaX8 | Yes |
| Syma X12 | No |
| Tayzu Titan X8 | Yes |
| UDI U818A HD | Yes |
| UDI U818A-1 Discovery (HD model, not lighter, WiFi model) | Yes |
| UDI U842 Falcon | Yes |
| Walkera Furious 320 | Yes |
| Walkera QR X350 PRO | Yes |
| Walkera QR X350 Premium | Yes |
| Walkera QR X900 | Yes |
| Walkera Runner 250 | Yes |
| Walkera Scout X4 | Yes |
| Walkera Tall H500 | Yes |
| Walkera Voyager 3 | Yes |
| Walkera Voyager 3 GoPro | Yes |
| Yuneec Typhoon G | Yes |
| Yuneec Typhoon Q500 4K | Yes |
| Yuneec Typhoon Q500+ | Yes |
| Yuneec Tornado H920 | Yes |
