What do I need to fly a drone on my own job site in Puerto Rico?

Authority

14 CFR Part 107, Subparts A, B and C - small unmanned aircraft systems · 14 CFR Part 48 - registration and marking of small unmanned aircraft · 14 CFR 91.203(a)(2) - the registration document that goes with the aircraft · 14 CFR Part 89, Subpart B - remote identification of unmanned aircraft · 14 CFR Part 3, Subpart D - Falsification, Reproduction, Alteration, Omission, or Incorrect Statements: sections 3.401 and 3.403 · 14 CFR 1.1 - the geographical definition of the United States · Verified against the sources on 6 September 2026

Sources

24 sources

14 CFR 1.1, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.1, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.5, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.12, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.13, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 91.203, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 48.15, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 48.100, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 48.205, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.65, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.67, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.9, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.15, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.19, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.7, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.23, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.27, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.57, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 107.59, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 89.105, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 89.110, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 89.115, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 3.403, eCFR current text · 14 CFR 3.401, eCFR current text

Verified

6 September 2026

Status

Current

Can I be the pilot for my own job site?

Yes. One person can hold the remote pilot certificate and fly their own construction site in Puerto Rico, and 14 CFR 107.12(b) is the paragraph that says so.Our reading¶

Read paragraph (b) slowly, because it names two things and most people hear one. It requires a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating issued under Subpart C, and it requires that the person also satisfies section 107.65, the recurrent knowledge requirement. Both, at the same time, on the day of the flight.Verbatim¶

Part 107 applies to the registration, airman certification and operation of civil small unmanned aircraft systems within the United States, and section 1.1 puts Puerto Rico inside the United States in a geographical sense, along with the airspace above those areas. A site in Aguadilla, Ponce or San Juan reads the same as a site in any state.Our reading¶

What this page carries is the federal requirements that attach to the pilot and to the aircraft. Where the aircraft may fly, and what the location itself requires, is a separate question with its own rules and its own clocks. So is sustained flight above people who are not part of the operation. Both are linked at the bottom of this page.Our reading¶

Paragraph (a) of the same section governs a different act — manipulating the flight controls rather than acting as pilot in command — and it opens the door for a second person. Under 107.12(a)(2), someone who holds no certificate may manipulate the controls while a remote pilot in command supervises directly and has the ability to immediately take direct control. That is the legal shape of a crew, and it is covered further down this page.Verbatim¶

Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may act as a remote pilot in command unless that person has a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating issued pursuant to Subpart C of this part and satisfies the requirements of § 107.65.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person may manipulate the flight controls of a small unmanned aircraft system unless: (1) That person has a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating issued pursuant to subpart C of this part and satisfies the requirements of § 107.65; or (2) That person is under the direct supervision of a remote pilot in command and the remote pilot in command has the ability to immediately take direct control of the flight of the small unmanned aircraft.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, this part applies to the registration, airman certification, and operation of civil small unmanned aircraft systems within the United States. This part also applies to the eligibility of civil small unmanned aircraft systems to operate over human beings in the United States.

United States, in a geographical sense, means (1) the States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the possessions, including the territorial waters, and (2) the airspace of those areas.

How do I get the remote pilot certificate?

You pass an initial aeronautical knowledge test covering the areas of knowledge in section 107.73, then apply for a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating under Subpart C of Part 107.Our reading¶

The regulation sets the standard. The FAA runs the intake through its own systems: an applicant account and tracking number, a knowledge test scheduled at an approved testing center, a security review, and a certificate that arrives afterward. Those mechanics live on the FAA's own site rather than in the rule text, and they change. Confirm the current process there before you pay for anything or book a seat.Unverified¶

Two things can cost a person the certificate before they ever fly, and both are worth knowing before you put a second person on a controller. Section 107.57(a) makes a conviction under any Federal or State drug statute grounds for denial of an application for up to 1 year after the date of final conviction, and grounds for suspension or revocation of a certificate already held. The list of substances in the text names marijuana.Verbatim¶

Section 107.59 does the same for a refusal. Declining the alcohol test a law enforcement officer requests, or declining to furnish or authorize the release of the results to the Administrator, is by itself grounds against the certificate. The refusal carries the same weight as the result would have.Our reading¶

These two sections are about holding the certificate. The section that governs the flight itself is 107.27, further down.Our reading¶

(a) A conviction for the violation of any Federal or State statute relating to the growing, processing, manufacture, sale, disposition, possession, transportation, or importation of narcotic drugs, marijuana, or depressant or stimulant drugs or substances is grounds for: (1) Denial of an application for a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating for a period of up to 1 year after the date of final conviction; or (2) Suspension or revocation of a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating.

