FAA Remote ID: The Three Routes and What Each One Broadcasts

Remote ID is a broadcast requirement. Any drone that must be registered has to transmit identification and location information that anyone nearby with the right receiver can pick up. The FAA describes it as a digital license plate, though a license plate does not announce where the driver is standing.

There are exactly three compliant routes, set out in 14 CFR part 89, and no fourth.

What Standard Remote ID broadcasts

Section 89.305 lists eight message elements a standard Remote ID aircraft must be capable of broadcasting:

1. The identity of the aircraft — either its serial number or a session ID
2. Latitude and longitude of the control station
3. Geometric altitude of the control station
4. Latitude and longitude of the aircraft
5. Geometric altitude of the aircraft
6. Velocity of the aircraft
7. A time mark, in UTC
8. Emergency status of the aircraft

Read items 2 and 3 again. Standard Remote ID broadcasts where you are standing, continuously, to anyone within range. That is not incidental — it is the design. The point of the rule is to let law enforcement locate the operator, not just the aircraft.

What a broadcast module broadcasts

Section 89.315 lists seven elements for a broadcast module:

1. The identity of the aircraft — the module's serial number
2. Latitude and longitude of the aircraft
3. Geometric altitude of the aircraft
4. Velocity of the aircraft
5. Latitude and longitude of the take-off location
6. Geometric altitude of the take-off location
7. A time mark, in UTC

Three differences, and each one makes sense once you see why.

The identity is the module's serial number, not the aircraft's. The module is the thing with Remote ID capability, so it is the thing that gets identified. This also means the module's serial number must appear on your aircraft registration.

It reports the take-off location, not the control station. A bolt-on module has no idea where you are standing — it only knows where it powered up and started moving. So it records the launch point and broadcasts that.

There is no emergency status. A module is not integrated with the flight controller, so it cannot know the aircraft has declared an emergency.

The catch that costs people money

Because a module reports the take-off point rather than your live position, the rule requires you to be able to see the aircraft at all times throughout the operation. You cannot walk away from the launch point in any meaningful sense, and a broadcast module can never be used for a beyond-visual-line-of-sight operation, waiver or not.

If BVLOS is anywhere in your plans, a module is a dead end. Buy an aircraft with Standard Remote ID built in.

FRIAs

An FAA-Recognized Identification Area is a defined geographic area where drones may be flown with no Remote ID equipment at all.

Two conditions apply throughout:

• The aircraft and the person flying it must stay inside the FRIA boundary
• The person flying must be able to see the aircraft at all times

FRIAs are established at the request of community-based organizations, educational institutions and similar bodies. You cannot create one for your own commercial site, and in practice this route serves club fields and school programs rather than working operators.

Which aircraft need it

Remote ID applies to any drone that must be registered. Under Part 107 that means every aircraft you fly commercially, regardless of weight — the under-250-gram exemption applies only to recreational flying under the Exception for Limited Recreational Operations.

The requirement is aircraft-based, not pilot-based. A registered drone flying without a compliant Remote ID route is non-compliant even in the hands of a certificated remote pilot.

The rules while you are flying

Standard Remote ID aircraft. Section 89.110 requires the equipment to be functional and complying from takeoff to shutdown, not disabled, and the serial number listed on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance. Two operating duties follow:

• Before takeoff, the aircraft self-tests its Remote ID and reports the result. Under 89.310 it must not be able to take off if the equipment is not functional. An aircraft refusing to arm with a Remote ID error is behaving correctly.
• If the broadcast stops mid-flight, you must land as soon as practicable. Not immediately, not at leisure — as soon as practicable.

Broadcast module. Before takeoff you must confirm the module is functioning. If the broadcast stops, the same land-as-soon-as-practicable requirement applies.

How to tell what your aircraft has

Three checks, in order of speed:

Look for the self-test. Power up and watch for a Remote ID status message. A Standard Remote ID aircraft tests its own equipment before every flight and tells you the result — and under 89.310 it will refuse to take off if the test fails. An aircraft that says nothing about Remote ID at startup probably has none.

Check the FAA's declaration of compliance list. A Standard Remote ID aircraft's serial number must be listed on an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance, or be covered by a part 21 design or production approval. The manufacturer publishes which of its models are covered; the FAA maintains the list of accepted declarations.

Check the firmware. Several manufacturers added Remote ID to existing airframes through a firmware update rather than new hardware. An aircraft bought before the rule may already comply if it has been updated — and may not if it has not. Never update firmware on site before a job, but do check well beforehand.

If the aircraft has no Remote ID and cannot gain it, your options are a broadcast module with its visual line of sight restriction, flying only inside a FRIA, or replacing the aircraft.

Registration and Remote ID together

These are two separate registrations that people routinely conflate:

When you register, you provide the Remote ID serial number — the aircraft's serial for Standard Remote ID, the module's serial if you are using one. Adding a module to an existing registered aircraft means updating the registration, not creating a new one.

Frequently asked questions

What is Remote ID for drones?

Remote ID is a requirement under 14 CFR part 89 for drones to broadcast identification and location information that can be received by anyone nearby with a suitable receiver. It applies to any drone that must be registered, which under Part 107 means every aircraft regardless of weight.

What are the three ways to comply with Remote ID?

Fly a Standard Remote ID aircraft with the capability built in; attach an FAA-compliant broadcast module to an older aircraft; or fly entirely within an FAA-Recognized Identification Area. There is no fourth route.

What information does Remote ID broadcast?

A Standard Remote ID aircraft broadcasts eight elements: aircraft identity, the latitude, longitude and geometric altitude of both the control station and the aircraft, velocity, a UTC time mark, and emergency status. A broadcast module sends seven, substituting the take-off location for the control station and omitting emergency status.

Does Remote ID broadcast my location?

With Standard Remote ID, yes — the latitude, longitude and geometric altitude of the control station are among the required message elements, so your position is broadcast continuously. A broadcast module reports the take-off location instead.

Can I fly beyond visual line of sight with a broadcast module?

No. The regulation requires the person flying to be able to see the aircraft at all times throughout any operation using a broadcast module. Beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations require an aircraft with Standard Remote ID.

What happens if Remote ID stops broadcasting in flight?

You must land the aircraft as soon as practicable. This applies to both Standard Remote ID aircraft and broadcast modules.

Regulations is 48 percent of the current Part 107 exam, and Remote ID is one of its most reliably tested corners. See where you stand with the free readiness assessment.

Sources

• 14 CFR part 89 — Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft
• 14 CFR 89.305 — Minimum message elements broadcast by standard remote identification unmanned aircraft
• 14 CFR 89.315 — Minimum message elements broadcast by remote identification broadcast modules
• FAA — How to Register Your Drone
• FAADroneZone