The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced the final effective date of April 21, 2021, for drone remote identification (Remote ID), operations over people, moving vehicles, and night flight rules to go into effect after unveiling the rules in December 2020.
The FAA’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on Remote ID for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) was published on Dec. 31, 2020, with the intention of going into effect on March 10. However, the process was delayed amid the change of administration on Jan. 20 when the assistant to the president and chief of staff issued a regulatory freeze to review any new or pending rules.
“The new rules make way for the further integration of drones into our airspace by addressing safety and security concerns,” FAA Administrator Steve Dickson, said in December. “They get us closer to the day when we will more routinely see drone operations such as the delivery of packages.”
Remote ID rules will act as a digital license plate for drones in the national airspace. According to the FAA, the rule establishes a new Part 89 in Title 14 of the Code of Federal Aviation Regulations. It will include the UAS ID number, latitude, longitude, altitude, velocity, location information about the control station, emergency status, and time mark.
The final rules also include drone operations over people, moving vehicles, and night operations which applied to UAS flying under Part 107. This rule divides operations into four categories based on level of risk.