WAIVER DESK / AVS HUBPart 107 advanced operations
Build the safety case before asking for relief. This field guide separates missions that fit the standing rule, operations that need airspace authorization, and advanced flights that require an FAA waiver.
Current platform
Operational waivers use Aviation Safety Hub
Previously submitted waiver cases remain in FAADroneZone for processing.
Airspace access
LAANC or FAADroneZone
Airspace authorization remains a separate workflow.
Planning cue
Start at least 90 days out
FAA guidance, not a guaranteed decision date or approval.
Authority decision desk
A waiver is not a more powerful airspace authorization, and an airspace authorization does not relax VLOS, people, weather, or altitude rules. Classify the mission before opening a portal.
Comply
Use the standing rule. A waiver is unnecessary when the aircraft, crew, route, weather, people, vehicles, altitude, and lighting all meet the published requirements.
Authorize
Ordinary access to Class B, C, D, or surface Class E is an airspace authorization problem. Use LAANC when available or submit the manual request in FAADroneZone.
Waive
Use Aviation Safety Hub and show how the proposed controls provide an equivalent level of safety for every rule from which you seek relief.
Escalate
A Part 107 waiver only reaches the regulations listed in § 107.205. Aircraft weighing 55 pounds or more, nonwaivable rules, and other operating authorities need a different FAA path.
One advanced mission can require two FAA cases.
The FAA's current Aviation Safety Hub instructions say a waivered operation in controlled airspace needs an operational-waiver application in Aviation Safety Hub and an airspace-authorization application in FAADroneZone.
Complete waiver matrix
These are the operational sections surfaced by the FAA's current Aviation Safety Hub instructions. § 107.41 airspace access is handled through the separate Air Traffic workflow described above.
Operation
Rule
No waiver when
Waiver case
Rule
§ 107.25
No waiver when
A moving land or water vehicle may be used only over a sparsely populated area, subject to the rule's limits. A moving aircraft is outside the baseline.
Waiver case
Operating from a moving platform when the published conditions cannot be met, including a populated operating area.
Evidence focus: Dynamic route hazards, crew positioning, VLOS, distraction control, communications, and lost-link behavior while the control station moves.
Rule
§ 107.29(a)(2), (b)
No waiver when
Routine night operations are allowed with the required updated pilot knowledge and functioning anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles with a sufficient flash rate.
Waiver case
Night or civil-twilight operation without meeting the applicable anti-collision-light provisions.
Evidence focus: Why compliant lighting cannot be used, supplemental conspicuity, crew night procedures, and collision-risk controls.
Rule
§ 107.31
No waiver when
The operation remains within the unaided visual capability required to determine the aircraft's position, altitude, attitude, and movement throughout flight.
Waiver case
The route extends beyond that visual capability. A camera feed, telemetry, or return-to-home feature does not by itself replace § 107.31.
Evidence focus: Containment, command and control, detect and avoid, intruder response, route risk, lost link, weather, alerting, and verified system limits.
Rule
§ 107.33
No waiver when
A visual observer is optional, but when one is used the observer, RPIC, and person manipulating the controls must meet the applicable communication and coordination rules.
Waiver case
The proposed observer concept cannot meet those requirements, often in a daisy-chain or distributed BVLOS operation.
Evidence focus: Communication latency, handoffs, failed communications, observer coverage, duties, and loss-of-visual-contact procedures.
Rule
§ 107.35
No waiver when
One person does not act as remote pilot, control manipulator, or visual observer for more than one small UAS operation at the same time.
Waiver case
One person will fill one of those roles for simultaneous operations involving multiple aircraft.
Evidence focus: Fleet containment, aircraft separation, simultaneous failures, alerts, stop-all logic, command links, buffer zones, and crew workload.
Rule
§ 107.37(a)
No waiver when
The small UAS yields to every aircraft, airborne vehicle, and launch or reentry vehicle, and remains well clear.
Waiver case
The proposed operation requires relief from yielding or remaining well clear. This is not the normal route for airport access.
Evidence focus: How other aircraft will detect the UAS, understand the operation, and avoid conflict throughout the approved volume.
Rule
§ 107.39
No waiver when
The operation either avoids flight over nonparticipants or fully meets Category 1, 2, 3, or 4 eligibility and operating conditions.
Waiver case
The aircraft or operating concept does not meet an available category but will pass directly over a person.
Evidence focus: Aircraft weight and configuration, impact and laceration mitigations, Remote ID, containment, people controls, and current WSEG equipage.
Rule
§ 107.51(a), (b)
No waiver when
Groundspeed stays at or below 100 mph. Altitude stays at or below 400 feet AGL, or uses the structure allowance within 400 feet horizontally and no more than 400 feet above its uppermost limit.
