The FAA has announced that drone owners with devices between 0.55 pounds and 50 pounds are required to register by February 19th, 2016 or face stiff penalties if they get caught flying them.
Civil penalties include a fine up to $27,500, and criminal penalties include a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years in jail.
If you are planning on shelling out some cash on a drone for yourself or someone else for the holidays, make sure you pay the $5 registration fee to avoid legal troubles.
In an effort to encourage registrations, the fee is actually being waived for the first 30 days by the FAA, so make sure you stay on top of things to save some money.
Keep in mind that “registrants will need to provide their name, home address and e-mail address. Upon completion of the registration process, the web application will generate a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership that will include a unique identification number for the UAS owner, which must be marked on the aircraft.”
While the registration process doesn’t start until December 21st, it is worth noting that it only covers civilian pilots and drone hobbyists at the moment.
