Apart from businesses being required to file for an exemption for commercial use, all drones between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds, including any payloads such as cameras, intended for hobby or recreational use wI’ll be required to register through a new online form starting Dec. 21.
Owners must be at least 13 years old to register and must provide their name, home address and email address. The online form can be accessed at www.faa.gov/uas/registration.
The website will then generate a certificate of registration/proof of ownership that includes an identification number that must be affixed to the drone before flight.
The FAA notes that registration will cost $5 but will only be required once. Plus, that fee is being waived for the first 30 days of open registration (Dec. 21, 2015 to Jan. 20, 2016). Drone owners will also be able to use one ID number across all of their aircraft.
This registration will ensure the FAA knows exactly who a drone belongs to should it interfere with commercial aircraft or cause danger to civilians in another way.