A refusal to submit to a test to indicate the percentage by weight of alcohol in the blood, when requested by a law enforcement officer in accordance with § 91.17(c) of this chapter, or a refusal to furnish or authorize the release of the test results requested by the Administrator in accordance with § 91.17(c) or (d) of this chapter, is grounds for:

1. Pass the initial aeronautical knowledge test covering the areas of knowledge in section 107.73.
2. Apply for the remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating under Subpart C of Part 107.
3. On the day the certificate is issued, write the 24-month recurrent date on the business calendar (107.65).
4. Put the certificate and a photo identification in the flight case and leave them there (107.7(a)(1)).

What keeps the certificate current?

Within the previous 24 calendar months you must have accomplished one of three things, or you may not exercise the privileges of the certificate: passed the initial aeronautical knowledge test, completed recurrent training covering the areas of knowledge in section 107.73, or — if you hold a pilot certificate other than a student pilot certificate, issued under part 61, and meet the flight review requirements of section 61.56 — completed training covering the areas of knowledge in section 107.74.Verbatim¶

The clock runs on the privilege, not on the plastic. Section 107.12(b) conditions acting as remote pilot in command on satisfying 107.65, so once the 24 calendar months lapse, the card stays in the wallet and the authority to be pilot in command goes away until the training is done. Calendar months means the count runs to the end of a month, not to an anniversary date.Our reading¶

The rule names the standard, not a course and not a price: the training has to be accomplished in a manner acceptable to the Administrator. The FAA publishes on its own safety training site which course it accepts. Find out which course is current, and what it costs, before you set aside money for a testing center seat and a drive.Unverified¶

Put this date and the aircraft registration date in the same calendar. One runs 24 calendar months and the other runs three years, so they drift apart on purpose and neither one sends a reminder.Our reading¶

A person may not exercise the privileges of a remote pilot in command with small UAS rating unless that person has accomplished one of the following in a manner acceptable to the Administrator within the previous 24 calendar months: (a) Passed an initial aeronautical knowledge test covering the areas of knowledge specified in § 107.73; (b) Completed recurrent training covering the areas of knowledge specified in § 107.73; or (c) If a person holds a pilot certificate (other than a student pilot certificate) issued under part 61 of this chapter and meets the flight review requirements specified in § 61.56, completed training covering the areas of knowledge specified in § 107.74.

1. Write down the calendar month in which you passed the knowledge test.
2. Set a reminder for 21 calendar months later, which leaves three months of room.
3. Complete the recurrent training covering the areas of knowledge in section 107.73.
4. File the completion certificate with the pilot documents and reset the 24-month clock.

How does the aircraft get registered and marked?

The aircraft is registered and marked under Part 48 before it flies, and the rule that requires it sits outside Part 107: section 107.13 points to section 91.203(a)(2), which points to Part 48.Our reading¶

This chain is where operators lose the requirement. A person who searches Part 107 for the word registration finds 107.13, reads one sentence, and walks away with no obligation in hand, because 107.13 contains no instruction of its own. Follow it to 91.203(a)(2) and the obligation appears: an effective U.S. registration certificate, or a Certificate of Aircraft Registration under Part 48.Our reading¶

The words that carry the duty are in the opening line of 91.203(a): no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it has within it the following. On a small unmanned aircraft, within it is a physical impossibility, and the workable practice is to keep the document in the flight case beside the pilot certificate. Read that as our reading of an old rule meeting a new aircraft, and carry the paper either way, because it is the second thing an officer asks for.Our reading¶

Part 48 itself sets two obligations, not one. Section 48.15 conditions operating on the owner having registered and marked the aircraft. Registered and marked are separate acts, and an aircraft with a registration number and no label on the shell leaves the marking half undone.Verbatim¶

