Registration, Reporting, and Preflight Rules

Registration and incident reporting sound like the least interesting parts of Part 107 to study, right up until an exam question hinges on the exact dollar threshold or the exact number of days a rule allows, and "I know I have to register it" turns out not to be enough.

Who registers: the pilot or the aircraft?

14 CFR §107.13 requires anyone operating a civil small unmanned aircraft system to comply with 14 CFR §91.203(a)(2), which means the aircraft must be registered, and the registration attaches to the specific aircraft, not to the pilot flying it. A remote pilot certificate doesn't substitute for registering each aircraft operated commercially under it, and flying an unregistered aircraft is a registration violation independent of whatever else about the flight was compliant.

When do you have to report a safety event?

14 CFR §107.9 (the rule formerly framed purely as "accident reporting," now covering safety event reporting more broadly) requires the remote pilot in command to report to the FAA within 10 calendar days of an operation involving serious injury to any person, any loss of consciousness, or damage to property other than the aircraft itself. Property damage is exempt when the repair cost (materials and labor) is $500 or less, or, in a total loss, when the property's fair market value is $500 or less.

A scenario that describes property damage at or below that threshold, damage only to the drone itself, or an injury that doesn't rise to the serious-injury standard, isn't a reportable event under this rule, even though it might still be worth documenting for the operator's own records. The exam tends to test the exact boundary, not the general instinct that "something bad happened, so report it."

What does the preflight requirement cover?

14 CFR §107.49 requires the remote pilot in command, before flight, to assess the operating environment (local weather, airspace and flight restrictions, the location of persons and property on the surface, and other ground hazards) and to inform everyone directly participating about the operating conditions, emergency and contingency procedures, roles and hazards. The pilot must also ensure the control links work, that there is enough power for the intended flight time, that anything attached or carried is secure and doesn't affect controllability, and, for flights over people, that the aircraft meets the applicable category requirements. Separately, §107.15 requires checking that the aircraft is in a condition for safe operation before each flight and forbids continuing once you know or have reason to know it no longer is. It's a checklist with specific, named items, not a general instruction to "be careful," and exam scenarios that skip one (weather checked, participants never briefed, for example) test whether the candidate notices the gap. The maintenance rules post covers what §107.15 does and does not require, and dropping objects from a drone covers the payload rules.

Why these three belong in one place

Registration, reporting, and preflight requirements don't share a dramatic theme, but they share a pattern: each has a specific, checkable number or category attached (the aircraft that needs registering, the dollar threshold that triggers a report, the categories preflight has to cover), and losing points here usually means missing the specific detail, not misunderstanding the general idea.

Registration is separate from broadcast identification, so read Remote ID for Part 107 next, then what a Remote ID broadcast contains. Your own currency is a different clock, covered in Part 107 renewal and eligibility, and equipment questions are in Is DJI banned?.

More detail and drills for this area are in the handbook.

The emergencies that most often lead to a report, and how to plan for them, are in the drone emergencies post.

Who can ask to see your certificate during a flight, and what to carry, is in the police and certificate post.

Step by step, with fees and what to carry, registration is covered in how to register a drone.