Summary of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making for Part 108, advanced drone operations

The FAA announced a notice of proposed rule making for advanced remote operations, entitled Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations, that will be referred to hereafter as Part 108 since that is the area of the federal regulations reserved for these laws on August 5th, 2025. This will eventually replace the current structure where such operations are acting under Part 135, or exemptions §44807, and cover a host of future advanced unmanned operations. It’s the FAA paving the way to integrate UAS into the National Airspace in more ways.

Historically, FAA the adoption timeline for final rules from NPRM to final rule has taken anywhere from 16 to 24 months, depending on the complexity and scope of the regulation. For example, the Part 107 commercial drone rule was proposed in February 2015 and finalized in June 2016, taking about 16 months from NPRM to final rule. Similarly, the MOSAIC rule—one of the FAA’s most ambitious overhauls of light aircraft certification—was proposed in July 2023 and finalized in July 2025, a 24-month timeline. Based on these precedents, it is reasonable to expect that the final rule for Part 108, once proposed, would follow a similar timeline, likely falling between 18 and 24 months after the NPRM is published. However, the June 6, 2025 executive order (No. 14307) states that the final rule shall be published within 240 days so the rule is expected by February 1st, 2026.

This will create several new positions in the unmanned arena. Operations supervisors will be responsible for the overall safety of the operation, and qualified flight coordinators will be responsible for monitoring and intervening in operations to ensure safety. Operations supervisors will control the entire operation, and flight coordinator will have tactical oversight of individual aircraft.

One concept that’s important is the idea of certificated operations, which would allow operation of larger unmanned aircraft and larger fleets. Unmanned aircraft up to 1,320 pounds in weight (~599 KG), would operate within prescribed boundaries, with significant deconfliction software to avoid unmanned aircraft and manned aircraft with ADS-B out. Part 108 will fall between Part 107 and Light Sport Aircraft along the safety continuum. Strategic deconfliction will be required for populated areas, and active monitoring for non-cooperative aircraft required for controlled airspace; however, the ban on use of ADS-B out extends to part 108 aircraft and they are not allowed to use this system. There will be Remote ID use, and deconfliction with other Part 108 aircraft.  

AV8 Prep spoke with representatives of WING & ZIPLINE at Oshkosh 2025, and both were testing strategic deconfliction and conformance monitoring, cooperatively in the DFW corridor where they are both doing delivery work. In general, most of the responsibility for safety will be born by manufacturers and companies implementing UAS.

Small scale operations will apply for permits, larger operations will apply for certificates.  

Important note: Part 108 operations will not allow for the carriage of passengers. 

Since the proposed deconfliction rules are robust, operations within 50 feet of an obstacle or structure will be allowed without further authorization. Aircraft under proposed Part 108 will be required to have an airworthiness acceptance rather than an airworthiness certification. So the burden of testing and demonstrating the safety of the aircraft is bourn by the manufacturer.

Operations are still bound to the 400 feet AGL limitation of Part 107 operations, the thin 100 foot buffer between manned and unmanned aircraft is meant to help keep manned aviation safe. Though they do propose to provide an exception within 400 feet of a structure much like under part 107.

More details to come as we continue to review the 731 page NPRM.

Announcement of new course offering through 108.school

Operators seeking to reserve customized Part 108 training materials can reach out to John Ellis at [email protected]m to reserve white labelled training content that will be ready shortly after the publication of the final rule in Q1 2026. Deposits made before November 30th, 2025 lock in a discounted rate and reserve first access to a full Part 108 knowledge course already under construction. Deliverables will include interactive SCORM resources, videos, quizzes, and a full syllabus to ensure a solid understanding of the rules and nuances of this proposed section of law. Final course will reflect the adopted final rule’s language.

John Ellis is the author Introduction to Part 107, and The Ultimate Part 107 Text Book by AV8 Prep. He produced the first Part 107 test prep video course for Remote Pilot 101 in the summer of 2016 when he earned his part 107 as one of the first certified remote pilots.  He is an AGI with a master's degree in mass communication, and bachelor's in technical writing, and lead the curriculum development process for Remote Pilot 101 (MzeroA.com), 107 School & AV8 Prep.