The weight threshold many pilots remember sits in 48.15(b), and it belongs to recreational flying: it reaches an aircraft operated exclusively in compliance with 49 U.S.C. 44809 that weighs 0.55 pounds or less on takeoff, including everything on board or otherwise attached. An aircraft flown for work goes through paragraph (a) instead — registered and marked under Part 48, with no weight exemption to fall back on.Our reading¶

Section 48.205 puts three separate demands on the marking: legible, affixed well enough to stay on for the duration of each operation, and displayed on an external surface. A number written inside the battery bay fails the third. A label that peels in the first hour of a windy day fails the second. This is the easiest requirement on the page to satisfy and the easiest one to fail in front of someone who is looking.Verbatim¶

The registration expires three years after the date of issue. Section 48.100(c) says so in one sentence, and 48.100(c)(1) puts the renewal on the holder of the certificate — the date is yours to track. Flying on an expired registration puts the aircraft outside 48.15 and puts the operation outside 107.13, which means the paperwork failure reaches the flight.Our reading¶

The renewal window is in the same paragraph. Section 48.100(c)(1) puts the verification at any time within the six months preceding the month in which the certificate expires, and 48.100(c)(2) runs the new certificate three years from the expiration date of the previous one rather than from the day you renew. Renewing early costs you no time on the clock.Verbatim¶

A person operating a civil small unmanned aircraft system for purposes of flight must comply with the provisions of § 91.203(a)(2) of this chapter.

(a) Except as provided in § 91.715, no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it has within it the following:

(2) An effective U.S. registration certificate issued to its owner or, for operation within the United States, the second copy of the Aircraft registration Application as provided for in § 47.31(c), a Certificate of Aircraft registration as provided in part 48, or a registration certification issued under the laws of a foreign country.

No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft that is eligible for registration under 49 U.S.C. 44101-44103 unless one of the following criteria has been satisfied: (a) The owner has registered and marked the aircraft in accordance with this part; (b) The aircraft is operated exclusively in compliance with 49 U.S.C. 44809 and weighs 0.55 pounds or less on takeoff, including everything that is on board or otherwise attached to the aircraft; or (c) The aircraft is an aircraft of the Armed Forces of the United States.

(a) The unique identifier must be maintained in a condition that is legible. (b) The unique identifier must be affixed to the small unmanned aircraft by any means necessary to ensure that it will remain affixed for the duration of each operation. (c) The unique identifier must be legibly displayed on an external surface of the small unmanned aircraft.

(c) Registration renewal. A Certificate of Aircraft registration issued under this part expires 3 years after the date of issue unless it is renewed. (1) The holder of a Certificate of Aircraft Registration must renew the Certificate by verifying, in a form and manner prescribed by the Administrator, that the information provided in accordance with § 48.110 is accurate and if it is not, provide updated information. The verification may take place at any time within the six months preceding the month in which the Certificate of Aircraft registration expires. (2) A certificate issued under this paragraph expires three years from the expiration date of the previous certificate.

1. Register the aircraft under Part 48 in the name of its owner.
2. Mark the unique identifier on an external surface, legible, fixed well enough to survive a full flight.
3. Print the Certificate of Aircraft Registration and keep it in the flight case.
4. Write the three-year expiry date on the business calendar the day the certificate is issued, and the six-month renewal window with it.
5. Inspect the marking as part of the walkaround, the same way you inspect a propeller.

Does the aircraft have to broadcast Remote ID?

Yes. Section 89.105 is the requirement, and its first words are part of it: except as the Administrator otherwise authorizes or section 89.120 provides, after 16 September 2023 no person may operate an unmanned aircraft within the airspace of the United States unless the operation meets section 89.110 or section 89.115.Verbatim¶

There are two ways to meet it. Section 89.110 covers an aircraft that has standard remote identification built in. Section 89.115 covers everything else, by adding an approved broadcast module or by operating inside an FAA-recognized identification area. Which one applies to a given aircraft is settled in practice by 89.110(b)(1): whether the serial number is listed on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance, or the aircraft is covered by a design or production approval issued under part 21.Our reading¶

