Reader Comment – Drone Registration

Received an interesting email from a reader, commenting on a recent Short Takes post with a report about an FAA fact sheet on pre-emption of State and local laws and regulations on drone operations. He mentions non-regulatory registrations of drone operations by States. He notes:

“If the states are allowed to have registrations, for fleet managers, that will create a nightmare. My experience with MN, they require drone registration, the last time I did one there (and the only time) they tagged us for $350. They wanted the receipt showing sale tax, it was bought in non-sales tax state and sent to MN. For MN, it is any drone flown in the state not just residing in MN. Can you imagine after a hurricane, when we are sending adjustors from all over the country to FL and if FL had a state registration? Would a swarm show be required to register every drone?”

The area in the FAA fact sheet that the reader is questioning is under the heading “Examples of State and Local Laws Addressing UAS That Would Likely Not Be Subject to Field or Conflict Preemption”. It reads (pg 7): “UAS registration requirements that are ministerial and do not directly or indirectly regulate aviation safety or the efficient use of the airspace.”

CAVEAT – I am not a lawyer, nor have I played one on TV – CAVEAT

It would seem to me that registration requirements that applied to any drone flown in the as opposed to owned in the State (as described by the reader), would edge into proscribed areas described outlined in the second bullet point under the heading “Examples of State and Local Laws Addressing UAS That Would Be Subject to Federal Preemption”:

“If a law seeks to advance non-safety or efficiency objectives but affects where UAS may operate in the air, the question of whether the law is preempted will depend primarily on whether the law negatively impacts safety and on how much of an impact the law has on the ability of UAS to use or traverse the airspace.”

Of course, if you want a real answer with legal consequence, contact the Aviation Litigation Division at 9-AGC300-Preemptionquestions@faa.gov.