Federal Registration

pdmike

pdmike

Extremely Popular Member
I'm not flying my quad for profit and I don't intend to get it up any higher than 400 feet. It's just a hobby. Do I have to register with the Feds?
 
As of a couple of weeks ago, yes. The mandatory registration for RC aircraft over .55 pounds was reinstated by Congress as of a couple of weeks ago. Go to the FAA website and search for "sUAS registration".
 
I registered early this year before the appellate court washed out the original requirement, so I'm going to assume I'm still registered under the same FAA number.
 
Rick M said:
I registered early this year before the appellate court washed out the original requirement, so I'm going to assume I'm still registered under the same FAA number.
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Did you receive a refund of the fee? If you did, you should re-register. If not, you may still be registered. You should be able to check your status by entering the Reg # at the FAA Web Site.
 
Yeah, I don't see where it can hurt to register. I have no problem with it. Will take care of it ASAP.

OK - done. Had a bit of trouble locating the serial number, but finally found it. $24.99 to register. Anyway, now the suckers can't pull me out of my bed at 2:00 a.m. and cart me away to some federal prison.
 
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SO far my link to the login shows "Down for maintenance". I paid $5 early this year and I don't plan on re-registering. My FAA number is on all my quads that require registration. :cool:
 
There are "scam sites" that DO charge you $24.99 or more to register, BUT if you go straight to the FAA it IS only $5 to register for three years. Don't fall for scams!
 
It pays to ask your questions here. Most of us, I believe, are honest and will not steer you wrong. Sort of like the Free Masons, only we're the Free Droners...
 
Wonderful. Does this mean I'm not registered? Or will I be registered but just paid way too much?

EDIT NOTE: I re-visited the $24.99 site. In case anyone is interested: http://federaldroneregistration.com/

I think I will be registered. I just paid a scam middle man to do it for me. They give a Support email. I sent them an email inquiring as to why I paid so much for a $5 registration done directly with FAA. Maybe I will get a response.
 
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Here is their response:

"Good Morning Sir,
We are a premier registration company that obtains registrations for our clients. Our company offers registration services as well as expert advisement, printed products, FAA compliance labels, Part 107 Certification packages, etc. For these reasons, our fees begin at $24.99. Should you wish to obtain a registration on your own then you will have to pay the fees associated with that. The cost to register with the FAA directly is $5. You are not obligated to use our company. If you would like to cancel your offer please let us know ASAP and we will process accordingly.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Thank you,

Customer Support Team"

Because they gave a very prompt response as well as an explanation (of sorts) for the additional twenty bucks and also because I don't have time today to hunt down the official FAA site (which may be down for repairs anyway), I emailed them back and said go ahead with the order. Merry Christmas to them!
 
I went out to this supposed web site and copied the following disclaimer located at the 'bottom' of the home page; something many web visitors overlook. I don't because I am a Certified Webmaster. The disclaimer in its entirety reads:

Federal Drone Registration is a premier service provider of professional document preparation services providing a simplified process to help our clients obtain a drone registration with the U.S. Government. We work for our clients to help make the entire process quick, easy, secure, and worry free. We act on behalf of you (our client), and are in no way affiliated with any US government agency or the FAA. We are an independent site that was designed to obtain a registration number for you and assist with pre and post-registration questions as well as labels for your drone. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact us anytime.

Please note their non-affiliation with any government agency including the FAA. This is why you paid $24.99. $5.00 went to the registration and $19.99 went to their pocket. Whether or not you are registered will require you going out to the FAA web site and checking the status of your registration. Had you done that originally, you would have saved $19.99.
 
I'm fairly sure (you can research this) that you only have to provide to the FAA the information that you provide to this "middle man" so that I can't see what the difference is? I don't get what they "save" you in effort? In other words, you still have to go online and provide the SAME information to the "middle man" as you do the FAA.
 
stony99 said:
I'm fairly sure (you can research this) that you only have to provide to the FAA the information that you provide to this "middle man" so that I can't see what the difference is? I don't get what they "save" you in effort? In other words, you still have to go online and provide the SAME information to the "middle man" as you do the FAA.
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That's right. But the outfit that handled it for me is legit, I had already given them my credit card number and they replied promptly with some sort of an explanation when I questioned why the extra bucks so, all in all, I just went ahead with it. We're only talking twenty bucks here and I didn't want to go to the trouble of getting my money back from the middle man, looking up the FAA site, putting all of my information in again, etc. And, I received my registration certificate and FAA number yesterday.
 
LoneRCRanger said:
I went out to this supposed web site and copied the following disclaimer located at the 'bottom' of the home page; something many web visitors overlook. I don't because I am a Certified Webmaster. The disclaimer in its entirety reads:

Federal Drone Registration is a premier service provider of professional document preparation services providing a simplified process to help our clients obtain a drone registration with the U.S. Government. We work for our clients to help make the entire process quick, easy, secure, and worry free. We act on behalf of you (our client), and are in no way affiliated with any US government agency or the FAA. We are an independent site that was designed to obtain a registration number for you and assist with pre and post-registration questions as well as labels for your drone. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact us anytime.

Please note their non-affiliation with any government agency including the FAA. This is why you paid $24.99. $5.00 went to the registration and $19.99 went to their pocket. Whether or not you are registered will require you going out to the FAA web site and checking the status of your registration. Had you done that originally, you would have saved $19.99.
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I'm registered. I'm satisfied that these guys are legit. They do use a bit of a deception to get people to go with them but, other than that, they are on the up and up and do provide a product.
 
stony99 said:
you still have to go online and provide the SAME information to the "middle man" as you do the FAA.
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Plus, this middle man has your personal information, credit card number and the right to send you SPAM mail and sell your e-mail address off to third-party users. The FAA would not do that (I think).
 
I checked and my original registration from early this year is still showing, so they are maintaining the pre-court-case-and-legislation registrations. I wonder what happened with the folks who requested and received refunds after the appellate court decision.
 
LoneRCRanger said:
Plus, this middle man has your personal information, credit card number and the right to send you SPAM mail and sell your e-mail address off to third-party users. The FAA would not do that (I think).
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Let's not kick this dead horse further. I know all that. But it's a done deal. I'll take my chances.
 
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