The FAA is warning drone owners — especially hobbyists — about people offering to “help” register their drones with the agency.
The FAA Drone Zone is all you need – and it costs only $5.
There are a number of entities that offer to help drone owners and operators file an application for a registration number. Some attempt to mimic the look of the FAA’s website with similar graphic design and even the FAA logo, or suggest they are somehow “approved” by the agency.
They aren’t — and you could be wasting your money, FAA officials say.
“The FAA neither regulates these entities nor will speculate on their legitimacy,” officials said in a prepared release. “However, we have recently received reports of vendors charging exorbitant fees up to $150 for this service. The actual FAA registration fee is $5. For that charge, hobbyists receive one identification number for all the drones they own. All others pay the registration fee for each drone they intend to operate.”
You should only register your unmanned aircraft at the FAA Drone Zone, officials say.
“It’s the only way to make sure your drone is legally registered and that you’ve gotten your money’s worth,” they add.
I see nothing wrong with what they are doing… Every flight school does the same thing, they sell or present in their own way information the FAA gives out for FREE.
“The FAA neither regulates these entities nor will speculate on their legitimacy,”
Why aren’t they being prosecuted?
Exactly…. in the State of Florida there are statutes that prohibit the use of a private company’s logo, or trademark, that appears to resemble a government body or agency. Security companies cannot use sheriff stars or police badge signs on their security cars…etc. cant use the words “patrolman, public safety, etc” for reasons of misleading the public into thinking they have law enforcement authority. I’m sure there is a federal statute that also prohibits imitation of or impersonating a federal agency. I caught that very exact thing just last week when a friend asked me to help direct him where to register his drone, and I almost sent a link to this bogus company. Luckily I checked if the url had .gov and no, it was a bogus phony FAA scammer. So they almost caught me…which I thought was a pretty big deal. At the same time though (and before this article was written) I actually did wonder how many others fall prey to these bogus sites and at what cost.