FAA Part 108: the proposed rule for flying drones beyond visual line of sight

What Part 108 is

Under the current Part 107 rules, the person flying a drone must be able to see it at all times. That rule keeps most drone work close to the pilot. It also rules out the jobs that need long distances or no one standing nearby: inspecting a pipeline or power line for miles, delivering parcels, surveying a large farm, or flying a docked drone from an office.

Today those flights need an individual waiver from the FAA. Part 108 is the FAA's plan to replace the waiver system with a standard set of rules. The FAA published the draft, called a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, on 7 August 2025. The draft runs to more than 700 pages and is titled Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations.

The draft also creates a companion Part 146 for companies that provide automated data services to drone operators, such as the traffic-management services that keep drones apart from each other and from crewed aircraft.

Where the rule stands

Part 108 is not in force. These are the steps so far:

After publication there will be a delay before the rules take effect, so operators and drone makers can prepare. The draft does not fix that delay, and the final text may differ from the draft in important ways. We will update this page when the final rule is published.

What the draft would allow

The draft covers drones weighing up to 1,320 pounds including anything they carry, flying mainly below 400 feet above the ground. Higher flights would need specific FAA approval. The draft also proposes a wingspan limit of 25 feet and a ground speed limit of 87 knots.

Approval would work at two levels:

• Operating permit. For lower-risk work such as agricultural spraying, aerial surveying, package delivery in less populated areas, training, flight testing and demonstrations. A permit limits how many aircraft an operator may fly, how heavy they can be and how many people may be nearby.
• Operating certificate. For higher-risk work with larger fleets, heavier aircraft or flights over more people. A certificated operator must run a formal safety management system and a training programme, and gets closer FAA oversight.

The draft sorts the ground below a flight into five population categories, from open country with almost nobody around to areas with thousands of people within half a mile. Each type of operation has a maximum category it may fly over.

It also proposes shielded operations: flying within 50 feet of a structure such as a bridge, power line or pipeline without extra FAA authorisation, provided the owner of the structure agrees.

Who would be responsible for a Part 108 flight

This is the biggest change from Part 107. Part 107 puts responsibility on an individual pilot who holds an FAA certificate. The draft Part 108 puts responsibility on the company or organisation that operates the drones.

The draft names two roles inside that organisation:

• Operations supervisor. Responsible for the overall safety of the operation.
• Flight coordinator. Watches flights as they happen and steps in when needed. One flight coordinator could be responsible for several aircraft at once.

As drafted, neither role needs a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, and neither takes an FAA knowledge test. The operator trains its own people, keeps records, and must show that a flight coordinator has at least five hours of supervised experience on the specific make and model of drone before working alone. Refresher training is also required.

Many public comments asked the FAA to add a pilot qualification or test. Whether the final rule does so is one of the main things to look for when it is published.

Right of way and avoiding other aircraft

A drone flying beyond its pilot's sight cannot rely on the pilot to spot other aircraft. The draft therefore requires detect-and-avoid equipment, so the drone can sense and steer clear of crewed aircraft on its own.

The draft also changes who gives way at low altitude. Below about 400 feet, a Part 108 drone would have to give way to crewed aircraft that are broadcasting their position electronically, to aircraft arriving at or departing from an airport, and to aircraft in the busiest airspace and over the most populated areas. Outside those situations, the draft would give Part 108 drones right of way over crewed aircraft that are not broadcasting their position. This was the most argued-over part of the draft, and it may change in the final rule.

What Part 108 means for Part 107 pilots

Part 107 stays. It remains the certificate for commercial drone flying within visual line of sight, which is the great majority of drone work. Nothing in the draft removes the Part 107 knowledge test or the certificate.

What changes is the route to beyond-visual-line-of-sight work. The draft moves that work under Part 108 and its operator permits and certificates, rather than under Part 107 waivers. Existing waivers continue until the final rule says otherwise.

If you hold a Part 107 certificate, the knowledge you already have is the foundation for any Part 108 role: airspace classes, weather, reading charts, aircraft performance and the rules of the air all carry over. The draft does not require a Part 107 certificate for a flight coordinator, but an operator choosing who to trust with a fleet of aircraft is likely to prefer people who hold one.

Airspace School teaches the FAA Part 107 exam. We do not sell a Part 108 course, because there is no Part 108 exam to prepare for. If the final rule creates an FAA test for Part 108 personnel, we will build for it and say so here.