How to Apply for a Part 107 Waiver: Aviation Safety Hub (Formerly FAADroneZone)

Looking for how to apply for a Part 107 waiver through the FAADroneZone? The process has moved. The FAA now takes Part 107 operational waiver applications through the FAA Aviation Safety Hub, not DroneZone. This guide walks you through the current process step by step, so your application has the detail the FAA needs to approve it.

FAADroneZone vs. the Aviation Safety Hub: what changed

For years, drone pilots applied for Part 107 waivers in the FAADroneZone. According to the FAA’s Part 107 Waivers page, the waiver application process has now moved to the Aviation Safety Hub, a newer interactive system. Here’s what that means for you:

• New operational waiver applications go through the Aviation Safety Hub.
• Waivers you already submitted in DroneZone need no action. The FAA will keep processing them in the FAADroneZone.
• Airspace authorizations (operating in controlled airspace under §107.41) stay in the FAADroneZone until further notice. You can also get many of those through LAANC.

Do you actually need a Part 107 waiver?

You don’t need a waiver if you can follow every Part 107 rule as written. If you can’t, the FAA lists the rules that can be waived, including:

• §107.25: flying from a moving vehicle or aircraft
• §107.29(a)(2) and (b): flying at night or in civil twilight without anti-collision lighting
• §107.31: flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS)
• §107.33: using a visual observer without meeting every visual observer requirement
• §107.35: flying multiple drones with one remote pilot
• §107.37(a): yielding the right of way
• §107.39 and §107.145: flying over people or moving vehicles outside operational categories 1 through 4
• §107.51: exceeding operating limits, such as 100 mph groundspeed, 400 feet AGL, 3 statute miles of visibility, or cloud clearance

Note: night flying itself no longer needs a waiver if your drone has the required anti-collision lighting. The §107.29 waiver is specifically for flying at night or in civil twilight without it.

How to apply for a Part 107 waiver in the Aviation Safety Hub

These steps follow the FAA’s Aviation Safety Hub External User Guide for Part 107 Waivers (July 2026).

Step 1: Create an Aviation Safety Hub account

Go to the Aviation Safety Hub and select Sign In / Register, then choose Customer as your user type. Sign-in runs through Login.gov, so you’ll create or use a Login.gov account, complete identity verification, and link it to DOT/FAA MyAccess. Your old DroneZone login doesn’t carry over. If you apply for a company, you can also set up an organization profile and add team members.

Step 2: Start a Part 107 Operational Waiver

From the home page, select Request a Waiver > Part 107 Operational Waiver, or click Apply Now on the “Part 107 – Waivers for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems” card. Review the Application Overview, then click Begin Application. You can use Save for Later at any point.

Step 3: Fill in Operator Information

Confirm the Responsible Party: name, phone, mailing address and email. Choose whether you’re applying as an individual or an organization, and pick your operator type (Public Safety Organization, Drone Light Show Operator, Agricultural Operator, or Other). The FAA contacts this Responsible Party if it needs more information.

Step 4: Describe the Proposed Operation

Add each drone (type, make, model, quantity), your start and end dates, and the location with a description, latitude and longitude. Then answer the operational questions about time of day, lighting, altitude, groundspeed, line of sight, visual observers, flying over people and so on. A couple of tips from the FAA guide:

• Set your start date at least 90 days out to allow time for FAA review. The end date can be up to 48 months after the start date.
• Your answers determine which waivers you request. For example, answering “No” to visual line of sight adds §107.31. Answer carefully.

Step 5: Review your Requested Waivers

The Hub lists the regulations it added based on your answers. If that list doesn’t match what you plan to fly, go back and fix your Proposed Operation answers.

Step 6: Upload Supporting Documentation

Upload a Concept of Operations (CONOPS) that describes the operation, your procedures and your safety mitigations. The FAA recommends one, and if you include it, the Hub uses AI to draft responses for the Safety Evaluation. Add maps, diagrams, procedures and safety materials as needed. Check everything before you click Next, because once you move on to the Safety Evaluation you can’t go back and edit the earlier sections.

Step 7: Complete the Safety Evaluation

You’ll get an email and an Action Item asking you to complete the Safety Evaluation. Here you answer the FAA’s Waiver Safety Explanation Guidelines (WSEGs) for each regulation. If the Hub drafted responses from your CONOPS, review and edit every one so it accurately reflects your operation.

How to give your waiver its best chance

The FAA is clear on this point: if your application doesn’t identify operational hazards and propose ways to reduce them, the FAA can’t complete its safety analysis and will disapprove it for insufficient information. The FAA’s waiver safety explanation guidance suggests covering:

• Operational details: where you’ll fly (lat/long and a map), your maximum altitude AGL, any controlled airspace within 5 miles, and what you’ll fly over (rural, congested, gatherings, a restricted-access site).
• Drone details: aircraft type and size, power source, flight time, range and speed, weight with payload, containment (such as geofencing or a tether), and any flight termination system.
• Personnel: minimum remote PIC experience, crew size, and how crew members are trained, tested and kept current.
• Risks and mitigations: what could go wrong and how you’ll handle it, using operating limits, technology, training, equipment, extra personnel or restricted access.

If you plan to use a waiver at night or during civil twilight, explain how you’ll reduce the extra risk. Otherwise you may be limited to daylight operations. You don’t need to register your drone to request a waiver, but you do need to register it before you fly.

After you submit: tracking your waiver

Use My Dashboard in the Aviation Safety Hub to see every application and its status: Draft, Submitted, Under Review, Returned to Applicant, or Resolved (Issued, Denied, Partial Approval or Canceled). The FAA says it will do its best to decide within 90 days, though complex or incomplete requests take longer.

If the FAA needs more information, it sends a Request for Information (RFI) through the Hub along with a status-change email. Respond within 30 days. If you don’t, your application is canceled and you’ll have to start over. Once you’re approved, follow every term of the waiver, because breaking a term can count as violating the rule that was waived.

How Can Drone U Help You Get Your Part 107 Waiver?

A strong waiver starts with a pilot who understands the rules being waived. If you don’t have your Remote Pilot Certificate yet, start with our Part 107 course. It covers the regulations, airspace and risk-management thinking the FAA expects to see in a waiver application.

Drone U members also get our instructional video “Getting an FAA 107.29 Daylight Waiver so You Can Fly at Night”, where Vic walks through how to describe your operation, see and avoid other aircraft, keep track of your drone, and lay out risk mitigations. The portal has changed since the video was recorded, but the safety thinking behind a good application hasn’t. If you’re a member and the FAA sends you a Request for Information, contact Vic. We can help you draft your response.

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