The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) set the effective date of March 16, 2021 for Remote ID, the rule and regulation applied to operations of any unmanned aircraft (UA) required to register a unique remote identification number to the FAADroneZone registration portal for unmanned aircraft.[1]United States Congress elected the FAA with the ability to do so as the authority of aviation safety regulation and enforcement.[2]
FAA's Remote ID along with all other federal agency rules and regulation are published first published in the Federal Register (FR) and then their respective chapters in Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) when the date the final rules enactment arrives. Two types of remote ID are available to UA operators that comply with Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft, standard remote identification and remote identification modules.[3]
US Federal regulation concerning unmanned aerial systems
Legal context
The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 called on the FAA to create a system to regulate the operation of small civil (i.e. nongovernmental) drones to integrate them into the National Airspace System.[4][5] The FAA then promulgated a comprehensive set of regulations for routine use of small, unmanned aircraft in 2016.[6][5] The FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 directed the FAA to develop the capacity to remotely locate drones in flight and contact their operators as needed to ensure regulatory compliance.[7][5] In the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Congress made clear that recreational sUAS are generally subject to the same rules regarding registration and marking, remote identification, and "maintaining the safety and security of the national airspace system" as applied to other unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems.[5]
Rulemaking
The Federal Register is where notices of rule-making and regulation propositions will be published on a daily basis, no weekend or holiday publication. This is a place of discourse when for public comments and response during specified stages of the rule making process. Dates the rules will become effective in the Code of Federal Regulation are published with the final rule on the proposal. Once codified, the changes to the CFR are effective.
Published in Vol. 86 No. 10 of the Federal Register on January 15, 2021.
Effective date of this rule is March 16, 2021, with exception of amendatory instruction 19.
Subpart C to Part 89 will be effective in the Code of Federal Regulations September 16, 2022.
14 CFR Part 89
Unofficial remote ID compliance label
The Federal Aviation Administration classifies UAS under 55 pounds as small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS).[9] Small unmanned aircraft systems can operate in one of two ways (never both), either a limited recreational operation or part 107 commercial operation, so long as one of the three remote identification methods are used. Standard remote identification hardware (factory manufactured pre-sale) is one remote identification satisfying operation. If the operator of a sUAS that is not standard remote ID can still be compliant with a remote ID module. Remote ID modules are removable and can be added to whichever UA in the operators inventory needing it.
Subsection C - FAA-Recognized Identification Areas (FRIA)
Amendment 19 which was published as 14 CFR Part 89 Subpart C[10] September 16, 2022, outlines FAA Recognized Identification Areas (FRIA), the only airspace where limited recreational operation of unregistered sUAS can occur. Operators of sUAS were expected to comply with 14 CFR Part 89 on the day of September 16, 2023 and after. System notifications published on FAADroneZones website notifies all operators, part 107 certified and limited use recreational, that any sUAS operating outside of part 89 compliance on or after March 16, 2024 is violating enforceable code. Enforcing violation of 14 CFR Part 89 means penalties up to $25,000 can be applied and or revocation of certifications under part 61 and part 107 depending on the factors FAA will be considering when making decisions.[11]
RaceDayQuads, LLC v. FAA, also known as Brennan v. Dickson, was a 2022 United States court case heard in the DC Federal Court of Appeals in which the online store RaceDayQuads attempted to challenge the constitutionality and legality of the Federal Aviation Administration's remote ID ruling and decision to require that all unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in US airspace to continuously transmit the location of both the drone and its operator during all operations.[12] The suit, filed by RaceDayQuads owner and CEO Tyler Brennan, was intended to "save the drone industry", including drone racing by using "FPV drones".[13][14]
The suit ultimately failed at the DC Appeals Court, which in an opinion written by federal judge Cornelia Pillard sided with the FAA's arguments. RaceDayQuads has yet to announce if it's appealing the motion to the Supreme Court.[5]
