11–4–4 14 CFR Part 89 Remote Identification and FAA-Recognized Identification Areas (FRIAs)

a. Background:

1. Remote identification (RID) of UAS is crucial to UAS integration.

2. RID is the ability of a UAS in flight to provide identification and location information that can be received by other parties.

3. RID allows the FAA, national security agencies, law enforcement, and others to distinguish compliant airspace users from those potentially posing a safety or security risk. It helps these agencies find the control station when a UAS appears to be flying unsafely or where it is prohibited.

b. Remote ID Rule:

1. 14 CFR part 89, Remote Identification (RID) of Unmanned Aircraft, will require most drones operating in U.S. airspace to have RID capability. UAS not equipped with RID capability will be limited to operating in specific FAA-approved geographic locations, such as FRIA.

Reference: 14 CFR Part 89, Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft.

2. There are three ways drone pilots will be able to meet the identification requirements of the RID rule: Standard RID, RID Broadcast Module, and FRIAs.

(a) Standard RID. Only standard RID drones may be manufactured after the September 16, 2022, rule effective date. Unmanned aircraft broadcast the RID message elements directly from the unmanned aircraft from takeoff to shutdown. Message elements include: (1) A unique identifier to establish the identity of the unmanned aircraft; (2) an indication of the unmanned aircraft latitude, longitude, geometric altitude, and velocity; (3) an indication of the control station latitude, longitude, and geometric altitude; (4) a time mark; and (5) an emergency status indication. Operators may choose whether to use the serial number of the unmanned aircraft or a session ID (e.g., an alternative form of identification that provides additional privacy to the operator) as the unique identifier.

(b) RID Broadcast Modules. An unmanned aircraft can be equipped with a Remote ID broadcast module that broadcasts message elements from takeoff to shutdown. Message elements include: (1) The serial number of the broadcast module assigned by the producer; (2) an indication of the latitude, longitude, geometric altitude, and velocity of the unmanned aircraft; (3) an indication of the latitude, longitude, and geometric altitude of the unmanned aircraft takeoff location; and (4) a time mark.

(c) FAA-Recognized Identification Area:

(1) An FAA-recognized identification area (FRIA) is a defined geographic area where persons can operate UAS without remote identification, provided they maintain visual line of sight. Organizations eligible to request establishment of a FRIA include CBOs recognized by the FAA and educational institutions. The latter group includes primary and secondary educational institutions, trade schools, colleges, and universities.

(2) To operate in a FRIA according to the 14 CFR part 89, RID of unmanned aircraft, operators must be physically located within the boundaries of the FRIA, must only operate drones within those boundaries, and must operate within VLOS at all times. UAS equipped with RID broadcast capability must broadcast continuously even while operating within or transiting a FRIA.

Reference: 14 CFR Part 89, Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft.

(3) Figure 11-4-1 illustrates the three ways UAS operators can comply with the new RID rule.