Do You Need Authorization to Fly?

Forget "is it within 5 miles of an airport" — that was never the Part 107 rule. What matters is the airspace class over your launch and flight area. Answer a couple of questions and find out whether you need authorization, and how to get it.

The myth that won't die

"You can't fly within 5 miles of an airport" — false

That 5-mile idea comes from the old recreational/hobbyist rules (the former Section 336 notification requirement), and it never applied to Part 107 the way people repeat it. Under Part 107, the question is simple and airspace-based:

⛔

Controlled airspace to the surface — Class B, C, D, or Class E that starts at the surface (the dashed magenta ring). You need ATC authorization before you fly.

✅

Class G (uncontrolled) — no ATC authorization needed. You can be right next to a small non-towered airport in Class G and need no authorization — though you still yield to manned aircraft and follow every other rule.

So a flight 8 miles from a major airport can still need authorization (if you're under its Class B/C shelf to the surface), and a flight half a mile from a tiny grass strip can need none (if it's all Class G). Read the airspace, not the distance.

LAANC vs. DroneZone

Two ways to get authorization

LAANC

Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability. Request through an FAA-approved app and, where the location and altitude are pre-approved on the UAS Facility Map, you can get near-instant authorization up to the posted ceiling. Available at many — not all — controlled-airspace airports.

FAA DroneZone

The FAA's portal for further coordination requests — when you need more altitude than the grid allows, when LAANC isn't available at that field, or for airspace that LAANC doesn't cover. These are reviewed manually and take time, so plan ahead.

💡

On the test: you won't be asked to operate the app — you'll be asked whether authorization is required and where it comes from. Knowing "controlled to the surface → authorization, via LAANC or DroneZone" covers most questions.

Airspace is the heart of the test.

The full app drills airspace classes, authorization, and chart reading until they're automatic — built for the Oct 27 format. One-time $39.99.

Get the Full App — $39.99 Read the Chart First