Recreational Drones Will Soon Have To Be Registered With The FAA

File this one under: Why we can’t have nice things. Apparently flying drones into sporting events, getting in the way of firefighters and scaring airline pilots, along with numerous other hijinks is reason enough to get the government involved and start taking our toys away. Or at least start telling us when, where, and how we can use them. As the popularity of drones soars, new laws are being put into place making registering your drones with the feds mandatory.

There is of course little doubt that this was going to happen anyway sooner or later but since the FAA has reported twice as many drones already taking flight this year, vs all of 2014, officials and pilots are understandably anxious to get drone owners registered and trained to promote safety and assure accountability. The laws are not only meant to ease tracking iniquitous drone pilots, but to also expose new owners to the rules, regulations, and responsibilities of drone purchase and operation.

“Registration will help make sure that operators know the rules and remain accountable to the public for flying their unmanned aircraft responsibly. When they don’t fly safely, they’ll know there will be consequences.” – Michael Huerta, FAA Administrator

Here’s a quick look at Commercial Drone Licenses by State:

[graphiq id=”ikeqa7f7ceV” title=”Commercial Drone Licenses by State” width=”600″ height=”525″ url=”https://w.graphiq.com/w/ikeqa7f7ceV” link=”http://drones.specout.com” link_text=”Commercial Drone Licenses by State | SpecOut”]

Although the FAA was tasked with finalizing the rules by October of this year, the deadline came and went with the agency promising to have it all in place by early 2016; the year that will follow a holiday season that is believed will see over 1 million drones finding their ways into consumer hands. By then the FAA will have to address questions such as:

1. Which drone owners, if any, will be exempt from the registrations process?
2. Will people that already own drones be forced to register theirs?
3. What will be the penalties for not registering drones or misusing ones that are registered?

To resolve these quandaries and more, a task-force of over two dozen will be working alongside representatives from the drone industry. That’s right, drone manufacturers are on board with regulating their products in a way that is clear to owners and provides clear guidelines for safe use.

“Too many newcomers to the industry have ignored the rules and put aircraft in the national airspace at risk, while commercial drone service providers have made the effort to work with the FAA” – Brandon Torres Declet, Chief Executive of drone start-up Measure

Do you think these laws and registrations make drone operations safer? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on social media.

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Last Updated on November 27, 2018.