Waiver case
The mission exceeds the speed limit or the applicable altitude envelope. Controlled-airspace approval may still be separately required.
Evidence focus: Conspicuity, aircraft encounter risk, real-time altitude accuracy, route and airport proximity, VLOS, containment, and ground-risk controls.
Rule
§ 107.51(c), (d)
No waiver when
Flight visibility observed from the control station is at least 3 statute miles, and the aircraft stays at least 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally from clouds.
Waiver case
The operation needs less visibility or less cloud clearance than the standing rule permits.
Evidence focus: Measured visibility, VLOS range, aircraft detection and avoidance, cloud encroachment prevention, lighting, and hard weather abort criteria.
Rule
§ 107.145
No waiver when
Use an eligible Category 1, 2, or 3 aircraft and either remain over a closed or restricted site with notice to vehicle occupants, or avoid sustained flight over moving vehicles. Category 4 follows its approved limits.
Waiver case
The aircraft or operation does not meet the category and site or sustained-flight conditions.
Evidence focus: Vehicle exposure, aircraft configuration and weight, route containment, impact mitigation, Remote ID, and current WSEG equipage.
Night, daylight, and airspace
The 2021 rule opened routine night operations under specific pilot-knowledge and aircraft-lighting conditions. Daylight does not relax VLOS, weather, people, vehicle, altitude, or airspace rules.
If the requested waiver will be used at night
Include night-specific risk controls in the application. The FAA says an application without that detail may be restricted to daylight operations.
Routine night path
The remote pilot needs the applicable updated initial knowledge test or recurrent training, and the aircraft needs a functioning anti-collision light visible for at least 3 statute miles with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.
Controlled airspace
A compliant night operation still needs airspace authorization in Class B, C, D, or surface Class E. LAANC can provide near-real-time approval within supported facility-map limits. FAADroneZone handles manual airspace cases.
Daylight
Daylight removes the specific night-lighting question, but all other operating rules and any waiver special provisions remain in force. Some advanced-operation WSEGs still ask how the aircraft will be conspicuous to other airspace users during daytime operations.
BVLOS safety architecture
The FAA's BVLOS WSEG asks how the RPIC will know position and movement, contain the aircraft, remain within command-link capability, detect and avoid other aircraft, protect people and vehicles, handle failures, train the crew, and enforce weather limits.
Air risk
Define the surveillance volume, cooperative and noncooperative traffic coverage, detection range, alert thresholds, avoidance maneuver, system degradation alerts, and RPIC response time. State what the technology cannot see as clearly as what it can.
Containment
Map command-link range, navigation performance, return-to-home path, geofencing, termination logic, battery reserves, terrain, obstructions, launch and recovery, and emergency landing areas. A recovery feature must remain safe along its entire route.
Ground risk
Show how people, moving vehicles, property, roads, and access changes are monitored. Use eligible aircraft categories, controlled access, buffers, route selection, impact mitigation, or other evidence appropriate to the actual operation.
Multiple aircraft
§ 107.35
A fleet case must account for single and simultaneous failures, inter-aircraft separation, containment, independent and shared links, alerts, operator workload, stop-all logic, and distance from nonparticipants. The FAA's WSEG specifically asks how the RPIC will recognize and respond when one aircraft or several aircraft fail.
People and moving vehicles
A flight directly over any part of a person is an operation over people. The FAA permits routine operations through four aircraft categories, each with its own eligibility and operating limits.
Aircraft eligibility
Aircraft weighs 0.55 lb or less, including everything attached, and has no exposed rotating parts that would lacerate human skin.
Operating boundary
Operation over people is available. Sustained flight over an open-air assembly also requires Remote ID compliance.
Aircraft eligibility
Aircraft meets the Category 2 performance standard through an FAA-accepted means of compliance and declaration of compliance, with no exposed laceration hazard or safety defect.
Operating boundary
Operation over people is available within the category. Sustained flight over an open-air assembly also requires Remote ID compliance.
Aircraft eligibility
Aircraft meets the Category 3 performance standard through an FAA-accepted means of compliance and declaration of compliance.
Operating boundary
No open-air assemblies. Use a closed or restricted site with notice, or avoid sustained flight over anyone except participants or people protected by a covered structure or stationary vehicle.
Aircraft eligibility
Aircraft holds an airworthiness certificate under Part 21 and is operated under the applicable flight manual and Administrator-specified limitations.
Operating boundary
Operation over people must remain within those approved limits. Sustained flight over an open-air assembly also requires Remote ID compliance.
