That new guidance? It’s actually more of a revival as the legislation brings back the not so controversial requirement to register drones. Effective immediately, hobbyists flying a drone with a weight between .55 and 55 pounds must once again register their drone at a cost of $5. On May 19 of this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated the initial law put in place in 2015 that required both hobbyist and commercial drone pilots to register drones with the FAA. As a result, the more than 838,000 hobbyists who registered their drones were eligible for refunds. At this time it’s not clear how many have requested or received a refund or if original registrants are still effective. In a statement to TechCrunch, an FAA spokesperson was agreeable with the return of the registry. Like the FAA, both the Small UAV Coalition and Commercial Drone Alliance have voiced their approval of the change. Learn more about regulations and buying the right drone for you on TechCo
