A United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) task force has delivered a report (pdf) on drone licensing with a surprising conclusion: instead of registering unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) as it currently does with planes, it has recommended that pilots be registered instead.

Under the proposed rules any person who wishes to fly a drone that is less than 55 pounds (25kg) and heavier than half a pound (250 grams) will have to register their name and street address with the FAA, with information including mailing address, email address, phone number and serial number of the aircraft being optional at the point of registration.

The registered owner must be at least 13 years old however a parent or guardian can register for anyone younger than 13 years old.

Interestingly given the nanny state usually loves its fees and charges the paper recommends that there will be no fee to register and the process will be entirely done online.

Upon registration as a drone pilot an electronic certificate of registration will be sent to the registrant unless a paper copy is requested, with the certificate including the registrant’s name, FAA-issued registration number and the FAA registration website that can be used by authorized users to confirm registration information.

Similar to those driving a car, drone pilots will be required to produce the certification for proof of registration if they are asked to do so by a person of authority.

According to CNet, owners will not need to pass a flight test or any specific training to obtain registration however the registration process in itself will contain an education component and acknowledgment that the drone operator has received safety and piloting information.

Also like a car the paper recommends that drones within the category have a registration number affixed to them, although as the registration number is attached to the registered drone pilot the same number can be used on multiple drones.

Reasonable proposal

The main consideration of the FAA in some sort of licensing and registration system is to be able to identify drone owners who fly in restricted airspace, or who crash their drones and cause damage to people and property.

Registering pilots and not the drones themselves (although the drones need to be marked as belonging to the pilot) is a reasonable proposal in that it doesn’t go too far with the big arm of Government control while still addressing a problem that continues to grow in tandem with the continued growth in popularity of drones themselves.

Having dangled the carrot, however, the FAA is proposing a stick to enforce the new rules if and when they are implemented with the report suggesting that the FAA create a “clear and proportionate penalty framework” as current penalties for not registering aircraft were established prior to the rise of privately owned drones.

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