Moving vehicles
For Category 1, 2, or 3, the operation must also stay within or over a closed or restricted site where vehicle occupants are on notice, or avoid sustained flight over moving vehicles. Category 4 follows its approved operating limitations. A § 107.145 waiver is for operations outside those conditions.
Open-air assemblies
Category 3 may not operate over an open-air assembly. Categories 1, 2, and 4 require Remote ID compliance for sustained flight over an open-air assembly. The FAA evaluates whether an open-air assembly exists from the facts of the specific gathering.
Altitude and weather envelope
Altitude, visibility, cloud clearance, and controlled airspace are separate questions. A mission can satisfy one and still need relief or authorization for another.
Read FAA airspace authorization guidanceAltitude
400 ft AGL
Baseline ceiling, with the separate structure allowance described below.
Application dossier
Aviation Safety Hub generates section-specific WSEG questions from the proposed operation. This dossier is a practical preparation framework, not a claim that every attachment is required in every case. Include only material that applies, and make it specific enough to evaluate.
State the mission, exact deviation, aircraft, crew, route, operating volume, schedule, day or night window, and what success looks like. Keep the requested scope no broader than the evidence supports.
Provide coordinates and a legible map showing flight geography, launch and recovery, containment boundary, buffer zones, altitude, nearby airports and airspace, people, vehicles, structures, terrain, and emergency landing areas.
Document make, model, quantity, dimensions, weight with payload and safety equipment, propulsion, endurance, speed, command-and-control architecture, containment, navigation, lighting, termination capability, alerts, and Remote ID configuration.
Define the responsible person, RPIC minimum experience, observer and support roles, training curriculum, practical evaluation, recurrent checks, communications, handoffs, workload limits, and how competency records are retained.
Write the actual sequence for site survey, weather and airspace check, crew brief, aircraft inspection, system test, launch, monitoring, handoff, recovery, shutdown, and postflight recordkeeping.
Cover command-link loss, navigation degradation, flyaway, low energy, DAA or observer failure, unexpected aircraft, people or vehicles entering the area, weather deterioration, containment breach, collision, and emergency notification.
For each hazard, record the initiating condition, consequence, initial risk, preventive and recovery controls, residual risk, control owner, verification method, and the trigger that stops the operation.
Attach test plans and results, flight logs, maintenance and configuration records, manuals, training records, checklists, diagrams, declarations, and photographs. Map each WSEG response to the exact evidence that supports it.
Hazard to evidence chain
Hazard
Control
Evidence
Hazard
Command link is lost
Control
Defined link thresholds, bounded lost-link route, hold or recovery logic, termination criteria, and crew callouts.
Evidence
Range and interference test, configuration record, flight-test results, and rehearsed checklist.
Hazard
Nonparticipating aircraft enters
Control
Airspace surveillance, DAA or observer coverage, alert threshold, avoidance maneuver, and immediate abort authority.
Evidence
Coverage analysis, detection test, alert screenshots or logs, crew exercise, and performance limits.
Hazard
Person or vehicle enters the volume
Control
Access control, visible boundaries, spotter coverage, route exclusion, buffer, pause point, and safe landing area.
Evidence
Site plan, access agreement, briefing record, staffing plan, and field validation photographs.
Hazard
Weather falls below the mission limit
Control
Named weather sources, route observations, minimum visibility and cloud values, crosswind limit, update interval, and landing trigger.
Evidence
Weather checklist, aircraft limits, sample dispatch record, and an exercise showing the crew terminates on cue.
Hazard
One aircraft or several aircraft fail
Control
Independent containment, collision prevention, fleet health monitoring, single-aircraft response, stop-all function, and ground buffer.
Evidence
Simulation, failure-injection testing, command architecture, event logs, and operator workload evaluation.
Uploading an operations manual does not mean the FAA approves the whole manual. Current Aviation Safety Hub instructions say the FAA reviews the excerpts that address the specific WSEGs and proposed operation. Cite the relevant section and page instead of asking the reviewer to search a large document.
Aviation Safety Hub workflow
Define
Start with the intended operation, then identify each Part 107 provision the mission cannot meet. Do not request relief merely because a waiver sounds useful.
Benchmark
Read the WSEG questions for every selected section and inspect issued certificates for comparable operations. Use them to learn the evaluation language, not as a copy-and-paste template.
Prove
Resolve contradictions before filing. The map, procedures, system description, training, limits, tests, and risk controls should describe the same operation.
Apply
Enter operator and responsible-party information, devices and quantities, dates, location, associations, and operational answers. The system recommends applicable waivable sections for review.
Explain
Upload supporting material and answer the generated safety questions. If a ConOps produces draft answers, review and correct every response before submitting.
Coordinate
For a waivered operation in controlled airspace, file the operational-waiver case in Aviation Safety Hub and the airspace-authorization case in FAADroneZone. One does not replace the other.
