Remote ID, Explained for Property Owners and Realtors

If a drone flies over your property today, it is probably telling the world about itself. That is Remote ID, and it is one of the bigger changes in how drones fit into U.S. airspace.

You do not need to know how it works to hire someone for aerial photos. But it helps to understand what it is, because it says a lot about whether the person flying is following the rules.

What Remote ID is

The FAA describes Remote ID on its Remote Identification of Drones page as the ability of a drone in flight to provide identification and location information that can be received by other parties through a broadcast signal.

Think of it as a digital license plate. The FAA explains that Remote ID helps the FAA, law enforcement, and other federal agencies locate the control station when a drone appears to be flying in an unsafe manner or where it is not allowed to fly.

When it became required

According to the FAA's page for Certificated Remote Pilots including Commercial Operators, beginning September 16, 2023, if your drone requires an FAA registration number, it is also required to broadcast Remote ID information, unless it is flown within an FAA-Recognized Identification Area, or FRIA.

The same page notes that registration costs $5 and is valid for three years, and that pilots should mark the drone with its registration number.

Three ways to comply

The FAA lists three ways a pilot can meet the Remote ID rule.

1. A Standard Remote ID drone. This is a drone built with Remote ID broadcast capability. It broadcasts identification and location information about the drone and its control station.

2. A Remote ID broadcast module. This is a device attached to a drone that does not have built-in Remote ID. It broadcasts identification and location information about the drone and its take-off location. The FAA notes that pilots using a broadcast module must be able to see their drone at all times during flight.

3. Flying in a FRIA. A FRIA is a defined geographic area where drones without Remote ID equipment can fly. They must stay within visual line of sight and within the FRIA.

For commercial work on a client's property, the first two are what matter. A FRIA is a specific, defined area, so it rarely applies to a job at someone's home or farm.

Part 107 pilots register each drone

There is a detail here that separates hobby flying from commercial work. The FAA explains that recreational flyers can register once and use one registration number across the drones in their inventory. Part 107 pilots, who fly for work or business, must register each individual device separately, and each one is assigned a unique registration number.

So a commercial operator with two drones should have two registration numbers, and each drone should be marked.

What it means for you

If you are a property owner, a realtor, or a project manager hiring someone to fly, Remote ID gives you a few simple things to ask:

• Is the drone registered under Part 107? It should be, for commercial work.

• Does it broadcast Remote ID? Either built in or through a module.

• Does the pilot hold a Remote Pilot Certificate? The FAA's Become a Certificated Remote Pilot page says that to fly under Part 107, you must obtain a Remote Pilot Certificate from the FAA. Eligibility requirements include being at least 16 years old, being able to read, write, speak, and understand English, and passing the Unmanned Aircraft General knowledge test at an FAA-approved testing center.

None of these questions are rude. A professional operator will expect them. That includes us: at 48 Pegasus, flights are handled by licensed FAA Part 107 remote pilots, and these are fair questions to ask before any flight.

The bigger picture

Remote ID is part of the groundwork for more drone activity in shared airspace. The FAA describes it as laying the foundation of the safety and security groundwork needed for more complex drone operations.

For people on the ground, the benefit is accountability. A drone flying over a neighborhood is no longer anonymous to the authorities. For people hiring drone services, it is one more way to tell the difference between someone flying by the rules and someone who is not.

The rules for small drones are in 14 CFR Part 107 on the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. The FAA's pages are the best plain-language starting point.

Practical takeaways

1. Remote ID is a broadcast of a drone's identity and location during flight.

2. It has been required since September 16, 2023, for drones that must be registered, outside of FRIAs.

3. Pilots comply with a Standard Remote ID drone, a broadcast module, or by flying in a FRIA.

4. Part 107 pilots register each drone separately.

5. Ask anyone flying for you about registration, Remote ID, and their Remote Pilot Certificate.

If you have questions about aerial documentation for a property, contact 48 Pegasus, serving properties within 75 miles of Macon County, Tennessee, across Middle Tennessee and South Central Kentucky.

Sources

• Remote Identification of Drones — Federal Aviation Administration — https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/remote_id

• Certificated Remote Pilots including Commercial Operators — Federal Aviation Administration — https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators

• Become a Certificated Remote Pilot — Federal Aviation Administration — https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_pilot

• 14 CFR Part 107, Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-107

Photos: cover by James Gibson / Unsplash; inline by Insung Yoon / Unsplash. Free to use under the Unsplash License.