Register your small drone with the Federal Aviation Administration

In the view of the Federal Aviation Administration, drones or “unmanned aircraft systems” (UAS) qualify as aircraft, even if operated by hobbyists, and will be regulated as such. If you own a drone weighing more than 0.55 pounds (including payloads such as cameras), you must register as a pilot. Users of remote-control airplanes have not been required to register their devices in the past, but Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a press release that a new generation of drone technology calls for new rules. The registration process asks for a name, home address and email address, but the FAA doesn’t say whether you can register a cool callsign or drone name (my pick: “SKYBOSS7AIRBUZZ”) along with the other information. When you complete the registration the system will generate a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner.

Registration will be free for the first 30 days of the registration process, which begins December 21.

The registration requirement announced on Monday applies only to drones used for hobby or recreation. The number would then need to be displayed on the user’s drones. Any UAS purchased after the rules take effect will have to be registered prior to its first flight outdoors. Registrants must be over 13 years old.

The new scheme and website go live on December 21, but current drone owners have until February 19, 2016, to register.

“The FAA stepping in and providing regulations that help with what is now a situation like the wild west is a step in the right direction”, he said.

Anyone buying a drone this holiday season will have to register their unmanned aircraft before flying, a federal agency said this week.

The online registration system now supports only hobby and recreation drones, the FAA said.

Owners of Parrot’s MiniDrones and like-sized vehicles would not have to register with the FAA under the new rules. According to the FAA’s registration rule documents, the registry is projected to cost the government and registrants $56 million through 2020. The FAA is now working on developing features that will allow this type of registration sometime next year.