The new counter-drone authority for local police is narrower than the headlines suggest
A joint DHS-DOJ rule creates separate detection and mitigation certifications for qualified agencies. The published September 4 comment deadline has passed.
By Joel Kelly
What changed: Updated September 5: the comment window has concluded and the invitation to submit comments has been removed. The interim rule remains in effect. The earlier August 21 update added the NYPD's announced U.S. Open deployment.
Decision brief
This does not let every officer, venue, or private security team jam or destroy a drone. The agency and its staff must qualify. They must use approved tools, coordinate the flight operation in advance, protect privacy, and meet the rule's other limits.
- Rule status
- In effect
- Two lanes
- Detect / mitigate
- Comment deadline
- Passed
Interim final rule effective July 1
Different certification and training requirements
September 4, 11:59 p.m. Eastern time
What changed
Qualified local agencies now have a path to independent counter-UAS authority.
A joint interim final rule took effect on July 1. It lets qualified state, local, Tribal, and territorial law-enforcement and correctional agencies seek independent counter-UAS authority. The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice published the rule on July 6. Comments in docket FBI-2026-0001 were due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on September 4.
The rule has two certifications. Detection and Warning Certification covers approved detection, identification, monitoring, tracking, warning, and confiscation. It also covers other actions that do not mitigate an aircraft. Mitigation Certification can let trained staff disrupt or take control of a drone, damage it, or destroy it. The law and the rule still limit when they may act.
The guardrails
Certification, approved systems, and aviation coordination come before action.
An agency must qualify, and its staff must be certified. The process requires a written policy, approved training and tools, and records. Mitigation work also needs a Counter-UAS Operations Plan. Federal task forces can still operate under their existing arrangements. An agency can ask for Federal help before it gains its own accreditation.
A vendor's counter-drone label does not make a tool legal to use. The rule has Authorized Technology and Authorized System lists. Equipment that emits radio waves needs Federal Communications Commission approval before use. Agencies must also meet the rule's FAA coordination, air-traffic notice, reporting, audit, and safety requirements.
If an agency intervenes
Protect the flight, then protect the record.
A tense encounter is not the time to debate the rule. Stabilize the aircraft, comply with lawful direction, and preserve the evidence needed to understand what happened.
- 01
Keep positive control
Avoid abrupt maneuvers and land safely when directed or when the situation requires it.
- 02
Identify the authority
Ask which public agency is operating and retain names, unit information, or an incident number when available.
- 03
Preserve the flight record
Save logs, Remote ID status, airspace authorization, location data, notices, and client or site permission.
- 04
Use the formal channel
Raise a complaint or legal question after the aircraft and people are safe, using the agency's documented process.
Lawful pilots
The rule includes privacy protections and a complaint process.
Agencies must protect First and Fourth Amendment rights. They must limit what data they collect and keep, secure it, and set up complaint and audit procedures. The authority does not cover action against aircraft with a human pilot, crew, or passengers aboard.
Keep your drone under control and follow lawful instructions. Land when it is safe, keep flight logs and authorizations, and note the agency's contact details after the incident. Do not interfere with a counter-UAS operation. A private event employee does not have the same authority as a certified public agency.
Public record
The September 4 comment deadline has passed.
The published comment deadline has passed. The docket remains the place to read submissions about training, approved technology, airspace notification, data retention, complaints, and how agencies distinguish lawful flights from threats. The end of the comment period does not end the interim rule's effect.
First deployment
NYPD announced independent drone mitigation at the U.S. Open.
On August 21, CBS New York reported that NYPD planned independent drone mitigation at the U.S. Open. The rule's agency, training, and airspace conditions still apply. That authority is not a blanket citywide power to disable drones.
Practical read
The limits of the rule
Strong fit
- Qualified public law-enforcement and correctional agencies
- Certified personnel using approved technologies
- Documented detection and mitigation operations
Account for
- Private security claiming public counter-UAS authority
- Unapproved jamming or interference equipment
- Assuming every detected drone presents a credible threat
Source file
Verify the reporting
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Put the report to work
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