Operations Over People: What Separates Category 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Practice

When it comes to drone operations over people, the legal framework is clear: any flight that goes directly over any part of a person, regardless of duration, is considered an over-people event under FAA rules. Unlike other risks that shoppers often dismiss as mere waivers, the FAA categorizes a drone's risk of injury to people on the ground, placing general limits on flights regardless of an operator's experience.

[FACT: FAA’s Part 107 waiver page defines “over” as the flight of the small unmanned aircraft directly over any part of a person, and says a flight over any part of any person counts as an operation over people regardless of duration.

The question is, when can a pilot claim Category 2 eligibility? The FAA final rule text states that a small unmanned aircraft belongs in Category 2 only if it will not cause injury equivalent to or greater than 11 foot-pounds of kinetic energy, does not have lacerating rotating parts, and does not have known safety defects.

[FACT: Under 14 CFR § 107.120(a), a small unmanned aircraft is eligible for Category 2 only if it will not cause injury equivalent to or greater than the severity caused by a transfer of 11 foot-pounds of kinetic energy on impact, does not contain exposed rotating parts that would lacerate human skin, and does not contain safety defects.

FACT: FAA’s Operations Over People rule summary states that a small unmanned aircraft is eligible for Category 2 only if the person submitting the declaration of compliance can demonstrate that the injury resulting from impact with a person on the ground is less than the injury severity limit.

FACT: FAA’s Executive Summary of the final rule states that Category 2 excludes exposed rotating parts that could lacerate human skin upon impact with a human being.

[FACT: FAA’s Operations Over People overview identifies Category 2 and Category 3 as the categories with performance-based eligibility, while Category 1 and Category 4 are not described in that overview page’s summary language.

The first level of checking is neither careful nor hard to overlook. Any Category 2 aircraft must have a permanent FAA-compliant label in English identifying the model and its Category 2 status. That label must be prominently and legibly affixed to the aircraft.

The aircraft also needs to come with declarations of compliance and operating instructions written either by or for the aircraft owner, and those instructions need to be available when the aircraft is sold, transferred or used by someone other than the original compliance applicant. Just having documentation at one point in time is not enough: the operating instructions must travel with the aircraft.

[FACT: Under 14 CFR § 107.120(b), the applicant for a declaration of compliance must place a label on the aircraft indicating eligibility for Category 2 operations, and the label must be in English, legible, prominent, and permanently affixed to the small unmanned aircraft.

FACT: Under 14 CFR § 107.120(b), the applicant must make available remote pilot operating instructions when the aircraft is sold, transferred, or used by someone other than the declaration-of-compliance applicant.

To be sure of a model's clearance, look it up in the FAA's Online UAS Declaration of Compliance database as of the day of the flight.

The DJI Mavic 3, which fact-checked to showcase the database check, now appears in the FAA listing for tracking number OOP000000171, a Declared Article Status compliant with test standard ASTM F3322. Then, just to make sure, cross-checking with the FAA Declaration of Compliance worksheet for that specific DJI model showed FAA-accepted declaration of compliance.

[FACT: FAA’s Declaration of Compliance database includes an accepted Category 2 listing for “ASTM F3322 Compliant PRS for DJI Mavic 3 Thermal” by Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions (AVSS), tracking number OOP000000171, updated 8.12.2024.

That process is how even the FAA, usually known for dry language and regulation, actually did a database lookup to verify a commercial customer eligibility. A database check is harder than a parts package, yes. But this is one case where taking that extra step can save home pilots a lot of grief.

The bad news is that the home drones you already own likely won't meet this categorization.

So what if you don’t even have a category two? There are still Category 3, 1, and 4 rankings for commercial drones, and shoppers buying with the hope of lighter overflights once owned by home pilots can still push suppliers for Category 3 or 1 status. industry professionals are familiar with this questioning to say that older models, which used to do most of the general-purpose filming, are either still on hobbyist Category 4 status or, if lucky and sold by a supplier selling for Category 3, have documentation paperwork, not a fitness and safety certification.

If a buyer knows they are in Category 3, the FAA allows them to fly over a portion of a crowd, people or stationary objects alike, but they cannot go over open-air events like street events. If that is the event you need to film, you would need a fully compliant Category 1 drone, the type that is exempt from overflights altogether.