Under 89.110(a) the aircraft broadcasts from takeoff to shutdown, and the person on the controls lands as soon as practicable if the broadcast stops. That is a mid-flight obligation with an operational consequence: a pass can end before the pass is finished. Build it into the schedule you promise, and into the number of flights you plan for a given deliverable.Verbatim¶

Paragraph (b) is written as a permission with conditions: a person may operate a standard remote identification unmanned aircraft only if the aircraft meets all of the requirements listed there. Two of them are that the remote identification equipment is functional from takeoff to shutdown, and that its equipment and functionality have not been disabled.Verbatim¶

Any offline or local-data setting in the flight application sits in front of that sentence. Remote ID is a radio broadcast from the aircraft, and an application setting that limits what leaves the tablet is a separate thing — but that is a statement to confirm on the equipment, not to read off a menu name.Unverified¶

Paragraph (b)(4) ties the two halves of this page together. The Certificate of Aircraft Registration of the aircraft used in the operation must include the serial number of the aircraft, unless that serial number is provided to the FAA in a notice of identification under section 89.130 before the operation. A registration that is current but does not carry the serial number leaves a Remote ID requirement open.Verbatim¶

The area path under 89.115(b) is worth understanding so you can rule it out quickly. It requires both the aircraft and the person on the controls to remain inside an FAA-recognized identification area for the whole operation. Those are fixed, named places, and the work is where the site is.Our reading¶

Except as otherwise authorized by the Administrator or as provided in § 89.120, after September 16, 2023, no person may operate an unmanned aircraft within the airspace of the United States unless the operation meets the requirements of § 89.110 or § 89.115.

(a) Operational requirements. A person may operate a standard remote identification unmanned aircraft only if the person operating the standard remote identification unmanned aircraft ensures that all of the following conditions are met: (1) From takeoff to shutdown, the standard remote identification unmanned aircraft must broadcast the message elements of § 89.305. (2) The person manipulating the flight controls of the unmanned aircraft system must land the unmanned aircraft as soon as practicable if the standard remote identification unmanned aircraft is no longer broadcasting the message elements of § 89.305.

(b) Standard remote identification unmanned aircraft requirements. A person may operate a standard remote identification unmanned aircraft only if the unmanned aircraft meets all of the following requirements: (1) Its serial number is listed on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance, or the standard remote identification unmanned aircraft is covered by a design approval or production approval issued under part 21 of this chapter and meets the requirements of subpart F of this part. (2) Its remote identification equipment is functional and complies with the requirements of this part from takeoff to shutdown. (3) Its remote identification equipment and functionality have not been disabled. (4) The Certificate of Aircraft Registration of the unmanned aircraft used in the operation must include the serial number of the unmanned aircraft, as per applicable requirements of parts 47 and 48 of this chapter, or the serial number of the unmanned aircraft must be provided to the FAA in a notice of identification pursuant to § 89.130 prior to the operation.

A person operating an unmanned aircraft that is not a standard remote identification unmanned aircraft may comply with the remote identification requirement of § 89.105 by meeting all of the requirements of either paragraph (a) or (b) of this section.

(b) Operations at FAA-recognized identification areas. Unless otherwise authorized by the Administrator, a person may operate an unmanned aircraft without remote identification equipment only if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The unmanned aircraft and the person manipulating the flight controls of the unmanned aircraft system remain within the boundaries of an FAA-recognized identification area throughout the operation; and

1. Confirm the aircraft's serial number is listed on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance (89.110(b)(1)).
2. Confirm the Certificate of Aircraft Registration carries that serial number (89.110(b)(4)).
3. Confirm the Remote ID function is on before the first takeoff of the day.
4. Test any offline or local-data setting against the broadcast, on the equipment, before using it on a job.
5. Land as soon as practicable if the broadcast stops in flight (89.110(a)(2)).

What goes in the case, and who can ask to see it?

