Drones and delivery
Is drone delivery legal?
Yes, with FAA approval. In the United States, commercial drone delivery is legal, but not by default. An operator needs FAA authorization: an air carrier certificate plus permission to fly beyond visual line of sight, granted case by case. The proposed Part 108 rule would make routine BVLOS flights standard. Several operators have already cleared the bar.
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Commercial drone delivery is legal in the United States, but it is not something any company can simply switch on. A delivery operator has to be authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration, which today means holding a Part 135 air carrier certificate and separate clearance to fly beyond visual line of sight, the longer flights that delivery depends on.
The FAA grants that clearance operator by operator, so the honest answer is that drone delivery is legal where the FAA has approved a specific operator, not everywhere at once. On DEPLOY's record, Wing, Zipline, Amazon Prime Air, and Matternet have each cleared it, and every clearance is a dated, sourced FAA record below. The FAA's proposed Part 108 rule, published as a draft in August 2025 and not yet final, would replace the case by case waivers with a standing rule for routine flights.
Outside the United States, national aviation authorities run their own frameworks, and DEPLOY tracks the ones under which operators already fly, including Australia, Rwanda, and the European Union.
How the FAA regulates drone delivery
Three FAA rules set the legal pathway: Part 107 for small drones, Part 135 for carrying goods as an air carrier, and the proposed Part 108 for routine flights beyond visual line of sight. Each is dated and sourced.
| Rule | Status | In effect | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAA Part 107 Small UAS rule (United States) The US Federal Aviation Administration's 14 CFR Part 107, the operating-rules framework for small unmanned aircraft systems (under 55 lb) flown commercially in US airspace. Effective Aug 29, 2016, it sets the Remote Pilot Certificate, operating limits (daylight/civil-twilight, visual-line-of-sight, 400 ft AGL, one-pilot-one-aircraft), and waiver pathways. Amended Apr 21, 2021 by the Remote ID rule and the Operations Over People / night-operations final rules. Beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations are governed by waiver and by the proposed Part 108 framework (NPRM published Aug 7, 2025). | In effect | Aug 29, 2016 | |
| FAA Part 135 air-carrier certification (United States) The US FAA's 14 CFR Part 135 operating requirements for commuter and on-demand air carriers. Drone-delivery operators obtain Part 135 air-carrier certification to fly commercial beyond-visual-line-of-sight delivery routes; Zipline received Part 135 certification in 2022. Part 135 certification is distinct from the specific FAA BVLOS exemptions that later removed visual observers on particular routes. | In effect | not yet on record | |
| FAA Part 108: Normalizing UAS Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight Operations The FAA's dedicated BVLOS rule for unmanned aircraft. NPRM released 2025-08-07 (Docket FAA-2025-1908); comment period reopened January 2026; not finalized as of mid-2026. Will normalize routine BVLOS drone operations (delivery, infrastructure inspection) without case-by-case waivers. | Proposed | not yet on record | not on record |
Operators the FAA has cleared
The proof that drone delivery is legal in practice: each operator below holds a verified FAA authorization on DEPLOY's record, with the exact clearance, date, and source.
| Operator | Authorization | Status | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matternet | Matternet M2 FAA Type Certification (first non-military UAS type certification, September 2022) and FAA Production Certificate (November 30, 2022). Matternet's own delivery operations ran under a Section 44807 exemption; revenue Part 135 carriage was via partners (UPS Flight Forward, Ameriflight). | Cleared | Nov 30, 2022 | |
| Zipline | Zipline FAA Part 135 air-carrier certification and BVLOS authority for autonomous drone delivery. | Cleared | Sep 18, 2023 | |
| Amazon | Amazon Prime Air FAA BVLOS authority for the MK30 delivery drone (expanded 2024). | Cleared | May 30, 2024 |
Where else drone delivery has a legal path
Outside the US, each country runs its own framework. These are the national frameworks DEPLOY tracks under which a delivery operator already flies, each dated and sourced.
| Country | Authority | In force since | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | CASA | Dec 1, 2001 | |
| United Kingdom | UK CAA | Aug 25, 2016 | |
| Rwanda | RCAA | Jan 1, 2018 |
How we know this
Every status on this page comes from a dated, sourced record: the FAA rules that govern drone delivery, and the individual FAA authorizations DEPLOY holds for each delivery operator. Here are the sources behind them.
Each authorization is attributed to the FAA as the deciding authority. Part 108 is a proposed rule, not settled law, and is labelled as such. DEPLOY does not certify any operator; it records what the FAA has cleared.
Common questions
Is drone delivery legal in the US?
Do you need a license for drone delivery?
What is FAA Part 108?
Which companies are approved for drone delivery?
Is drone delivery legal outside the US?
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