The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) already requires drones beyond a certain weight and design to be registered, allowing authorities to crack down on illegal usage. They even started by making the registration process free for consumer level users to promote the act of committing to the new requirements and making the change easy for drone operators.
Originally they required the registration number to be clearly marked somewhere on the drone, however users have hidden the number within compartments (ie, battery compartments), which raised concerns by law enforcement–for security reasons since they don’t know what else might be hiding in any compartment or hidden areas on the drone.
Now they have taken the rule further by saying that it has to be clearly marked (written, sticker, etc) on the external surface of the drone so that someone can see it without having any physical interaction with it.
The new requirement takes effect for any flights Feb 25th (2019) and beyond, giving drone operators more than enough time to comply with the new change.
Registering a drone is painless and helps to create a positive image toward such users, helping to show that the majority of drone users out there have proper intent and hazardous usage can be minimized. For more information about registering a drone, visit the FAA’s website here.