The remote pilot certificate and an identification stay in your physical possession and readily accessible every time you fly, and four kinds of authority may ask to see them on the spot.Verbatim¶

The opening line of paragraph (a) is part of the requirement, and it names three roles rather than one: a remote pilot in command, owner, or person manipulating the flight controls of a small unmanned aircraft system. Everything in (a)(1) and (a)(2) hangs off that line.Verbatim¶

Physical possession and readily accessible is stricter than it sounds. It means on the person exercising the privileges, which rules out the office drawer and rules out the truck parked at the far end of a large site. The flight case is the answer, and it stays with the pilot.Our reading¶

Section 107.7(a)(1) says identification and stops there. Section 107.7(a)(2) is where the content comes from: identification that contains the information listed at section 107.67(b)(1) through (3), which is a photograph, a signature and a date of birth. A photo identification is what satisfies both paragraphs at once.Our reading¶

Section 107.7(a)(2) names who may ask: the Administrator, an authorized representative of the National Transportation Safety Board, any Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer, and an authorized representative of the Transportation Security Administration.Verbatim¶

The third one is the one that reaches a job site. The text reaches state and local officers with the word any, so a municipal police officer can ask. That conversation happens in the moment, on the ground, with whatever is in your hand. Preparing for it is a five-minute job done once.Our reading¶

The aircraft registration document belongs in the same case, under 91.203(a)(2) quoted in the registration section above. Certificate, identification, registration: three items, one pocket.Our reading¶

(a) A remote pilot in command, owner, or person manipulating the flight controls of a small unmanned aircraft system must— (1) Have in that person's physical possession and readily accessible the remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating and identification when exercising the privileges of that remote pilot certificate.

(a) A remote pilot in command, owner, or person manipulating the flight controls of a small unmanned aircraft system must— [...] (2) Present his or her remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating and identification that contains the information listed at § 107.67(b)(1) through (3) for inspection upon a request from— (i) The Administrator; (ii) An authorized representative of the National Transportation Safety Board; (iii) Any Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer; or (iv) An authorized representative of the Transportation Security Administration.

(b) An applicant for a knowledge test must have proper identification at the time of application that contains the applicant's: (1) Photograph; (2) Signature; (3) Date of birth, which shows the applicant meets or will meet the age requirements of this part for the certificate and rating sought before the expiration date of the airman knowledge test report; and

1. Remote pilot certificate, on the person, every flight.
2. Photo identification, on the person, every flight.
3. A copy of the Certificate of Aircraft Registration in the same case.
4. Present them when the Administrator, the NTSB, any law enforcement officer, or the TSA asks.

What has to happen before and during each flight?

Before each flight the remote pilot in command must check the aircraft system to determine whether it is in a condition for safe operation, and throughout the flight that same person is the final authority as to the operation.Verbatim¶

Section 107.15 is what turns a walkaround into a legal obligation rather than a good habit. Paragraph (a) requires the check before each flight; paragraph (b) bars continuing the flight when the person knows or has reason to know the system is no longer in a condition for safe operation. Has reason to know reaches further than knows, and it is also the first question anyone asks after an incident, which is the practical argument for writing the check down at the time rather than remembering it later. A dated card with a signature is worth more than a clear memory.Verbatim¶

Section 107.19 opens by requiring that a remote pilot in command be designated before or during the flight. Paragraph (a) is the designation; it is worth doing out loud, because on a site with several people the question of who decides is answered better before it is tested.Verbatim¶

Paragraph (b) makes that person directly responsible and the final authority as to the operation. That is the sentence that supports saying no on a site, and it is the same sentence that places the outcome on the person who said yes.Verbatim¶

Paragraph (c) is a duty discharged in planning. The remote pilot in command must ensure that the aircraft will pose no undue hazard to other people, other aircraft, or other property in the event of a loss of control for any reason. Read plainly, that requires planning the flight on the assumption that the aircraft is lost, and knowing what is underneath the path before takeoff.Our reading¶

Paragraph (d) is the reason no single page is the whole list: the remote pilot in command must ensure that the small UAS operation complies with all applicable regulations of this chapter. Airspace and flight over people each carry their own sections, and (d) is what puts them on the pilot even when they are not printed here.Verbatim¶

Section 107.23 is the general standard, and it is broad on its face: no person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another, and no person may allow an object to be dropped from a small unmanned aircraft in a manner that creates an undue hazard to persons or property.Verbatim¶

