When Police Ask for Your Drone Certificate

Sooner or later, someone in uniform walks up while you are flying. For a Part 107 pilot, the federal rule is short and clear. 14 CFR §107.7 requires the remote pilot in command, the owner, or the person at the controls to have the remote pilot certificate and identification physically on them, and to present both on request.

Who can ask to see your certificate?

The rule lists four:

• the FAA,
• an authorized representative of the National Transportation Safety Board,
• any federal, state or local law enforcement officer,
• an authorized representative of the Transportation Security Administration.

The identification has to show your photograph, signature and date of birth, the same details §107.67 requires for the knowledge test. A driver's license usually covers it.

What else can the FAA ask for?

More than a look at your card. Under §107.7, you must make available to the FAA, on request, any document, record or report the regulations require you to keep, and allow the FAA to test or inspect the drone, the remote pilot, the person at the controls and any visual observer to determine compliance. If you operate under a declaration of compliance for operations over people, that declaration and its supporting documents are included.

What should you carry on every flight?

• Your remote pilot certificate. The rule says physical possession and readily accessible.
• Photo ID with your signature and date of birth.
• Your drone registration certificate, paper or digital. The FAA's registration page says you must have it when you fly and show it to any federal, state or local officer who asks; the registration post covers the rest.
• Any waiver or airspace authorization for the flight, so you can show why you are where you are.
• A registered, marked aircraft. Under §48.200, a registered drone must display its unique identifier, normally the registration number. The registration post covers registration, and a Remote ID broadcast identifies the aircraft in the air, as the Remote ID post explains.

How should the conversation go?

Land if the officer asks you to, or if you cannot keep the drone in sight while talking. Show the certificate and ID. Explain the job in a sentence: who it is for, where your authorization covers, how high you are flying. If the officer raises a local rule you were not aware of, it is usually better to pause and check than to argue the point on site. Recreational flyers can prepare the same way; the recreational flight plan shows what to keep on your phone and what to say.

What the exam asks about inspection

The ACS covers this as UA.I.A.K5, inspection, testing and demonstration of compliance. Expect a question that lists officials and asks which ones may request your certificate, or what you must present. The other short rules that sit next to it are in Part 107 rules people forget.

An insurance policy is not on the federal list; the drone insurance post covers where proof of insurance does come up.