Flying a drone over people is one of the most commonly asked questions in the drone world and the answer is not a simple yes or no. The FAA updated the rules in 2021 to allow certain drones to fly over people without a waiver, but it depends entirely on which category your drone falls into. Here is how it actually works.
The Short Answer
Under the old rules, flying over people always required a waiver. Under the current rules, some drones can fly over people without any waiver at all. The determining factor is the drone's weight, design, and whether it has been declared compliant with FAA standards for its category.
Most consumer drones that people fly commercially fall into a gray area where the answer is: technically allowed under certain conditions, but you need to know which category applies to your specific aircraft.
The Four Categories
The FAA created four categories under Part 107 for operations over people. Each one has different requirements:
| Category | Requirements | Over People Allowed? | Over Moving Vehicles? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | Under 0.55 lbs (250 grams). No exposed rotating parts that could lacerate skin. | Yes | No |
| Category 2 | Does not cause injury above a certain threshold if it falls on a person. Must be FAA-declared compliant. No exposed rotating parts that could lacerate. | Yes | No |
| Category 3 | Higher injury threshold than Category 2. Must be FAA-declared compliant. Cannot fly over open-air assemblies. People in the area must be on notice. | Limited | No |
| Category 4 | Must have an FAA airworthiness certificate. More like a manned aircraft certification process. | Yes | Yes |
What "Over People" Actually Means
The FAA defines flying over people as having a drone directly overhead of someone who is not a participant in the operation. The remote pilot in command and any crew members who are actively part of the flight do not count as the general public for this purpose. But anyone else who happens to be in the area, a bystander on the street, someone in their yard, a pedestrian walking by, counts as a person you are flying over if your drone passes above them.
This comes up a lot in real estate photography, events, and any urban environment where people are around. Flying down a street with pedestrians below you is flying over people. Flying over a park where people are walking is flying over people.
What About Flying Over a Moving Car?
Flying over moving vehicles is treated separately from flying over people and is even more restricted. Only Category 4 drones with an airworthiness certificate can fly over moving vehicles, and even then only in certain controlled environments. For standard consumer drones doing commercial work, flying over moving traffic is not permitted without a waiver.
A lot of pilots do not realize this. Shooting video of a street scene with cars driving below the drone is technically flying over moving vehicles and falls under these restrictions.
Flying Over Open-Air Assemblies
Flying over a crowd, a concert, a sports event, a festival, or any open-air assembly of people is more restricted than flying over a single person. Even Category 3 drones cannot fly over open-air assemblies. Only Category 4 aircraft can operate over crowds, and the requirements are significant.
If you are hired to shoot aerial footage of an outdoor event with a crowd, you almost certainly need a waiver unless you have a Category 4 aircraft, which almost no commercial drone pilot has.
Getting a Waiver
If your drone does not qualify under the category rules, you can apply for a waiver through FAA DroneZone. You will need to submit a detailed safety case explaining how you plan to mitigate risks to people on the ground. Waivers for operations over people are not automatically granted and the FAA reviews each application on its own merits. Plan for a wait of several weeks and be prepared to provide specifics about your equipment, your flight plan, and your safety procedures.
What the Part 107 Exam Tests
The exam is unlikely to ask you to memorize all four category specifications in detail. What it does test is whether you know the general rule: flying over people requires either a qualifying aircraft category or a waiver. It will also test whether you understand that flying over moving vehicles has its own separate restriction and that open-air assemblies have the tightest rules of all.
Know that the default answer under standard Part 107 is that you cannot fly over uninvolved people without meeting specific requirements. That will get you through most exam questions on this topic.
Regulation questions like this are on the exam
FAA 107 Prep covers the current Part 107 rules with practice questions and explanations so nothing surprises you on test day.