Section 107.27 is the one that governs the flight itself when impairment is in question. It reaches the person on the controls, the remote pilot in command, and the visual observer, and it does so by adopting the general aviation rules at 91.17 and 91.19. That reach to the visual observer matters the day a second person joins the crew.Verbatim¶

Those general rules are commonly summarized as eight hours between drinking and flying, a blood alcohol limit of 0.04 percent, and a bar on operating under the influence of an impairing drug. Those figures come from 91.17, which is not quoted on this page. Read that section directly before you rely on the numbers.Unverified¶

(a) No person may operate a civil small unmanned aircraft system unless it is in a condition for safe operation. Prior to each flight, the remote pilot in command must check the small unmanned aircraft system to determine whether it is in a condition for safe operation. (b) No person may continue flight of the small unmanned aircraft when he or she knows or has reason to know that the small unmanned aircraft system is no longer in a condition for safe operation.

(a) A remote pilot in command must be designated before or during the flight of the small unmanned aircraft. (b) The remote pilot in command is directly responsible for and is the final authority as to the operation of the small unmanned aircraft system. (c) The remote pilot in command must ensure that the small unmanned aircraft will pose no undue hazard to other people, other aircraft, or other property in the event of a loss of control of the small unmanned aircraft for any reason. (d) The remote pilot in command must ensure that the small UAS operation complies with all applicable regulations of this chapter. (e) The remote pilot in command must have the ability to direct the small unmanned aircraft to ensure compliance with the applicable provisions of this chapter.

No person may: (a) Operate a small unmanned aircraft system in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another; or (b) Allow an object to be dropped from a small unmanned aircraft in a manner that creates an undue hazard to persons or property.

A person manipulating the flight controls of a small unmanned aircraft system or acting as a remote pilot in command or visual observer must comply with the provisions of §§ 91.17 and 91.19 of this chapter.

1. Check the aircraft system for a condition for safe operation, and record the check with a date (107.15(a)).
2. Name the remote pilot in command before or during the flight, out loud, so everyone on site knows who decides (107.19(a)).
3. Walk the ground under the planned path and ask what a lost aircraft would land on (107.19(c)).
4. Confirm every crew member, pilot and visual observer alike, meets 91.17 and 91.19 (107.27).
5. Stop the flight once you know, or have reason to know, that the system is no longer in a condition for safe operation (107.15(b)).

When do I have to report something to the FAA?

Within 10 calendar days of an operation that seriously injures a person, causes any loss of consciousness, or damages someone else's property past the $500 threshold, the remote pilot in command must report it to the FAA.Verbatim¶

Ten calendar days, counted from the operation. Weekends and holidays are inside the count, and the clock starts at the flight rather than at the moment you learn how bad the damage was. On a site where a property owner reports damage a week later, most of that window is already spent.Our reading¶

The property threshold in 107.9(b) has two forms and either one clears you: repair costing $500 or less including materials and labor, or a fair market value of $500 or less in a total loss. On an active construction site, $500 arrives fast. A windshield, a light fixture, a finished panel, a section of glazing.Verbatim¶

Read the first words of paragraph (b) carefully: damage to any property, other than the small unmanned aircraft. Damage to your own aircraft sits outside this threshold entirely. A destroyed aircraft and an untouched job site is an expensive day that this paragraph leaves outside the report.Our reading¶

One search note. This section now carries the heading Safety event reporting. The 1 January 2022 edition carried Accident reporting, and the section's own source note dates the change to Amdt. 107-10, 87 FR 75846, 9 December 2022. Anyone searching the old title finds nothing and concludes the rule was withdrawn.Our reading¶

No later than 10 calendar days after an operation that meets the criteria of either paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, a remote pilot in command must report to the FAA, in a manner acceptable to the Administrator, any operation of the small unmanned aircraft involving at least: (a) Serious injury to any person or any loss of consciousness; or

(b) Damage to any property, other than the small unmanned aircraft, unless one of the following conditions is satisfied: (1) The cost of repair (including materials and labor) does not exceed $500; or (2) The fair market value of the property does not exceed $500 in the event of total loss.