Respond
Watch Aviation Safety Hub and the responsible person's email. FAA requests for information appear as action items and can require revised WSEG answers or added documents.
Operate
Approval only permits the operation described by the certificate and its special provisions. Confirm dates, aircraft, geography, crew, day or night limits, notifications, records, and every separate authority before launch.
Lead-time reality
FAA says it will do its best to approve or disapprove requests within 90 days, while the portal guide recommends a proposed start at least 90 days after submission. Complexity, incomplete evidence, cross-office coordination, and RFIs can extend the path. Do not represent a mission as approved until the certificate is issued and every separate authorization is in hand.
RFI watch
Monitor Aviation Safety Hub and the listed email. FAA says an unanswered RFI can cancel the application after 30 days, requiring a new submission.
Issued-waiver research desk
The FAA publishes valid operational waivers with the waived sections and a PDF certificate. Search by regulation first, then compare the mission's actual aircraft, geography, crew concept, altitude, dates, and special provisions.
Search issued FAA waiversStart with § 107.31, § 107.35, § 107.39, or the specific § 107.51 paragraph. Similar marketing language can hide very different relief.
Prefer current examples because night, operations-over-people rules, portal workflows, and FAA provisions have changed over time.
Record the approved aircraft, geography, ceiling, crew, operating times, notifications, inspections, records, and conditions that stop the operation.
A prior waiver shows one accepted safety architecture. It does not prove that the same controls fit your system, route, people exposure, or organization.
What a waiver does not do
Build the operating record
Use the requirements checker to identify the mission's baseline obligations, then capture aircraft, crew, airspace, weather, hazards, mitigations, contingencies, checks, and flight records in the operations planner.
Scope
One defined operation, not a vague permission request
Volume
Coordinates, altitude, containment, buffers, and access
Limits
Weather, light, link, crew, and aircraft thresholds
Proof
Tests, records, training, and traceable WSEG answers
Official source desk
This guide was reviewed July 11, 2026. Portal screens, guidance, and regulations can change. The issued waiver and its special provisions control the approved operation.
Frequently asked questions
Usually not. Routine Part 107 night operations are allowed when the remote pilot has completed the applicable updated knowledge test or recurrent training and the aircraft has functioning anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision. Relief from the applicable lighting provisions requires a waiver.
Ordinary access to Class B, C, D, or surface Class E airspace is handled as an airspace authorization through LAANC or FAADroneZone. The FAA now routes Part 107 operational waivers through Aviation Safety Hub. A waivered operation in controlled airspace generally needs both the operational waiver and a separate airspace authorization.
A visual observer is not automatic BVLOS relief. The complete operation must still meet §§ 107.31 and 107.33. A properly structured VLOS operation may use an observer, but if the planned route exceeds the visual capability or observer requirements in those rules, the applicable waiver is needed.
Not when the aircraft and operation fully meet Category 1, 2, 3, or 4. A § 107.39 waiver is the path when the operation will pass directly over people but cannot meet one of those categories. Category eligibility, open-air assembly limits, Remote ID, and aircraft configuration all matter.
Part 107 permits a structure allowance when the aircraft remains within a 400-foot horizontal radius of the structure and no more than 400 feet above its immediate uppermost limit. That does not override controlled-airspace requirements or authorization provisions. Outside the applicable altitude envelope, § 107.51(b) relief is needed.
The FAA's Aviation Safety Hub instructions recommend a proposed start date at least 90 days after submission, and the FAA says it will do its best to decide requests within 90 days. Complexity, completeness, coordination, and requests for information can change the timeline. Ninety days is planning guidance, not a promise of approval or a guaranteed decision date.
Yes. Aviation Safety Hub uses the proposed-operation answers to recommend applicable waivable regulations, and the applicant can review the selections. Each selected provision brings its own WSEG questions and must be supported by a coherent safety case.
No. A waiver grants only the stated relief and remains subject to its special provisions. Aircraft registration, Remote ID, pilot currency, airspace authorization, restrictions, property access, and every nonwaived rule still apply when relevant.
The request appears in Aviation Safety Hub as an RFI action item and is sent to the responsible person by status-change email. The FAA's current waiver page states that failure to respond within 30 days cancels the application, so the responsible person should monitor the portal and email closely.
Issued waivers are useful research, but they are not universal templates. Aircraft, geography, crew, technology, dates, risk controls, and special provisions differ. Use current examples to understand the FAA's questions, then support the exact operation you actually intend to conduct.
This page is an educational planning guide, not an FAA determination or legal opinion. Confirm the current regulation, portal instructions, airspace status, and every provision on the certificate issued for the operation.