How To Guides – Evergreen Skyworks

What Types of Drones Need to Be Registered with the FAA?

The FAA requires both commercial and non-commercial drone pilots to register their drone as a small UAS if the weight of the drone is between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds.

Registering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone is a simple and straightforward process. All you will need as a drone pilot is the UAS type, manufacturer name, serial number, nickname, and model.

The cost to register each drone is $5 and the registration is valid for three years from the date of issuance.

Logging into to FAA Drone Zone

To get started go to www.faadronezone.faa.gov. Once you enter the site, you will see a page that looks like this.

Click the “Register” button on the top (black arrow) if you are a commercial drone pilot flying under part 107. Click the “Register” button on the bottom (orange arrow) if you plan to fly for recreational purposes only and are not a Part 107 drone pilot.

Create Account in FAA Drone Zone

The next page you will see is the “Create Account” page as shown below. Enter your email and password twice and then click the “Create Account” button on the bottom of the page.

Once you click “Create Account” you will receive a confirmation email that looks like the illustration below.

Click the link in the email (the link will be shown where the black rectangular box is). Once you click the link, your account will be verified, and you will be able to login to your new FAA Drone Zone account.

Manage UAS Inventory

Upon logging in to the FAA Drone Zone Portal, new drone pilots will see a screen like this.

New and existing commercial and hobbyist drone pilots will be able to register their drones through the FAA Drone Zone portal as well as apply for Part 107 waivers and authorizations.

New users will be prompted to enter their contact information upon account activation to complete their account profile.

To register a new drone, click “Manage sUAS Inventory” (See the arrow in the diagram below)

Adding Your Drone

Once you click on “Manage sUAS Inventory” you will see a screen that looks like the diagram below. Existing Part 107 drone pilots will see their UAV inventory listed under “Your Registered Inventory.”

After clicking “Add UAS” button, a window will appear prompting you to enter your drone information. See diagram below.

Under “UAS Type” choose “Home Built” if you built your own drone. Otherwise choose the “Purchased” option if you bought your UAV from a manufacturer such as DJI, Autel, or Skydio for instance. Enter manufacturer name, serial number (see note below on how to find your drone’s serial number), nickname (this can be anything you want that references your UAS or drone). Finally, enter your drone’s model (ex. Mavic Air 2, Phantom 4, etc.) Click add UAS and then the FAA Drone Zone page will prompt you to enter your payment information to legally register your drone. As mentioned previously, the cost to register your drone is $5 and the registration is good for three years.

How to Find Your Drones Serial Number

For most DJI model drones, UAV pilots can find their drone’s serial number on the bottom of the box or in the DJI Fly App or DJI Go 4 app under the settings page.

For the DJI Mini 2 and DJI Fly App, the drone serial number will be located in the profile section under the “device management” tab. Currently, the DJI Fly App is compatible with the Mavic Mini, Mavic Air 2, DJI Mini 2, DJI FPV and DJI Air 2S, according to DJI.com.

How to Find Drone Serial Number with DJI Fly App

Click “Profile” on the Home Screen

Click “Device Management”

Aircraft Serial Number will be shown here.

Finding Drone Serial Number with DJI Go 4 App

To find the serial number for a drone using the DJI Go 4 App, tap the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Drones that use the DJI Go 4 App are the Spark, Mavic Air, Matrice 210 and 210 RTK, Matrice 200, Inspire 2, Mavic Pro and Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom, and all Phantom 4 Models.

Scroll down to the bottom and select the “About” button. Your drone’s serial number will be shown in the “About” section in the DJI Go 4 App.

Finding Your Drone’s Serial Number with a non-DJI Drone

Drone operators that are flying a non-DJI drone should refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for finding their serial number. If you have any questions about how to find your UAS/UAV serial number or specific inquiries related to registering your drone with the FAA, please contact us or leave a comment in the comments field below.

FAA Part 107 allows drone operators to fly their drones for commercial purposes. This guide outlines the steps to take in order to pass your FAA Part 107 exam the first time and receive your Part 107 License.

Create an IACRA Account

The link to the IACRA website can be found here: https://iacra.faa.gov/IACRA/default.aspx

IACRA stands for Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application.

Click the Register button if you do not already have an account or login if you already have one.

Click on “Applicant” at the top of the screen and then “Agree to TOS and Continue.”

Leave the First Section blank since you do not yet have your Airman Certification Number, assuming you are a new drone pilot.

Fill out your personal information, two security questions, username, password, confirm password, and then click the “Register” button at the bottom of the screen.

Once you have completed your IACRA profile, you will receive an email that looks like this.

Your Username and FTN number will be included in the email.

Study Resources

There are a few helpful study guides that we would recommend. You can enroll in an online course if you wish but you do not necessarily need to if you are on a budget.

Online Ground School

Two popular online courses are Drone Pilot Ground School (This online course costs $299) and Pilot Institute ($149 for lifetime access, which is a $100 discount off their normal rate of $249).

Both courses state their students have a 99% pass rate and they will refund the course cost and your exam testing fee if you do not pass the FAA Part 107 exam on the first attempt.

If you are on a budget and not looking to sign up for an online course, there are some free and lower cost options available so you can pass your FAA Part 107 exam.

FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide

This is the FAA’s official study guide and provides everything a drone pilot needs to know to pass their Part 107 exam. Here is a link to the PDF: https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf

Prepware Remote Pilot

This app only costs $5 and we would highly recommend buying it if you do not choose to enroll in an online course. This app provides 340 practice questions and practice tests – many of which are straight from or similar to the questions on the actual Part 107 exam.

When to Schedule Your Exam

Once you read through the material and/or follow your online course guides and have gotten at least 90% on two practice exams – we recommend scheduling your test.

How to Schedule Your Exam

Drone pilots can schedule their Part 107 exam online through PSI. Here is a link to the website: https://faa.psiexams.com/FAA/login

Click register if you are a new user and fill out the information to setup your account. They will ask you for your personal information and FTN tracking number that you received after creating your IACRA account. Here is a helpful YouTube video to walk you through how to set up and schedule your Part 107 exam through the PSI software.

Once you have scheduled the exam, you will receive a confirmation email with all the applicable testing appointment details. The cost to schedule the FAA Part 107 exam is $150.

After you have passed the 107 exam, you will receive a test report with an Exam ID.

The last step is to submit your application for a Part 107 license through your IACRA profile that you created in step 1. Remember that you are not legally certified to fly your drone for commercial purposes until you receive your temporary Part 107 license.

Applying for Your Part 107 License

To apply for your FAA Part 107 license, start by logging into your IACRA account. Click on “Start New Application”, then Application Type “Pilot”, Certifications “Remote Pilot”, “Other Path Information”, and “Start Application.” Continue to work your way through the application and enter the 17-digit Exam ID from the knowledge test report when prompted. Do not worry about the drop down that asks for your certificate number, as you will receive this after your application receives FAA approval.

Once the FAA processes your application, it will take approximately 10 business days for them to run your TSA background check. They will mail you out your official license once they have completed processing your application.

Once you receive your Part 107 License, you can begin flying your drone for commercial operations. Congratulations and safe flying!

*Note: The FAA a final ruling outlining some changes for drone pilots operating under Part 107. These changes include requirements for operating over people and flying at night. The executive summary can be read in its entirety here.