Part 107 operations over people: the four categories explained

Part 107's starting point is simple: don't fly a small drone over a person. Then come the ways around it. The person may be part of your operation, they may be sheltered, or your drone and your flight may fit one of four operating categories (14 CFR 107.39). Those categories have let pilots fly over people routinely, with no waiver, since April 21, 2021 (FAA, Operations Over People). Which category you can use comes down to the drone itself: how much it weighs, how hard it could hit someone, and whether the FAA has certificated it as airworthy.

Who you can fly over without a category

Section 107.39 allows a flight over a person in three situations:

• They are part of the operation. That covers you as remote pilot in command, anyone else flying the drone, your visual observer, and crewmembers the flight needs for safety (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3).
• They are protected. Someone under a covered structure, or in a stationary vehicle, that can reasonably shield them from a falling drone (14 CFR 107.39(b)).
• Your flight qualifies for a category under Subpart D of Part 107 (14 CFR 107.39(c)).

Two things surprise new pilots. First, "over" is strict: passing directly above any part of someone, such as a head, a shoulder, or an arm or leg stretched out, counts, even for a moment (FAA, Part 107 Waivers). Second, the rule gives no minimum distance to keep from people. Picking a safe one is up to you, weighing how your drone performs, the wind, how the people around you are moving, what could fail and how skilled you are (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.1). The FAA also wants you to think about where the drone is heading, how fast and on what path, including what happens if it fails catastrophically, when you judge whether it could end up over, or hit, someone not involved (FAA, Operations Over People).

The four categories at a glance

Think of the categories as steps. The first relies on the drone being very light, the next two on tested injury limits backed by a declaration of compliance, and the last on FAA airworthiness certification.

• Category 1, the lightweights. The drone weighs 0.55 pounds or less at takeoff and for the whole flight, counting anything carried or attached, and has no exposed rotating parts that would cut skin if it struck someone (14 CFR 107.110(a)). FAA guidance equates 0.55 pounds with 250 grams (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.4). Nobody else signs off on this category: there is no label or declaration, and checking both the weight and the rotating parts falls to you (AC 107-2A, paras. 8.3.4.1 and 8.3.4.2). A tiny drone with bare propellers that would cut skin doesn't qualify.
• Category 2, tested to 11 foot-pounds. Any injury the drone could cause must be less severe than what a rigid object would do by transferring 11 foot-pounds of kinetic energy when it hits. It also needs no skin-cutting exposed rotating parts and no safety defects (14 CFR 107.120(a)). That isn't something you judge in the field: the drone must appear as Category 2 eligible on a declaration of compliance the FAA has accepted, and carry a Category 2 label (14 CFR 107.115(a)). FAA guidance suggests checking the declaration in the FAA's online system and looking at the drone for the label (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.5.1). If the label is damaged, destroyed or missing, you have to relabel the drone yourself, in English and easy to read and see, before any flight over people (14 CFR 107.135).
• Category 3, tested to 25 foot-pounds. The same kind of injury test with a higher ceiling of 25 foot-pounds, and its own accepted declaration and label (14 CFR 107.130(a)) (14 CFR 107.125(a)). Because it can hit harder, it gets limits on where it flies, covered in the next section (14 CFR 107.125(b) and (c)).
• Category 4, certificated aircraft. The drone holds a Part 21 airworthiness certificate and is flown within the operating limitations of its approved Flight Manual, or as the FAA otherwise specifies, and those limitations can't rule out flight over people (14 CFR 107.140(b)). Maintenance has to follow the manufacturer's current manual or other FAA-acceptable methods, with records kept, by the owner or by an operator who has agreed to take that on (14 CFR 107.140(c)).

Hovering, crowds and closed sites

Several of the extra limits turn on "sustained flight". In FAA guidance that means keeping the drone above part of someone: hovering over their head, sweeping back and forth across them, or circling above them (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.6.7).

Category 3's location rules. A Category 3 drone is barred from flying over any open-air assembly. Elsewhere it may go over people only in one of two ways: inside or above a closed- or restricted-access site where everyone in it has been put on notice that a drone may fly overhead, or with no sustained flight over anyone who isn't participating and isn't sheltered (by a covered structure or a stationary vehicle) (14 CFR 107.125(b) and (c)). If you use a closed site, keeping outsiders out is your responsibility, for instance with fences, barricades or staff who monitor access (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.6.6).

Crowds and Remote ID. Categories 1, 2 and 4 may stay in sustained flight above an open-air assembly only when the flight meets the Remote ID rules, using either a standard Remote ID drone or a broadcast module (14 CFR 107.110(b)) (14 CFR 107.115(b)) (14 CFR 107.140(a)(2)). Category 3, as above, can't go over one in any way. Our Remote ID guide explains the two ways to broadcast.

