Hiring a drone pilot for your commercial project is not just about getting good footage. It is about knowing the person operating over your property, your team, and your clients is legal, insured, and accountable. Here is what you need to know before you hire.
The license is easy to get, which means there is no excuse for skipping it
The FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate is the legal requirement for any drone operator flying commercially in the United States. Getting certified means passing an in-person aeronautical knowledge test covering airspace classifications, weather, flight regulations, and emergency procedures. The test costs $175 at an FAA-approved testing center and requires a score of 70 or above to pass.
Recurrent certification, required every 24 months to stay current, is now free and completed entirely online through FAASafety.gov. There is no longer any reason to let a certificate lapse.
The material covers things every commercial drone pilot should know regardless of certification: how controlled airspace works, what temporary flight restrictions mean, and how to operate safely around people and structures. A pilot who has not bothered to get certified is signaling something about how seriously they take their business and your project.
For recreational flyers, the FAA now requires completion of The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST), a free online course that covers basic safety rules. Part 107 commercial certification is a separate and more rigorous standard.
FAA enforcement is no longer theoretical
In 2019, the realistic risk of hiring an unlicensed drone operator was primarily the insurance problem described below. FAA enforcement activity was limited enough that some operators took the chance.
That has changed substantially. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 raised maximum civil penalties for drone violations to $75,000, and gave the FAA authority to suspend or revoke a pilot’s certificate for non-compliance. Between 2023 and 2025, the FAA fined 18 operations, with individual penalties ranging from roughly $1,700 to over $36,000. In nearly every case, the pilot was operating without a Part 107 certificate. In 2026, the FAA updated its enforcement policy to make legal action the default response for violations involving restricted airspace or public safety.
What is less widely known is that the person who hires the unlicensed pilot also faces potential FAA penalties. The FAA places the burden of verifying a pilot’s certification on the client, and ignorance of the pilot’s status is not a defense. If an incident or violation occurs on your project, your exposure does not end with the pilot.
The practical takeaway: verify the certificate before the shoot, not after.
Without a license, there is no insurance
This is the most important reason to verify certification before hiring anyone.
Insurance companies will not issue liability coverage for commercial drone operations to unlicensed pilots. A drone operator without a Part 107 certificate carries zero liability coverage regardless of what they tell you. Your own business general liability policy almost certainly excludes UAS incidents. Drone coverage must be added explicitly, and it is only available when the operator holds a valid certificate.
Hiring companies, property managers, and construction sites routinely require contractors to carry $1 to $2 million in liability coverage. Hiring an unlicensed drone pilot is hiring an uninsured contractor, one operating aircraft over your property and your people.
Even when hiring a licensed pilot, verify the coverage. Request a Certificate of Insurance that specifically notes UAS liability coverage. Some insurers do not include the UAS notation by default on the COI. Ask for it explicitly if it is not shown. Any legitimate operator will have no problem providing it.
How to verify a drone pilot is licensed and insured
The FAA Airmen Registry allows you to search for any certified Remote Pilot by name. Search using the pilot’s legal name, not a nickname or business name, and confirm the Remote Pilot Certificate is listed and current. If the issue date is more than 24 months ago, ask the pilot to show their online recurrent training completion certificate, which they should have on file.
Request a Certificate of Insurance before the shoot date. The COI should show UAS liability coverage specifically. If it does not include that notation, ask the pilot to have their insurer add it to the document.
These are two quick steps that protect your project, your property, and your business.