A used drone comes with two pieces of paperwork the listing rarely mentions, its FAA registration and its Remote ID. Neither one transfers with the drone, and one of them depends on hardware the drone either has or doesn't. Sort both out before you buy and the first flight is easy. Skip them and a good deal can turn into a drone you can't legally fly until you add a part.
Who has to register
The FAA wants every drone registered except one kind, a drone that weighs less than 250 g on takeoff and is flown purely for fun under the recreational exception. The weight counts everything on board or attached, so a heavier battery or a strobe can change the answer. Our guide to the 250 g line covers that in detail.
There are two ways to register on FAADroneZone. Recreational flyers register once and the number covers every drone in their inventory. Part 107 pilots, anyone flying for work or business, register each drone on its own. A registration can't be switched between the two later. You must be at least 13 to register, and you must carry the certificate, paper or digital, whenever you fly.
Registering also means marking the drone. Your registration number has to be legible on an outside surface of the drone and stay attached for the whole flight.
Recreational flyers have one more step. The law requires them to pass The Recreational UAS Safety Test, known as TRUST, and carry proof. It's free and online through FAA-approved test administrators.
Paid work is different. Real estate photos, roof inspections and even volunteer survey flying for a nonprofit fall under Part 107, and the FAA says to assume Part 107 whenever you're not sure. That needs a Remote Pilot Certificate, earned by passing the FAA knowledge test, whatever the drone weighs. A 249 g drone flown for a client still has to be registered and meet Remote ID.
What Remote ID asks of you
Remote ID is a broadcast of the drone's identity and location, plus the location of its pilot or takeoff point, that people nearby can receive. The FAA's rule, 14 CFR Part 89, applies to every drone that's registered or required to be. It took effect for pilots on September 16, 2023, and the FAA held off on enforcement for problems like short supplies of modules until March 16, 2024. That grace period is over.
There are three ways to comply.
- A standard Remote ID drone. The maker built the broadcast in and filed a Declaration of Compliance that the FAA accepted. It broadcasts from takeoff to shutdown, and if it stops broadcasting you land as soon as you can.
- A broadcast module. A small add-on that retrofits an older drone. The module itself must be on an FAA-accepted Declaration of Compliance, and you have to keep the drone in sight for the whole flight.
- A FRIA. An FAA-Recognized Identification Area is a fixed site, set up by a community-based modeling organization or a school, where drones without Remote ID can fly. You and the drone both stay inside its boundary, and the drone stays in sight.
Reading a listing for Remote ID
Start with the model, not the listing. The FAA keeps a public Declaration of Compliance list, and you can search it by maker and model name. If the model is there as an unmanned aircraft, it's a standard Remote ID drone. If it isn't, it needs a module or a FRIA to fly legally once it's registered. Every model page in this store gives that status, for example the Holy Stone HS720R, which is on the list, and the older Holy Stone HS700D, which isn't.
Then look for three things in the listing.
- The Remote ID serial number. You'll need it to register a standard Remote ID drone. The FAA says it may be printed on the drone or the controller, or shown in a start-up menu. Ask the seller for a photo of it.
- A module in the box. If the seller fitted one to an older drone, it's worth having. Check its make and model against the same FAA list, and ask for its serial number too.
- Mixed signals. Some older models were added to the list years after launch, and makers don't always say which units broadcast. The Holy Stone HS720E is one, and its page explains. When in doubt, ask the seller what their registration listed for Remote ID.
Broadcast modules
A module is the fix for a good older drone. Only modules on the FAA's accepted list count, so don't buy a generic beacon without checking. Recreational flyers can list one module against several drones in their inventory and move it between them, as long as each drone's make and model is listed. Part 107 pilots register each module as its own device. Before every flight, check that the module is working, and if it stops broadcasting mid-flight, land as soon as you can.
Remember that a module adds weight. On a drone that sits just under 250 g, fitting one moves it over the line, which only matters if you were relying on the recreational under-250 g exception.
FRIAs
A FRIA lets a drone without Remote ID fly legally, but only at that site. Only FAA-recognized community-based organizations and educational institutions can apply for one, and the FAA publishes approved locations on a map. A drone that does broadcast can fly at a FRIA too, and it must keep broadcasting.
What to do with the seller's registration
Registration belongs to the owner, not the drone. FAA rules say a drone is registered by its owner in the owner's legal name, and the FAA tells anyone who sells a registered drone to cancel that registration through FAADroneZone. The holder has 14 days to update or cancel a registration after a sale.
So here's the order of things. Ask the seller to cancel their registration for the drone, then register it yourself, recreational or Part 107, and put your own number on the outside. With a standard Remote ID drone, the cancellation matters more, because the FAA won't let one Remote ID serial number sit on two registrations at the same time.
Where you can fly
Registration and Remote ID make the drone legal. They don't make every place legal. In controlled airspace around many airports you need FAA authorization before you fly, and both recreational and Part 107 pilots can get it through LAANC, usually in near real time. The FAA's B4UFLY service, offered through several approved apps, shows airspace, temporary flight restrictions and national parks on a map.
National parks are mostly off limits. In 2014 the National Park Service directed every park superintendent to prohibit launching, landing or operating drones on park land and water, and that's still in force with a few exceptions. Some parks allow it in a set area or by permit, so check the park's own site. A violation is a misdemeanor. States, cities and other land agencies can have their own rules too, so check locally before you fly somewhere new.
Foreign-made drones and the FCC
On December 22, 2025, the FCC added drones and drone components produced in foreign countries to its Covered List. That stops new foreign-made models from getting FCC equipment authorization, which they need to be imported or sold. The FCC says models it had already authorized can still be imported, sold and used, that owners can keep flying drones they bought lawfully, and that repairs and identical replacement parts are allowed. Under a waiver, covered drones can also keep getting basic software and firmware updates. A used drone of an already-authorized model is unaffected, but a brand-new model may never reach the US market. For DJI specifics, see buying a used DJI drone.
Before you buy
- Check the model's Remote ID status on its page or the FAA list.
- Ask for the Remote ID serial number, or the module's.
- Ask the seller to cancel their registration.
Then run through the hardware with how to check a used drone, or browse the catalog by Remote ID status.
