Part 107 is the FAA rule that governs small commercial drone flight in the United States. If you are commissioning drone work rather than flying it, you do not need to know the rule in detail. You do need to know what it requires of the person you hire, because a handful of its provisions will shape your project schedule.
This guide is written from the client's side. For the operator-level detail — how to get certified, exam content, currency requirements, and waiver applications — there is a full Part 107 guide on UAS Dashboard, which is written for pilots.
What triggers the rule
The test is the purpose of the flight, not whether money changed hands.
If a flight furthers a business, a job, or a professional service, it falls under Part 107. Photographing a property your brokerage is listing, documenting a job site, inspecting a client's roof, or producing content for a channel that earns revenue are all commercial operations. Doing it for free does not change that.
The alternative path, the recreational exception, requires flying strictly for fun within the guidelines of a recognized community organization. Any business purpose puts the flight outside it.
The practical consequence for you: whoever flies your project needs a remote pilot certificate, and "I wasn't charging for that one" is not a defense.
What the rule permits and restricts
The operating limits that most often affect a client project:
| Limit | What it means for your job |
|---|---|
| 400 feet above ground | Higher requires a waiver, rarely needed for commercial work |
| Daylight and civil twilight | Night flight requires certified aircraft lighting |
| Within visual line of sight | The pilot must see the aircraft; long linear sites need planning |
| Not over non-participating people | Shapes flight paths on busy or public sites |
| One aircraft at a time per pilot | Two aircraft means two pilots |
| 55 pounds maximum | Not a factor for the aircraft used on commercial work |
| Controlled airspace needs approval | The one that most often affects your schedule |
Most of these are invisible to a client. A competent operator plans around them and you never hear about it.
Airspace approval, and why it affects your date
This is the provision worth understanding, because it is the one that can move your schedule.
Large parts of the Los Angeles basin sit beneath controlled airspace associated with the region's airports. Flying there commercially requires authorization from the FAA. For most locations that approval is automated and returns quickly, often within minutes to hours, and your operator handles it as part of the job.
A smaller number of locations sit close enough to an airport that automated approval is not available. Those require a formal waiver, and the timeline for one is measured in months rather than hours.
That is why a professional operator asks for the address before quoting a date. Nobody wants to discover a ninety-day approval requirement the week a listing is supposed to go live.
Waivers
The FAA can waive several Part 107 provisions where an operator demonstrates the operation can be conducted safely. The ones that come up in commercial work:
- Night operations, now largely handled through aircraft lighting requirements rather than a waiver
- Flight over people, which depends on aircraft category and the specific operation
- Beyond visual line of sight, which remains difficult to obtain and expensive to support
- Controlled airspace beyond automated limits, the long timeline mentioned above
If your project genuinely requires one of these, plan on a long lead time and expect it to be priced separately. If an operator tells you a waiver is unnecessary for something clearly outside the standard rule, that is a warning.
What this means when you hire
Four things to confirm, all covered in more depth in what to check before hiring a drone operator:
- The pilot holds a current remote pilot certificate
- Your site's airspace has been checked before a date is promised
- Flights are logged, with records available if you need them
- The operator will postpone rather than fly outside what the rule allows
California specifics
Part 107 is federal and it preempts local rules on how aircraft are operated. Where we work covers the airspace characteristics of each area we fly. What state and local authorities can control is access to the ground: takeoff and landing on their property, and permits for commercial activity in parks, on beaches, and in other public spaces.
In practice this means a flight can be perfectly legal under federal rules while still requiring a local film permit or a property owner's permission to launch. Municipalities across Los Angeles County vary considerably in what they require, and production work in particular often needs a permit that has nothing to do with the FAA.
California privacy law also applies. Capturing imagery of a person in a private place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy creates liability independent of aviation rules. This rarely affects commercial property or construction work and occasionally affects residential shoots with close neighbors.
Frequently asked questions
Does my neighbor need to consent to a flight over their property?
Federal airspace is not owned by the property beneath it, so overflight itself is not trespass. That said, good practice on a residential shoot is to notify adjacent owners, and flight paths are planned to avoid lingering over neighboring homes.
Can you fly at night?
Yes, with properly lit aircraft, under the current rules. Dusk and night flight is routine for thermal roof surveys, which have to be flown after sunset to work at all.
What is LAANC?
It is the FAA system that provides automated airspace authorization for most controlled airspace, which is why approval near many airports returns in minutes rather than months. Your operator uses it; you do not need to.
Does a drone need to be registered?
Yes. Aircraft used commercially are registered with the FAA and carry a registration number, and most also broadcast identification while flying.
Who is responsible if something goes wrong?
The remote pilot in command is responsible for the safety of the operation. That is one reason it matters that the person flying your project is certificated and operating within the rule rather than around it.
Next step
Not sure whether your site is straightforward
Send the address. We check the airspace before quoting, so you find out what is involved before you commit to a date.
Request a quoteThis guide is general information about commercial drone work, not legal or regulatory advice. Rules change. Confirm current requirements with the FAA or your own counsel before relying on anything here.