What is a Part 91 Waiver?

A waiver is an official document issued by the FAA which approves certain operations of aircraft outside the limitations of a regulation. You may request regulatory relief from some Part 91 regulations by requesting an operational waiver to those regulations. These waivers allow drone pilots to deviate from certain rules under Part 91 by demonstrating they can still fly safely using alternative methods.

Note: Part 91 waivers are not available to Part 107 or 49 USC 44809 (recreational flyers) drone operators.  

How do I apply?

There are several ways to operate a drone under Part 91. Click one of the links below for more information on the waiver you need:

• A Public Aircraft waiver (for public aircraft UA of any weight), or a Civil Aircraft waiver for UA 55 lbs. or more)  
• A “Section 927” waiver  
• An Exemption under section 44807  
• A Special Airworthiness Certificate-Experimental Category (SAC-EC)
• A Type Certificate (TC)-follow the flight manual for the TC’d aircraft  

Qualified applicants should submit their application package to 9-avs-afs-750-91.113waivers@faa.gov. The FAA will process all waiver applications in the order they are received.