Coverage file
Every drone sold in the U.S. needs FCC equipment authorization. In December 2025 the FCC added foreign-produced drones and critical components to its Covered List, which blocks new authorizations. Exceptions cover the Blue UAS list, Buy American domestic end products, toy drones, and Conditional Approvals granted case by case.
These reports follow each FCC notice, order, and proposal from the source document to what it means for buyers.
Reports
13
Source-backed reports, newest first
Latest / Rule watch
The FCC said October 2 that the Department of War approved Dronus's K500L drone and Nest V2 dock. That brings the drone systems cleared this way since March to 19, most of them working aircraft for inspection, agriculture, and public safety.
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A Third Report and Order published September 11 closes a component loophole for producers named on the Covered List, makes online marketplaces answerable for marketing unauthorized devices, and requires an FCC ID at the online point of sale, with compliance dates of March 1 and June 1, 2027.
The final count in PS Docket 26-189 is 3,847. Pilot Institute's review of the readable filings puts opposition at 98.6 percent, and DJI's comment is signed by the 48th Solicitor General of the United States.
The final days brought a wave of individual pilots, small survey and ag operators, and Taranis. The FCC denied every extension request, so what was filed by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on September 2 is the record.
FCC ID 2ANDR-OQ0022512 was granted December 21, 2025. That makes the camera eligible for U.S. sale in a way the Pocket 4 and Mic Mini 2S are not, and DJI's September 3 launch priced it for the UK and EU while naming no U.S. market at all.
The five-year zone can support wireless research on farms, including work with robots and drones. It does not replace an FCC program license, spectrum coordination, or FAA flight approval.
HOVERAir opened U.S. pre-orders on the strength of an FCC equipment authorization; the agency now says that grant was issued in error, has been set aside, and the device cannot lawfully be imported, marketed, or sold.
The proposal would not ground an aircraft you already own. It would restrict future imports, advertising, distribution, sales, and leases of previously authorized foreign equipment in seven capability categories.
A final FCC order blocks new authorizations for devices containing logic-bearing hardware from specifically named Covered List entities and makes online sellers expose certification IDs before purchase.
A July 17 FCC notice proposes restricting previously authorized equipment tied to nine company groups. It is not final, and the agency has not issued a grounding order.
Eight July 10 notices concern unanswered equipment-marketing inquiries, not final findings that every product sold by the named companies is unlawful.
A temporary waiver lets previously authorized foreign-produced drones and components receive qualifying software and firmware updates through January 1, 2029.
New models of low-capability Chinese drones can be imported again under a June 16 FCC decision, but reporting suggests the thresholds exclude anything most pilots would actually want.