Right-of-Way, TFRs, and Restricted Areas
Right-of-way, restricted areas and TFRs are three Part 107 rules that sit outside the Class B, C, D and E system, and the exam tests them as their own category.
Most Part 107 airspace study time goes to sectional charts and controlled-airspace authorization, and for good reason: that's where most of the weight sits. But three separate rules, right-of-way, restricted areas, and TFRs, don't depend on airspace class at all, and candidates who've mastered chart-reading still miss questions built around these because they're looking for a chart symbol that isn't the point.
Who has the right-of-way under Part 107?
Under 14 CFR §107.37, a small UAS must yield the right of way to all aircraft, airborne vehicles, and launch and reentry vehicles. Yielding means giving way and not passing over, under, or ahead of the other aircraft unless well clear, and a separate paragraph bars operating so close to another aircraft that it creates a collision hazard. There's no "the drone was there first" exception and no altitude threshold that changes the obligation. This is one of the more absolute rules in Part 107: the small UAS yields, full stop, regardless of the surrounding circumstances.
Right-of-way under Part 107 isn't negotiated by altitude, timing, or who noticed whom first. The small UAS gives way, categorically.
Are restricted areas part of controlled airspace?
14 CFR §107.45 prohibits operating in airspace designated as prohibited or restricted without permission from the using or controlling agency, and this exists independently of whatever airspace class the area also happens to sit inside. A restricted area can overlay Class G airspace, the kind that normally needs no authorization at all under §107.41, and the restriction still applies. Treating "no chart symbol for controlled airspace here" as equivalent to "nothing to check here" is exactly the gap this rule is built to catch.
How do TFRs affect a Part 107 flight?
Temporary Flight Restrictions under 14 CFR §107.47 are, by definition, not permanent features of a chart. They get published for wildfires, VIP movement, major sporting events, and disaster response, often with little notice, and they apply regardless of how routine or previously-authorized a location was. A pilot who checked airspace requirements once during preflight planning and treats that as settled hasn't actually checked for TFRs unless they checked again close to the actual flight time. Some airspace is restricted permanently instead: the Washington, DC special flight rules area is the strictest example.
These three rules are not equally waivable. Yielding the right of way, §107.37(a), is on the §107.205 waiver list, paragraph (f). Entry into prohibited or restricted areas (§107.45) and the TFR provisions (§107.47) are not on it. The exam tests that difference, so check the list in the waivers post instead of assuming all three behave alike.
What does §107.47 actually cover?
§107.47 is short: it requires the remote pilot in command to comply with 14 CFR §§91.137 through 91.145 and §99.7. Those sections carry the restrictions the FAA publishes by notice to airmen, including disaster and hazard areas (§91.137), flights near the President and other public figures (§91.141), space flight operations (§91.143), aerial demonstrations and major sporting events (§91.145), and special security instructions in defense areas (§99.7). The rule itself never lists them, which is why "I checked the chart" doesn't cover it.
Which special-use airspace actually restricts a drone?
Only two types are named in the rule. Prohibited areas forbid flight outright, and restricted areas need permission from the controlling agency. Other special-use airspace, such as warning areas, military operations areas and alert areas, does not carry an entry permission requirement under §107.45, but it is still marked on the chart because military or training traffic may be active there. Treat it as a reason to check status and watch for traffic, not as a rule you can skip.
Reading a scenario question on this topic
When a question describes an aircraft in the area, a restricted zone, or a recently-published flight restriction, the airspace class shown or implied usually isn't the deciding factor. Ask instead: is there a specific aircraft to yield to, a restricted or prohibited designation on this exact location, or a TFR active at this exact time, before reaching for whatever the sectional chart symbol at that point would normally suggest.
These three rules sit beside the airspace classes, not inside them. See how LAANC works for authorization in controlled airspace, VLOS and visual observers for seeing other traffic, and airport operations for how manned traffic behaves.
More on how this fits with the rest of the operating rules in the handbook.
How prohibited, restricted, MOA and national security areas look on a sectional is in the chart symbols cheat sheet.
The practical side, which TFRs hit drones most and how to check for them, is in the drone TFR post.
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