What FAA Part 107 Actually Means When You Hire a Drone Pilot

When you hire someone to fly a drone for your business, the point isn’t the aircraft. It’s the footage, the listing, the inspection report — and the quiet assurance that the whole thing was done legally. FAA Part 107 is the line between those two outcomes. It’s the federal certification that makes flying a drone for commercial purposes lawful in the United States, and it’s the first thing worth confirming before money changes hands.

What Part 107 actually is

Part 107 is the FAA’s set of rules for small commercial drones, and the Remote Pilot Certificate is the credential a pilot earns under it. Getting it means passing an FAA aeronautical knowledge exam that covers the things that keep a flight safe and legal — how airspace is structured, how to read weather and aviation charts, how to interpret the restrictions around airports, and the operating limits that apply to every flight.

A certificated remote pilot has demonstrated they understand the system they’re operating inside, not just how to fly the equipment. Anyone can buy a capable drone. The certificate is the part that says the operator knows where they can fly it, when, how high, and what to do when the answer is “not here, not right now.” That judgment is most of the job.

What it protects you from

Hiring an uncertificated operator for paid work isn’t a gray area — it puts an unlawful flight on your property, in your marketing, attached to your name. The FAA’s enforcement authority is over the operator, but the reputational and practical fallout lands on the business that commissioned the work. A clean, compliant flight is something you should be able to take for granted, and Part 107 is how you do.

It also shapes the insurance conversation. A serious commercial operator typically carries aviation liability coverage, and that coverage assumes a properly certificated pilot flying within the rules. When a flight happens outside Part 107, you can’t count on the protection you’d expect if something went wrong on or near your site. Certification and coverage tend to travel together, and both are fair to ask about up front.

What to ask before you book

You don’t need to become an airspace expert. You need a short, reasonable set of questions:

• Are you a current FAA Part 107 certificated remote pilot?
• Do you carry commercial drone liability insurance, and can you provide proof?
• For this location, will you need an airspace authorization, and have you planned for that?

A pilot who does this professionally will answer those without hesitation, because they’ve answered them many times. Hesitation, vagueness, or “it’s fine, nobody checks” is the answer itself — and a reason to keep looking.

Remote ID — a layer added in 2024

Part 107 has a companion requirement that went into full enforcement in March 2024: Remote ID. Drones that require FAA registration must now broadcast identification and location information during flight — essentially a license plate visible to regulators and air traffic systems in real time. For a business commissioning aerial work, this means the footage was produced with equipment flying in a documented, traceable way. It’s one more thing a compliant commercial operator handles without you having to ask.

Why it’s the floor, not the ceiling

Part 107 is the minimum bar for doing this work legally. It doesn’t, by itself, tell you whether someone frames a building well, grades footage that looks like your brand, or shows up when they said they would. Treat the certificate as the threshold you don’t cross below, then judge the actual work on its merits. The license keeps the flight legal; the craft is what makes it worth paying for.

For a North Texas business owner, broker, or marketing lead, the practical takeaway is simple. Confirm the certificate, confirm the coverage, and you’ve cleared the part that protects you. Everything after that is about the result.

If you’re weighing an aerial project and want a straight answer on how it’d be flown — legally and well — that’s an easy first conversation to have.

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Sources: FAA — Become a Certificated Remote Pilot: faa.gov/uas/commercial_operators/become_a_drone_pilot · FAA — Remote ID of Unmanned Aircraft: faa.gov/uas/getting_started/remote_id