1. Write down the date and time of the operation before anything else.
2. Photograph the damage and the surrounding scene while the site is undisturbed.
3. Get a written repair estimate covering materials and labor, so the $500 test rests on a document.
4. Report to the FAA within 10 calendar days of the operation, in a manner acceptable to the Administrator.

What happens if a record leaves something out?

Knowingly omitting a material fact from a record is grounds for revoking the certificate and for a civil penalty, and the rule that says so sits at 14 CFR 3.403, outside Part 107 entirely.Verbatim¶

Section 107.5, the falsification rule that Part 107 study material teaches, now reads: § 107.5 [Reserved]. The old text, headed Falsification, reproduction, or alteration, was still in force in the 1 January 2022 edition. Search results still surface it, so read the section page itself rather than a search result.Our reading¶

The prohibition did not disappear. It moved into Part 3, Subpart D — Falsification, Reproduction, Alteration, Omission, or Incorrect Statements — and it arrived there with a word the old text lacked: omit. Section 3.403(c) prohibits knowingly omitting, or causing to be omitted, a material fact. Falsifying and altering were always covered. Leaving something out is now named.Verbatim¶

Paragraph (c)(2) is the half that reaches a working file. It covers any document in any format that is kept, made, or used to show compliance with any requirement under the provisions referenced in section 3.401. That is an internal compliance record, not only a filing sent to an agency.Verbatim¶

Section 3.401(a) is what confirms the rule reaches a small unmanned aircraft pilot. It applies by whole subchapters. Part 107 and Part 89 live in subchapter F, and Part 48 lives in subchapter C. Both subchapters are on the list. Without reading this section, a person would reasonably conclude that a rule which left Part 107 stopped applying to them.Verbatim¶

Section 3.403(d) sets the price: denial, suspension, modification, revocation, rescission, removal or withdrawal of the certificate, and a civil penalty on top. The person holding that certificate is the person who made the record.Verbatim¶

Here is what that means on a working site. If a flight happened, it belongs in the file. A record assembled by choosing what to leave in is the thing this section describes, and the certificate that pays for it belongs to whoever wrote the record, not to whoever asked for it. Keep the archive add-only: corrections go on top of the original layer and both layers stay. That way the file answers the question a record exists to answer, which is what was true on the ground on a given date.Our reading¶

§ 107.5 [Reserved]

(c) No person may knowingly omit, or cause to be omitted, a material fact in: (1) Any document in any format, submitted under any provision referenced in § 3.401, consisting of or related to any acceptance, application, approval, authorization, certificate, rating, declaration, designation, qualification, record, report, request for reconsideration, or similar; or (2) Any document in any format that is kept, made, or used to show compliance with any requirement under the provisions referenced in § 3.401.

(a) This subpart applies to any person subject to the requirements in subchapter A (except parts 1 and 3), subchapter C (except part 39), subchapter D, subchapter E (except parts 71 and 73), subchapter F (except parts 95 and 97), subchapter G (except part 110), subchapter H, and subchapter K (except parts 185, 187, 189, and 193), of this chapter.

(d) The commission by any person of an act prohibited under paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section is a basis for: (1) Denying, suspending, modifying, revoking, rescinding, removing, or withdrawing any acceptance, application, approval, authorization, certificate, rating, declaration, designation, qualification, request for reconsideration, or similar, issued or granted by the Administrator and held by that person; or (2) A civil penalty.

1. Keep every flight in the file, including the flights that show a problem.
2. Date and identify each record at the moment it is made.
3. Add corrections as a new layer on top; keep the original layer intact.
4. Keep the documents you used to show compliance, in the form in which you used them.

What most people have wrong

Each of these is a thing said confidently in public that the rule does not support. The section number settles it.

