Hula hoops, scooters, Nintendo and drones. We seem to flit from one pop culture craze to the next, but drones are a little different than most. More accurately called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or quadcopters, modern drones are popular for both recreational flying and as small business tools.

But whether you use a drone to shoot video of your weekend hike or to survey roofs for your real estate business, the law has something to say about how you are permitted to fly.

Flying recreationally

It’s been several years in coming, but the FAA recently established firm guidelines for recreational drones.

First and foremost, you now must register your drone, not unlike the way you register a car, boat or airplane. This applies to anyone operating a drone that weighs from .55 pounds and up to 55 pounds — which includes virtually all of the popular quadcopters currently on the market, from the Parrot Bebop to the DJI Phantom 4. So-called microdrones, like the Aerius, are so lightweight that that you don’t have to register them, and any monstrosities over 55 pounds are treated like aircraft.

Registration is fast, easy, and inexpensive ($5 for three years) at the FAA website. But you should take the registration seriously, since failure to comply can cost $27,500 in civil penalties. (Criminal prosecution tops out at a staggering $250,000 and three years in prison.) Once registered, you’re required to affix registration information to the drone, making it possible to identify you if involved in an incident.

Flight rules

Of course, registration doesn’t bestow the right to fly anywhere or any way you like. The FAA has published extensive guidelines, but they can generally be summarized as: Don’t fly your drone above 400 feet, within 5 miles of an airport or directly over populated areas — so you can’t fly a drone at a sporting event, for example. (Some newer drones, such as from DJI and 3DR, clearly mark federal no-fly zones in the vehicle’s mapping software.) You also need to maintain line of sight with the drone, so you shouldn’t fly it farther than you can see it, even if the drone has GPS-based autopilot features.

Some cities have ordinances regarding drone flight that need to be followed. (Photo: Alexander Kolomietz/Shutterstock)

If you have a business

Commercial drone operations are treated quite differently — and if you’re flying for profit, you fall into this category, whether you’re a videographer shooting aerial scenes for film, conducting survey flights or making promotional video for a real estate business.

You’ll need what’s called a Section 333 exemption. More restrictive than the recreational registration, a Section 333 imposes dozens of limitations on how you may operate your drone. It can only be flown in daylight, for example, and the drone operator must be a licensed pilot, meaning unless you hold a pilot’s license, you need to hire one to fly your drone — even if you fly a drone recreationally. Eventually, the FAA will likely establish a special class of pilots for UAVs, but for now, keep your hands off the stick.

Be aware of local guidelines

Of course, all of this is just what the feds have to say about your drone. States and municipalities have been working overtime to establish drone guidelines as well. In the last two years, 26 states have passed their own legislation.

California, for example, has a sort of “TMZ Drone Ban” which prohibits a drone from recording a person on private property without their permission. Arkansas has a similar anti-voyeurism drone statute. And Tennessee prohibits drones from capturing public fireworks displays.

Of course, there are also public no-fly zones. Santa Monica, California, for example, bans drones from beaches and other public places, while the entirety of Washington, D.C. is off limits. The bottom line? Research local laws before taking to the air.