4910-9X

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Chapter I

[Docket No. FAA-2015-4378]

Clarification of the Applicability of Aircraft Registration Requirements for Unmanned Aircraft 

Systems (UAS) and Request for Information Regarding Electronic Registration for UAS

AGENCY: Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration.

ACTION: Clarification and request for information.

SUMMARY: This document clarifies the applicability of the statutory requirements regarding 

aircraft registration to UAS, including those operating as model aircraft. In addition, the DOT 

announces the formation of a UAS registration task force to explore and develop 

recommendations to streamline the registration process for UAS to ease the burden associated 

with the existing aircraft registration process. This document requests information and 

recommendations regarding what information and registration platform would be appropriate for 

UAS registration and ways to minimize the burden to the regulated community. In addition, we 

request comment on which UAS, based on their weight or performance capabilities, warrant a 

continued exercise of discretion with respect to requiring registration because of the negligible 

risk they pose to the national airspace system (NAS).

DATES: This clarification goes into effect [INSERT DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE 

FEDERAL REGISTER]. To assist the task force in developing its recommendations, the 

Department requests that comments in response to the request for information be submitted to 
docket FAA-2015-4378 at www.regulations.gov, by [INSERT DATE 15 DAYS AFTER DATE 

OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. 

The docket will remain open after this time and the Department will consider all comments 

received in developing a registration process.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for 

submitting comments.

• Fax: 202-493-2251.

• Mail: Dockets Management System; U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets 

Operations, M-30, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, 

DC 20590-0001.

• Hand Delivery: To U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets Operations, M-30, 

Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC, 20590-0001, 

between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Instructions: Include the agency name and docket number FAA-2015-4378 for this document at 

the beginning of your comment. Note that all comments received will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov including any personal information provided. If sent by mail, 

comments must be submitted in duplicate. Persons wishing to receive confirmation of receipt of 

their comments must include a self-addressed stamped postcard.

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written communications and 

comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the 

document (or signing the document, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor 
union, etc.). You may review DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement at 

http://www.dot.gov/privacy.

Docket: You may view the public docket through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov or 

in person at the Docket Operations office at the above address (See ADDRESSES).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions regarding this document may be 

directed to Earl Lawrence, Director, FAA UAS Integration Office, 800 Independence Ave. SW, 

Washington DC, 20591; phone: (202) 267-6556; email: UASRegistration@faa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

In the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-95) (the Act), Congress 

mandated that the DOT, in consultation with other government partners and industry 

stakeholders, develop a comprehensive plan to safely accelerate the integration of civil UAS in 

the NAS. Since 2012, the Department has made progress in enabling UAS operations, through 

issuing exemptions under section 333 of the Act to permit commercial operations; creating a 

UAS test site program to encourage further research and testing of UAS operations in real-world 

environments; issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking, Operation and Certification of Small 

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (RIN 2120-AJ60) (small UAS NPRM), that sets forth a framework 

for integrating small UAS operations in the NAS; and developing a Pathfinder program to 

encourage research and innovation that will enable advanced UAS operations.
A foundational statutory and regulatory requirement that the Department has employed 

for each of these integration programs is aircraft registration and marking. In order to operate in 

the NAS, the Department must ensure that operators are not only aware of the system in which 

they are operating, but that we also have a means to identify and track the UAS to its operator. 

One means to accomplish this is through aircraft registration and marking. To date, UAS 

operators that the Department has authorized have been required to register their UAS through 

the FAA’s existing paper-based registration process under 14 CFR part 47. As an exercise of 

discretion, historically we have not required model aircraft to be registered under this system.

UAS hold enormous promise for our economy and for the aviation industry. But for the 

industry to develop to its full potential, we have to ensure that it develops safely. Over the past 

several months, we have received increasing reports of unauthorized and unsafe use of small 

UAS. Pilot reports of UAS sightings in 2015 are double the rate of 2014. Pilots have reported 

seeing drones at altitudes up to 10,000 feet, or as close as half-a-mile from the approach end of a 

runway. In recent weeks, the presence of multiple UAS in the vicinity of wild fires in the 

western part of the country prompted firefighters to ground their aircraft on several occasions. 

These UAS operations are unsafe and illegal. However, only a small percentage of these 

incidents have resulted in enforcement actions against individuals for unsafe or unauthorized 

UAS operation because identifying an individual or entity responsible for the dangerous 

operation of UAS is very difficult. This situation is troubling to the unmanned aircraft industry, 

to responsible model aircraft users, and to users of the NAS, all of whom always put safety first.

The risk of unsafe operations will only increase as more UAS enter the NAS. Some retailers 
have projected huge holiday sales. We are committed to ensuring that the U.S. continues to lead 

the world in the development and implementation of aviation technology, and in doing so, that 

we create a space for the creativity, innovation and exploration that will drive this industry forward in the 

years and decades ahead. At the same time, we must create a culture of accountability and 

responsibility among all UAS operators. To maintain safety in the NAS, the Department has 

reconsidered its past practice of exercising discretion with respect to requiring UAS to be 

registered, consistent with statutory requirements of 49 U.S.C. 44101-44103, and has determined 

that registration of all UAS is necessary to enforce personal accountability while operating an 

aircraft in our skies. 