What counts as an open-air assembly? There is no definition in the regulations, so the FAA judges each case on its facts (AC 107-2A, para. 8.3.6.4). Sporting events, concerts, parades, protests, political rallies and community festivals are among its possible examples. Examples that might not count: a family walking out of a shopping center, a casual game in an open area with nobody watching, or a few people resting in a park (FAA, Part 107 Waivers). And a single, brief crossing of part of a gathering is not sustained flight over it, if it happens only in passing on a point-to-point flight that has nothing to do with the gathering (FAA, Operations Over People).

Cars and trucks

A stationary vehicle that can reasonably protect the people inside counts as shelter under the second exception (14 CFR 107.39(b)). Once it is moving, it doesn't, and you need a category to fly over the people in it (14 CFR 107.145). With Category 1, 2 or 3 the choice is between staying inside or above a closed- or restricted-access site whose vehicle occupants have all been put on notice, and never holding sustained flight over moving vehicles. With Category 4 it is allowed unless the drone's operating limitations prohibit flight over people in moving vehicles.

Checks that catch pilots out

• The category check is a preflight item. Part 107 makes confirming that the drone meets your chosen category part of preflight (14 CFR 107.49(f)).
• Declarations can be withdrawn. If the FAA rescinds a declaration of compliance, no one may fly a drone identified on it while the rescission stands (14 CFR 107.160(d)(1)).
• Modes matter. One drone can be eligible for more than one category, but only if you can't switch modes or configurations by accident (14 CFR 107.150).
• Darkness doesn't change the categories. A drone eligible for a category may still fly over people after dark, as long as the night rule is met too (AC 107-2A, paras. 8.14 and 8.14.1). See Part 107 night flying rules.
• No category fits? Then the flight needs a certificate of waiver. Both 107.39 and 107.145 can be waived (14 CFR 107.205(g) and (j)). Our guide to Part 107 waivers covers applying.

Three situations to think through

1. A sub-250-gram drone with bare propellers, over a picnic. The weight can fit Category 1, but if those exposed propellers would cut skin on impact, the drone doesn't qualify (14 CFR 107.110(a)). Without a category, the picnickers are off limits unless they are part of your operation or sheltered (14 CFR 107.39).
2. A car in a driveway, then on the road. While it is parked and its occupants are reasonably protected, the stationary-vehicle exception covers them (14 CFR 107.39(b)). When it pulls away, a Category 1, 2 or 3 drone outside a closed site must not hold sustained flight over it (14 CFR 107.145(b)).
3. A Category 2 drone, listed and labeled, at a community festival. The festival may be an open-air assembly. Sustained flight over it needs Remote ID (14 CFR 107.115(b)), while a Category 3 drone couldn't fly over it at all (14 CFR 107.125(b)).

Operations over people on the knowledge test

The categories come with numbers that are easy to swap: 0.55 pounds, 11 foot-pounds, 25 foot-pounds. Our Part 107 key numbers page lists each with its source, and the Part 107 regulations topic page has sample questions on the rules. For a quick check of where you stand across every topic, take the free 20-question Part 107 practice test.

This post is the overview. Part 107 Complete ($39, one-time) has the full lesson on operations over people and moving vehicles, with practice questions and timed mock exams. If you haven't started the certificate process yet, read how to get your Remote Pilot Certificate.

Questions people ask

Can I fly my drone over people under Part 107?

Only in some cases: the people are taking part in the flight, they are sheltered by a covered structure or a stationary vehicle, or your flight fits an operating category in Subpart D of Part 107 (14 CFR 107.39). If none of those applies, you need a waiver.

Does a drone under 250 grams automatically qualify for Category 1?

No. Weight is only half of it: the drone must be 0.55 pounds or less including anything attached, and it must also have no exposed rotating parts that would cut skin if it hit someone (14 CFR 107.110). Checking both is the remote pilot's job.

What does sustained flight over people mean?

In FAA guidance, sustained flight means keeping the drone above part of a person, for example by hovering over them, flying back and forth across them, or circling above them. A single brief crossing of an unrelated gathering, made in passing on a point-to-point flight, is not sustained flight over that gathering.

Can I fly a drone over cars on a road?

People in moving vehicles need a category. A Category 1, 2 or 3 drone must either stay inside a closed- or restricted-access site where all vehicle occupants have been put on notice, or avoid sustained flight over moving vehicles (14 CFR 107.145). People in a stationary vehicle that can reasonably protect them are covered by the stationary-vehicle exception instead (14 CFR 107.39).

What if my drone doesn't fit any category?

Then you can't fly it over people who aren't participating or sheltered unless you hold a certificate of waiver. Both 14 CFR 107.39 and 107.145 are on the list of rules the FAA can waive (14 CFR 107.205).