Projet Corp · Field guide
Everything a drone flight in Puerto Rico has to satisfy, and who says so.
Twelve readings. Federal flight rules, the Commonwealth statute a pilot from the mainland has never heard of, and what the construction permits already oblige somebody to photograph. Every obligation carries the section that settles it, and every source is one click away.
Free to read. Free to print. Every link opened and every quotation read against its source on 6 September 2026.
Start here
Can I legally fly a drone over my job site in Puerto Rico?
12 min · and the printable card that goes in the case lid
BEFORE YOU FLY
Answered before the props turn. Miss one and the flight is unlawful, however good the footage is.
- PR-01Can I legally fly a drone over my job site in Puerto Rico? (the rule)After this you know the nine checks that decide whether a flight over a Puerto Rico job site is legal today, the exact words of the local statute that carries a misdemeanor and a civil suit, and what the written consent has to cover before takeoff.
- PR-02What do I need to fly a drone on my own job site in Puerto Rico? (step by step)After this you know which federal requirements attach to the pilot and to the aircraft before a first legal flight over your own site, which clock each one runs on, and where to read the rule yourself.
- PR-03Do I need FAA permission to fly over my Puerto Rico job site? (step by step)After this you know which classes of airspace require an ATC authorization before takeoff, how each Puerto Rico airport is designated, which of the two request paths applies once the site is pinned to coordinates, how far ahead each path has to be filed, and what belongs in the dated preflight record.
- PR-04Can a drone legally fly over people, and fly at night? (the rule)After this you can name the four Subpart D doors and what each one requires, say how a modification can put an aircraft inside a category the factory did not, say what an open-air assembly adds on top of a category and what a night flight and the civil twilight windows each require, know what a rescinded declaration of compliance does to a job already booked, and know where the waiver road at 107.205(g) starts and where the list closes.
- PR-05Can I fly a drone over protected land in Puerto Rico? (the rule)After this you know the four map layers to check before a job, which rules are broken at takeoff and landing rather than in the air, what the wildlife and marine mammal standards actually test, and what a coastal job carries between March 1 and November 30.
DURING THE PROJECT
What the permits already oblige somebody to photograph, monitor and keep, and on what clock.
- PR-06What does the EPA construction permit require me to photograph? (the rule)After this you know which version of the permit is in force, which inspection schedule applies and where the permit takes the choice away, what the site map has to carry, and exactly which photographs and records the permit requires and for how long they are kept.
- PR-07Who issues a construction permit in Puerto Rico, and in what order? (the rule)After this you know which office decides what, in what order the gates fall, how long an environmental determination lives, and which four words in a meeting will date you to 2018.
- PR-08Which federal reviews run before ground breaks in Puerto Rico? (the rule)After this you know which three federal reviews can attach to a construction job in Puerto Rico, what triggers each one, what dated document each one produces, and when the visual record of the ground has to already exist.
- PR-09How do I plan a drone flight that holds up as a record? (step by step)After this you know how to write a flight plan a second person could fly on your site next month and get an image that lines up with this month's, which parts of that plan the operating rules decide for you, and what the construction stormwater permit requires the site map to show and how quickly it must be updated.
- PR-11Can I fly my drone after a hurricane in Puerto Rico? (step by step)After this you know which government contact has to be in your hand before hurricane season, the four conditions the FAA checks before it will process a Special Governmental Interest request, the two routes its own sources give for filing, what an approval and a denial each mean, and where the Insurance Code puts the line between documenting damage and adjusting a claim.
WHEN SOMEONE CHALLENGES YOUR RECORD
What makes a photograph hold up months later, when the person asking is not on your side.
- PR-10What makes an aerial photo hold up when someone challenges it? (step by step)After this you know how to build an aerial record a third party can check, which of its clocks are federal deadlines, and which of its steps are practice.
- PR-12What should I require before anyone flies over my site? (step by step)After this you know which documents to require before a flight over your site, the rule number behind each federal requirement, how to word the insurance question the operator has to put to the carrier, and where Puerto Rico's insurance licensing line sits between documenting a loss and adjusting a claim.
Or start from the question
- Which nine checks decide whether my flight is legal today?
- What does Puerto Rico's drone law actually prohibit?
- Is there an exception for commercial work?
- Can I be the pilot for my own job site?
- How do I get the remote pilot certificate?
- What keeps the certificate current?
- Which airspace needs FAA permission before takeoff?
- Which class covers each airport in Puerto Rico?
- How do I request the authorization: LAANC or FAADroneZone?
- Can a drone fly over people at all?
- Which of the four categories does an aircraft enter through?
- What does Category 2 require on the day of the flight?
- Does it matter where I take off from?
- What does the wildlife refuge rule actually say?
- Isn't there a 2,000-foot rule I can just follow?
- Which version of this permit is in force today?
- Who needs coverage, and who issues it in Puerto Rico?
- Is this the same as the Section 404 permit?
- Who is OGPe, and where does it sit in the government?
- What is a consulta de ubicación?
- Does an approved consulta de ubicación authorize construction?
- Which federal reviews can attach to a construction job in Puerto Rico?
- What puts a Corps of Engineers permit on the work?
- What is a nationwide permit, and which set is current?
- What makes a documentation flight different from any other drone flight?
- How high do I fly, and how far can the plan reach?
- How much front and side overlap does a documentation flight need?
- What makes a photo evidence instead of a picture?
- Which rule says a record cannot have holes in it?
- What happens to the person who leaves something out?
- What is a TFR, and why does one appear after a hurricane?
- Does a TFR ban drones outright?
- Is damage documentation for insurance claims really on the FAA's list?
- What do I require in writing before anyone flies over my site?
- What proves the pilot and the aircraft are current?
- How do I know the airspace was authorized for that date and that spot?
Tell me when one of these rules changes.
The rules on this page move. A section gets renumbered, a permit is reissued, a statute is amended. Leave an address and you get a short note when one of them does, plus what it changes for a site in Puerto Rico.
Thank you. You will get a short note the next time one of these rules moves. Nothing else.
Written by a FAA Part 107 Certified Remote Pilot in western Puerto Rico, and verified on 6 September 2026. The rules move; this page carries the date it was last read against its sources. Something out of date or wrong? Write and say so.