1. Everyone studies section 107.5 for falsification, so pilots assume that rule still governs records.Section 107.5 now reads Reserved. The prohibition moved to 14 CFR 3.403, and the new text added a word the old one lacked: no person may knowingly omit a material fact. Paragraph (c)(2) reaches any document kept, made, or used to show compliance, and section 3.401(a) confirms the subpart reaches subchapter F, where Part 107 and Part 89 live.14 CFR 3.403(c), 14 CFR 3.401(a)
2. The 24-month recurrent is a paid test at a testing center, so budget a fee and a drive every two years.Section 107.65 accepts recurrent training accomplished in a manner acceptable to the Administrator. The rule names the standard, not a course and not a price. Find out which course the FAA accepts today, and what it costs, before you set aside money for a testing center seat and a drive.14 CFR 107.65
3. Holding the remote pilot certificate is what lets you act as pilot in command.Section 107.12(b) names two conditions in one sentence: the certificate issued under Subpart C, and satisfying section 107.65. Once the 24 calendar months lapse, the certificate stays valid and the privilege stops.14 CFR 107.12(b)
4. Section 107.13 is the registration rule, so reading it tells you what registration requires.Section 107.13 contains no obligation of its own. It points to 91.203(a)(2), which points to Part 48. A pilot who reads only 107.13 walks away with nothing to do and a requirement outstanding.14 CFR 107.13
5. Aircraft registration is a one-time act, done when the aircraft came out of the box.A Certificate of Aircraft Registration expires 3 years after the date of issue unless it is renewed, and 48.100(c)(1) puts the renewal on the holder of the certificate. The verification may take place any time within the six months preceding the month of expiry, and the new certificate runs three years from the previous expiration date, so renewing early costs no time. An expired registration puts the operation outside 48.15 and outside 107.13.14 CFR 48.100(c)
6. Registering the aircraft is the requirement; the number itself can live wherever it fits.Section 48.15 requires the owner to have registered and marked the aircraft, two separate acts. Section 48.205 puts the unique identifier on an external surface, legible, affixed well enough to stay on for the duration of each operation. A number inside the battery bay leaves the marking half of 48.15 undone.14 CFR 48.15, 14 CFR 48.205
7. Section 107.9 is the accident reporting rule, so search for Accident reporting to find it.The section carries the heading Safety event reporting. The 1 January 2022 edition carried Accident reporting, and the section's source note dates the change to Amdt. 107-10, 87 FR 75846, 9 December 2022. The 10 calendar days and the $500 thresholds are unchanged, but a search on the old title comes up empty and the pilot concludes there is nothing to file.14 CFR 107.9
8. Wreck the aircraft badly enough and you have a reportable event.The threshold in 107.9(b) covers damage to any property other than the small unmanned aircraft. Damage to your own aircraft sits outside the test. The $500 line is about the windshield, the panel or the glazing you hit, measured either as repair including materials and labor or as fair market value in a total loss.14 CFR 107.9(b)
9. Turning on an offline or local-data mode in the flight application is a privacy setting with no regulatory weight.Section 89.110(b) lets a person operate a standard remote identification unmanned aircraft only if all of its listed requirements are met, and two of them are that the remote identification equipment is functional from takeoff to shutdown and that its equipment and functionality have not been disabled. Any mode that touches broadcast has to be tested against that sentence on the equipment before it is used on a job.14 CFR 89.110(b)
10. Every person who touches the controls needs their own Part 107 certificate, so a crew means a stack of certificates.Section 107.12(a)(2) allows a person without a certificate to manipulate the controls on two conditions at once: that person is under the direct supervision of a remote pilot in command, and the remote pilot in command has the ability to immediately take direct control. Direct supervision decides where the pilot in command stands. Immediate takeover decides what the equipment has to do.14 CFR 107.12(a)(2)

Where this goes next

• Can I legally fly a drone over my job site in Puerto Rico?The checks that run before every takeoff, in the order they happen on a site. This page settles who may be the pilot; that one covers what the pilot does first.
• Do I need FAA permission to fly over my Puerto Rico job site?Holding the certificate settles who may fly. Where the aircraft may fly, and what authorization the location needs, is a separate question with its own clocks.
• Can a drone legally fly over people, and fly at night?Part 107 lets you fly the site. Sustained flight above people who are not part of the operation runs through Subpart D, which is a qualification on the aircraft rather than on the pilot.
• What makes an aerial photo hold up when someone challenges it?Section 3.403 sets the legal floor for a record. That page covers what a record looks like day to day so the floor is never in question.

Written by a FAA Part 107 Certified Remote Pilot in western Puerto Rico, and verified on 6 September 2026. Something out of date or wrong on this page? Write and say so — corrections are read and dated.