Part 107 airspace explained: Classes A to G and when you need permission

Most low-level airspace is open to a Part 107 drone without asking anyone. There are four exceptions: Class B, Class C, Class D, and the Class E surface area that some airports have. To fly in any of those, you first need authorization from Air Traffic Control (ATC) (14 CFR 107.41). In Class G you never need it, and over most of Class E you won't either (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 6). Whichever class you are in, every preflight has to include a look at the local airspace and any flight restrictions (14 CFR 107.49(a)(2)). Here is a short tour of the classes and a simple way to work out which one you are standing in.

Two families: controlled and uncontrolled

ATC provides its services in Classes A to E, which is why those five count as controlled airspace (AIM 3-2-1). Whatever is left over is Class G, the uncontrolled kind (AIM 3-3-1). The FAA's study guide adds two more types next to these, special use airspace and other airspace (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 5). None of it is a free-for-all: in the FAA's words, "unregulated" airspace doesn't exist (FAA: Airspace 101).

Each class in a sentence or two

• Class A covers 18,000 feet MSL to FL600 and isn't printed on sectional charts (Chart Users' Guide, p. 16). It is far above anywhere a Part 107 drone goes.
• Class B sits over the country's busiest airports and typically reaches 10,000 feet MSL. Each one is shaped for its own airport, built from a surface area plus two or more layers stacked above it (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 5).
• Class C typically reaches 4,000 feet above the field at airports that have a working tower and radar approach control. A common layout is a 5-nautical-mile inner circle that starts at the ground, inside a 10-nautical-mile ring that covers 1,200 to 4,000 feet above the airport (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 6).
• Class D typically tops out 2,500 feet above the field at airports with a working control tower (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 6).
• Class E is every bit of controlled airspace that isn't A, B, C or D. Its floor is most often 1,200 feet above ground level (AGL), but in many places it comes down to 700 feet AGL or all the way to the ground; where a chart shows no floor, it starts at 14,500 feet MSL (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 6).
• Class G fills the gap between the ground and wherever Class E begins (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 6).

Where Part 107 asks for permission

One rule settles it. 14 CFR 107.41 requires prior ATC authorization for Class B, C and D airspace, and for the area inside the side boundaries of a Class E surface area designated for an airport (14 CFR 107.41). A Class E surface area is controlled airspace that reaches down to the ground around an airport whose control tower isn't operating (AIM 3-2-6), and sectionals outline it with a dashed magenta line (Chart Users' Guide, p. 17). No other kind of Class E appears in 107.41.

Why Class E rarely gets in the way

Most Class E doesn't touch the ground. A magenta vignette, a shaded band on the chart, shows where its floor is 700 feet AGL, and a blue vignette shows a different floor where it borders Class G (Chart Users' Guide, p. 17). These 700-foot and 1,200-foot transition areas apply around the clock, regardless of when the airport is open (AIM 3-2-6).

Part 107, meanwhile, caps your drone at 400 feet AGL. The one exception is near a structure: within 400 feet of it horizontally, you may climb to 400 feet above its top (14 CFR 107.51(b)). Put the two facts together and, below a 700-foot or 1,200-foot floor, a drone flying no higher than 400 feet AGL is still in the Class G underneath, which needs no ATC authorization (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 6).

Feet above the ground, feet above the sea

The 400-foot limit counts up from the ground. Chart altitudes count up from mean sea level (MSL). Class B and Class C sector limits are printed in hundreds of feet MSL with the final two zeros dropped (Chart Users' Guide, p. 16), and the Class C and Class D heights in the list above are measured from the airport's elevation but charted as MSL (FAA Remote Pilot Study Guide, p. 6). So convert before you compare.

Say a towered airport sits at 600 feet MSL with the usual Class D: its top is near 600 plus 2,500, or 3,100 feet MSL. Or say you launch from ground at 1,100 feet MSL beneath a Class B shelf whose floor is 4,000 feet MSL. At 400 feet AGL your drone is at 1,500 feet MSL, far below the shelf, so the shelf isn't what decides your flight. Whatever starts at the ground where you stand does.

Towers that close, and airspace that overlaps

Not every tower runs around the clock. When a part-time Class D surface area shuts down for the day, its airspace can turn into a Class E surface area or into Class G, and the Chart Supplement lists the hours (AIM 3-2-5). Look the hours up rather than guessing. Where two designations cover the same piece of sky, you follow the rules of the stricter one, with Class A the strictest and Class G the least strict (AIM 3-1-3).

No authorization needed doesn't mean no rules

Airspace class only settles the permission question. In Class G you must still keep the drone within your visual line of sight (14 CFR 107.31), yield to every other aircraft (14 CFR 107.37), avoid interfering with airport traffic patterns (14 CFR 107.43), get permission before entering prohibited or restricted areas (14 CFR 107.45) and comply with temporary flight restrictions (14 CFR 107.47). FAA guidance adds that flying near an airport outside controlled airspace needs no notification or authorization, but you must stay clear of its traffic patterns and approach corridors (AC 107-2A, para. 5.10.1). Our guide to special use airspace and TFRs covers those other limits.

How to get the authorization

Inside Class B, C, D or a Class E surface area, the usual route is LAANC. It gives drone pilots access to controlled airspace at or below 400 feet and can return an approval in near real time (FAA: LAANC). At airports without LAANC, you apply through FAADroneZone instead (FAA: Part 107 Airspace Authorizations). Phoning or radioing the tower isn't the way to do it: the AIM tells small drone operators not to contact ATC directly that way for airspace access (AIM 11-8-2). Our LAANC and airspace authorization guide walks through both routes.

A five-step check before you fly

1. Find your launch point on a current sectional and read off the ground elevation there.
2. If a Class B or Class C sector lies overhead, convert your highest planned altitude to MSL and compare.
3. If the site is inside a dashed blue line (Class D) or a dashed magenta line (Class E surface area), get authorization first.
4. If not, use the vignettes to see where Class E begins. Beneath that floor you are in Class G.
5. Finish by looking for special use airspace on the chart and temporary restrictions in the NOTAMs.

If the chart symbols are new to you, start with how to read a sectional chart, and keep our Part 107 glossary open for terms like AGL and vignette.

Practice the airspace questions

Airspace sticks once you have answered questions about it. Try the free 20-question Part 107 practice test, read the airspace topic page and work through our sectional chart questions. When you want every lesson, timed mock exams and the full question bank, Part 107 Complete is a one-time $39.

Questions people ask

Do I need permission to fly a drone in Class G airspace under Part 107?

No ATC authorization is needed in Class G airspace. Every other Part 107 rule still applies, including the 400-foot limit, visual line of sight, giving way to other aircraft and obeying temporary flight restrictions.

Does all Class E airspace need an authorization?

No. Under 14 CFR 107.41 only the Class E surface area designated for an airport needs prior ATC authorization. Class E that begins at 700 or 1,200 feet above ground sits above the 400-foot limit, so a drone flying below it is in Class G.

Are airspace altitudes on a sectional chart above ground or above sea level?

Class B and Class C ceilings and floors are printed in hundreds of feet above mean sea level. Add the ground elevation to your planned height above ground before comparing.

Can I call the control tower to ask for permission?

No. The AIM says small drone pilots should not contact ATC directly by radio or telephone for airspace access. Use LAANC or FAADroneZone instead.