Registering a commercial drone with the FAA

Who must register, and what it costs

Every drone flown under Part 107 must be registered, whatever its weight. It costs $5 per drone and lasts three years.

Registration happens at FAADroneZone, the FAA's online system. The only aircraft exempt from registration at all are those weighing 0.55 pounds or less flown under the recreational exception, and recreational registrations cannot be used for Part 107 work at all.

There is no North Dakota registration on top. The state's Aeronautics Commission states plainly that North Dakota does not require a state UAS registration, except for aerial application, which is covered on the North Dakota page.

$5 per dronePart 107 registration costs $5 per drone and is valid for three years. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

0.55 poundsAll drones must be registered except those weighing 0.55 pounds or less flown under the recreational exception, and those registrations cannot be used for Part 107 work. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission states the state does not currently require a state registration of unmanned aircraft systems unless they are used for aerial application. — North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, retrieved 2026-09-29

Why a commercial fleet registers one drone at a time

Part 107 registers each aircraft individually. Recreational flyers can register once and use one number across their whole inventory. You cannot.

The FAA states that Part 107 pilots must register each device separately, and each device is assigned its own unique registration number. A pilot with three working aircraft pays $5 three times and marks each airframe with its own number.

That matters when you plan the fleet. If you sell a drone or retire it, its registration is still tied to it, and a registration cannot be transferred between the recreational and Part 107 operation types once issued. Budget per aircraft, not per pilot.

The FAA states Part 107 pilots must register each individual device separately, and each device is assigned a unique registration number. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

Once a drone is registered, its registration cannot be transferred between operation types, Part 107 or the Exception for Limited Recreational Operations. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

The Remote ID serial number you need first

Before registering, find your drone's Remote ID serial number. Registration now asks for it, and hunting for it halfway through the form is the usual stall.

For a Standard Remote ID drone, the number may be on the airframe, the controller, or a controller start-up menu. For a retrofit broadcast module, it is on the device. The FAA directs pilots to the manufacturer when it is not obvious.

Check that the drone or module appears on an FAA-accepted Declaration of Compliance before relying on it. If it is not listed, the FAA tells pilots not to file a Declaration of Compliance themselves, since those come from manufacturers only. What the broadcast has to do in flight is the Remote ID page.

Registration lists the serial number of each Standard Remote ID drone or broadcast module, and the FAA directs pilots to the manufacturer if it is not on the device. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

The FAA directs pilots to check the Declaration of Compliance system for their drone or module, and states those submissions may only come from manufacturers. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

Marking the aircraft and carrying the certificate

The registration is not finished at payment. The FAA requires every registered drone to be labelled with its registration number before flight.

The registration certificate itself can be paper or digital, and it must be in your possession when you fly. If another pilot operates your drone, they must carry your registration certificate, which surprises most new operators the first time an employee flies a company aircraft.

Federal law also requires pilots of drones that require registration to show the certificate to any federal, state or local law enforcement officer who asks. A crew member flying your aircraft without the certificate is flying undocumented, even if the registration itself is valid.

The FAA requires that all drones be labelled with the registration number before flight, and the registration certificate, paper or digital, must be in the operator's possession when flying. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

Federal law requires pilots flying drones that require registration to show the certificate to any federal, state or local law enforcement officer if asked. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

Renewal, expiry and the running total

Registration expires after three years and renews through FAADroneZone, using the original account email. Put the renewal date next to your recurrent-training date and your annual report date, in one place.

The running cost is small and predictable: $5 per drone per three years. For a solo pilot with two aircraft, that is under $4 a year in federal registration. It is not the number that hurts budgets.

What registration never covers is airworthiness or insurance. The certificate is proof of ownership registration, not a safety sign-off, and the cover that matters on a paid job is priced by insurers. The insurance page separates liability from hull cover, and the cost breakdown puts the registration line in the whole first-year budget.

3 yearsWhen drone registration expires it must be renewed through FAADroneZone, using the email address used for the original registration. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

Questions