Federal law requires that a person may only operate an aircraft when it is registered with the 

FAA. 49 U.S.C. 44101(a).1 “Aircraft” is defined as “any contrivance invented, used, or designed 

to navigate, or fly in, the air.”2

 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(6). In 2012, Congress confirmed that UAS, 

including those used for recreation or hobby purposes, are aircraft consistent with the statutory 

definition set forth in 49 U.S.C. 40102(a)(6). See Pub. L. 112-95, sec. 331(8), 336 (defining an 

unmanned aircraft as “an aircraft that is that is operated without the possibility of direct human 

intervention from within or on the aircraft,” and model aircraft as “an unmanned aircraft that is 

capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere, flown within visual line of sight of the person 

operating the aircraft, and flown for hobby or recreational purposes”); see also Administrator v. 

Pirker, NTSB Order No. EA-5730, at 12 (Nov. 17, 2014) (affirming that the statutory definition 

of aircraft is clear and unambiguous and “includes any air aircraft, manned or unmanned, large 

 1 The FAA is charged with registering and issuing a certificate of registration to the owner of an aircraft that meets 

the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 44102. See 49 U.S.C. 44102-03. These statutory requirements are augmented by 

regulations in part 47 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.

2 Similarly, FAA regulations define “aircraft” as “a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air.” 

14 CFR 1.1.
or small.”). Because UAS, including model aircraft, are aircraft, they are subject to FAA 

regulation, including the statutory requirements regarding registration set forth in 49 U.S.C. 

44101(a), and further prescribed in regulation at 14 CFR part 47.

Historically, the FAA, through the exercise of its discretion, has not enforced the statutory 

requirements for aircraft registration in 49 U.S.C. 44101 for model aircraft. As evidenced by the 

recent reports of unsafe UAS operations, the lack of awareness of operators regarding what must 

be done to operate UAS safely in the NAS, and the lack of identification of UAS and their 

operators pose significant challenges in ensuring accountability for responsible use. Without 

increased awareness and knowledge of the statutory and regulatory requirements for safe 

operation, the risk of unsafe UAS operations will only rise. Aircraft identification and marking

will assist the Department in identifying owners of UAS that are operated in an unsafe manner, 

so we may continue to educate these users, and when appropriate, take enforcement action.

Requiring registration of all UAS, including those operated for hobby or recreation, embraces 

and applies the Academy of Model Aeronautics’ (AMA)’s policy of identification to UAS 

operators who may not be modelers registered with the AMA. Additionally, it would ensure 

consistency with other UAS operations currently required to be registered, such as public 

aircraft, those operated under exemptions, and certificated aircraft, as well as those operations

contemplated in the small UAS NPRM.

Based on the Department’s experience in registering small UAS authorized by exemptions

granted under the authority of section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, 

and the comments received on the proposed registration requirements in the small UAS NPRM, 

it is apparent that the current paper-based system for aircraft registration is too burdensome for 

small UAS, to include model aircraft. To facilitate compliance with the statutory obligation for 
registration, the DOT is currently evaluating options for a streamlined, electronic-based

registration system for small UAS. The Department has convened a UAS registration task force, 

under the FAA’s authority in 49 U.S.C. 106(p)(5) to designate aviation rulemaking committees.

This task force will provide recommendations on the type of registration platform needed to 

accommodate small UAS, as well as the information that will need to be provided to register 

these aircraft. The UAS registration task force also will explore and provide recommendations 

on whether it is appropriate for the FAA to continue to exercise discretion with respect to 

requiring registration of certain UAS based on their weight and performance capabilities. The 

task force will meet and provide its recommendations to the Department by November 20, 2015. 

To facilitate the task force’s work, we are requesting information and data from the public in the 

following areas:

1. What methods are available for identifying individual products? Does every UAS sold 

have an individual serial number? Is there another method for identifying individual 

products sold without serial numbers or those built from kits?

2. At what point should registration occur (e.g. point-of-sale or prior-to-operation)? How 

should transfers of ownership be addressed in registration?

3. If registration occurs at point-of-sale, who should be responsible for submission of the 

data? What burdens would be placed on vendors of UAS if DOT required registration 

to occur at point-of-sale? What are the advantages of a point-of-sale approach relative 

to a prior-to-operation approach?

4. Consistent with past practice of discretion, should certain UAS be excluded from 

registration based on performance capabilities or other characteristics that could be 

associated with safety risk, such as weight, speed, altitude operating limitations, 
duration of flight? If so, please submit information or data to help support the 

suggestions, and whether any other criteria should be considered.

5. How should a registration process be designed to minimize burdens and best protect 

innovation and encourage growth in the UAS industry?

6. Should the registration be electronic or web-based? Are there existing tools that could 

support an electronic registration process?

7. What type of information should be collected during the registration process to 

positively identify the aircraft owner and aircraft? 

8. How should the registration data be stored? Who should have access to the registration 

data? How should the data be used?

9. Should a registration fee be collected and if so, how will the registration fee be 

collected if registration occurs at point-of-sale? Are there payment services that can be 

leveraged to assist (e.g. PayPal)?

10. Are there additional means beyond aircraft registration to encourage accountability and 

responsible use of UAS?

Comments received by [INSERT DATE 15 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE 

FEDERAL REGISTER] would be most helpful in assisting the UAS registration task force in 

developing its recommendations. The comment period will remain open after this period and the 

Department will consider the comments received, in addition to the UAS registration task force’s 

recommendations, in developing a stream-lined registration process for small UAS, including 

model aircraft. 

Issued in Washington, DC on October 19, 2015.
Anthony R. Foxx,

Secretary of Transportation.

Michael P. Huerta,

Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.