American families who plan on gifting or receiving a drone this holiday season will need to add an additional $5 to their budgets.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced this week it will now require drone owners to register their device.
“We expect hundreds of thousands of model unmanned aircraft will be purchased this holiday season,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “Registration gives us the opportunity to educate these new airspace users before they fly so they know the airspace rules and understand they are accountable to the public for flying responsibly.”
Online drone registration will begin Monday.
According to CNN Money, drones must be registered within 60 days of purchase. After that point, drones must be registered before their first flight.
Drone registration will cost $5 for three years. The fee will cover multiple drones by a single owner.
Registrants will be asked to provide their name, home address and an email address. In return for the fee and information, the drone owner will receive a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of Ownership with a unique identification number for the drone owner.
The unique ID number must then be marked on the drone.
To encourage drone owners to register, FAA is waiving its fee from Dec. 21 to Jan. 20.
The full rule can be found here: http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/media/20151213_IFR.pdf.
Registration may be completed here: http://www.faa.gov/uas/registration.