The Future of Part 107 Operations at Night and Over People
Most Part 107 waivers are issued for 48 months. That means that some of the first Part 107 waivers, issued in 2016, will need to be renewed starting in late-August 2020. This blog post will go through the process to renew an expiring Part 107 waiver while previewing some important ways that operations performed under a Part 107 waiver may change later this year.
Renewing a Part 107 Operational Waiver – Regulatory
Part 107 operational waivers were not meant to be valid indefinitely. The FAA needs to periodically review operational waivers to make sure that new information that has come out since your previous application is taken into account. Changes in regulation and new knowledge gained since from operational or safety research or other Part 107 operators can all impact your operation and make a re-evaluation and renewal necessary.
For Part 107.29 and 107.39 waivers, two of the most requested waivers, renewal is complicated by the fact that there are changes coming to these regulations. The 2019 NPRM for Operation of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Over People “would allow operations of small UAS over people in certain conditions and operations of small UAS at night without obtaining a waiver.” The FAA anticipates that many of the operations that now require a waiver will be allowed without a waiver once the rule changes to 107.29 and 107.39 occur.
These rules have been held up due to the slow progress of the rules for Remote ID, but with the FAA now consistently saying that the Remote ID rule will be put out in December 2020, these rules for operating over people and at night should be moving forward. It will be helpful to know the effective date of the final rules for operating over people and at night, of which we should have more clarity on by the end of the year.
How to Renew a Part 107.29 Waiver for Operations at Night
In general, if you have a Part 107.29 waiver that meets the following requirements, you can renew your Part 107.29 waiver without much difficulty.
- Your current waiver must expire prior to the effective date of the updated Part 107.29, which will be set after the Remote ID Final Rule is issued, expected in December 2020.
- Your proposed operation(s) must remain unchanged from the original waiver (I.e. same Responsible Person, same Organization, same Issued Address)
- Your proposed operation(s) can be conducted without a waiver under the scheduled rule change to Part 107.29.
The idea is that your waiver renewal will be issued as an amendment to the original waiver application, and the waiver will be valid until the updated 107.29 rule becomes effective. If any of these conditions are not met, you will be required to re-submit your waiver application.
How to Renew a Part 107.39 Waiver for Operations Over People
In general, if you have a Part 107.39 waiver that meets the following requirements, you can renew your Part 107.39 waiver without much difficulty.
- Your current waiver must expire prior to the effective date of the updated Part 107.39, which will be set after the Remote ID Final Rule is issued, expected in December 2020.
- Your proposed operation(s) must remain unchanged from the original waiver (I.e. same Responsible Person, same Organization, same Issued Address)
- Your proposed operation(s) can be conducted without a waiver under the scheduled rule change to Part 107.39 This means that your proposed operation could be conducted within the injury threshold requirements of the scheduled rule change to 107.39.
The idea is that your waiver renewal will be issued as an amendment to the original waiver application, and the waiver will be valid until the updated 107.39 rule becomes effective. If any of these conditions are not met, you will be required to re-submit your waiver application.
Loose Ends
As with any Part 107 operational waiver, the FAA has stated that the best practice for renewing an expiring waiver is by applying via the FAA’s online DroneZone platform within 90 days of the expiration date. Renewal requests outside of 90 days prior to the expiration date won’t be evaluated. For all other waivers besides 107.29 and 107.39, a full re-evaluation will be required for renewal, which includes a new application and a complete updated risk analysis.
When applying for a 107.29 or 107.39 renewal, use the following language when describing your proposed operation: “Proposed operation is unchanged from the previously submitted waiver application.”
You can change your Responsible Person if needed, but you will need to re-submit a full application. Also, you cannot move waivers between DroneZone accounts.