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FinalPolicyRule watch2 min read

Washington's commercial drone fee jumps from $15 to $150 per aircraft in 2027

ESHB 2711 doubles the state registration fee to $30 and puts commercial drones on the aircraft excise schedule, and the increase is routed to a sustainable aviation fuel account.

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Commercial drone pilot hand-launching a small quadcopter, the kind of aircraft Washington's new per-drone fee covers
Commercial drone pilot hand-launching a small quadcopter, the kind of aircraft Washington's new per-drone fee covers.

Decision brief

If you fly commercially in Washington, or base aircraft there, budget $150 per registered drone per year starting with the 2027 cycle. The charge is per aircraft with no fleet discount, so a ten-drone operation owes $1,500. Hobby and recreational drones remain exempt from state registration.

Per aircraft
$150/yr

Up from $15, starting January 1, 2027

Registration
$30

Doubled from $15 under ESHB 2711

New excise tax
$120

Drones lose their excise exemption

What changed

A jet-tax repeal put commercial drones on the excise schedule.

Washington will charge commercial drone operators $150 per aircraft per year starting January 1, 2027, up from $15 today. The change sits inside ESHB 2711, the transportation package the legislature passed on March 11 and Gov. Bob Ferguson signed on March 31. The same bill repealed the state's 10 percent luxury tax on private aircraft over $500,000 before that tax ever took effect and raised the aircraft fuel tax by 7 cents a gallon.

Two line items make up the $150. The final bill report confirms the annual aircraft registration fee doubles from $15 to $30 on January 1, 2027, and that commercial unpiloted aircraft systems are made subject to the annual aircraft excise tax, which drones had been exempt from. DroneXL, which surfaced the change on August 25 after reviewing the amended statutes, reports that the excise table taking effect in 2027 lists commercial unpiloted aircraft systems at $120, bringing the total to $150 per drone. Both amounts rise 2 percent annually starting in 2028. For comparison, FAA Part 107 registration costs $5 for three years.

How it happened

One hearing, no drone operators present, and the money goes to jet fuel research.

The money mostly does not fund drone programs. The bill report directs the registration increase and the excise increases to the state's sustainable aviation fuel account. DroneXL reports that the drone provision received one public hearing, inside the Senate's omnibus transportation revenue bill in February, with no drone operator or trade group on the witness list, and that WSDOT's commercial drone registration page still showed the $15 fee as of late August. DroneXL also notes the excise chapter carries misdemeanor penalties under RCW 82.48.020, and registering an aircraft out of state to avoid the tax is a gross misdemeanor.

Before January 2027

What a Washington commercial operator should do now

The fee is per aircraft and enforcement sits in the excise chapter, so the useful work is an accurate fleet count.

  1. 01

    Inventory the fleet

    List every drone operated or based in Washington commercially during the calendar year. Each one owes the fee.

  2. 02

    Budget the difference

    Move each aircraft's line from $15 to $150 for 2027, then add 2 percent per year from 2028.

  3. 03

    Say something if it matters

    The 2027 session convenes in January. Operators skipped the only hearing this provision got.

What to do

Count every aircraft in the fleet and budget before the 2027 cycle.

For pilots, the practical takeaway is to count the fleet and budget now. Every commercial drone operated or based in Washington during a calendar year needs state registration under RCW 47.68.250, and each one will owe the full $150 regardless of size, so a sub-250-gram aircraft flown for pay pays the same as a manned single-engine airplane. The 2027 legislature convenes in January, so operators who want the number revisited have until then to raise it with their lawmakers.

Washington drone laws, reviewedState registration, wildlife restrictions, privacy statutes, and the state-park permit rule in one place.

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