[continued from previous message]

notifying individuals of collection practices prior to collection, and
the voluntary nature of all PII
submitted. Additionally, the FAA would enter into contractual
agreements with the Remote ID
USS including directions for the use, protection, and storage of the
data. Section XIV discusses
the data security requirements the FAA intends to impose upon
FAA-qualified Remote ID USS.
Although the message elements themselves would be publicly accessible information, the ability
to cross-reference that information with registry data would not be
publicly available and would
117
be limited to the FAA and law enforcement for security purposes. A
copy of the draft PIA is
posted in the docket for this rulemaking.65
The following paragraphs provide notional scenarios regarding how the
FAA envisions
the proposed rule would apply to law enforcement agents.
Lucy is a sheriff’s deputy in Boone County, Montana, and is assigned
to provide a law
enforcement presence at an outdoor concert. At one point during the
event, Lucy observes an
unmanned aircraft circling above the crowd. She opens an application
(app) for law
enforcement66 on her smartphone, which identifies the UAS and
indicates that the UAS operator
is located 90 feet away from where she is standing. She approaches a
man holding a UAS
controller who appears to be operating the UAS. The UAS operator tells
her he is filming the
crowd for the purposes of creating and selling a video of the event.
Lucy’s app informs her that
the unmanned aircraft is not registered. Through the conversation,
Lucy learns that the person
manipulating the flight controls of the UAS is unaware of the rules
for operating unmanned
aircraft over people. She also discovers that the person manipulating
the flight controls of the
UAS does not hold an FAA remote pilot certificate. Based on the
information available to Lucy,
she requests that the person manipulating the flight controls of the
UAS land the UAS in a
manner that ensures the safety of the concert audience. After the
unmanned aircraft lands, she
collects the pilot’s information, takes appropriate local law
enforcement action, and forwards the
information to the FAA for appropriate action.

65 Upon finalization, PIAs are posted on the Department of
Transportation’s Privacy Program page, available at https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/privacy-impactassessments#Federal%20Aviation%20Administration%20(FAA).
66 The FAA anticipates that in the future, third parties may develop
mobile phone applications for law enforcement
use.
118
In another scenario, Officer Schroeder, a law enforcement officer
working at a national
security facility, sees a UAS operating near a protected area of the
facility that is not transmitting
any remote identification information. He knows this because he has an internet-connected tablet
computer with an application developed for law enforcement that
displays remote identification
information for UAS operating nearby. Because the UAS is not
transmitting any remote
identification information, he is unable to access information that
could identify the UAS and
indicate the location of the person manipulating the flight controls
of the UAS. He visually scans
an area on the ground below where the UAS is operating but does not
see anyone that could be
the person manipulating the flight controls of the UAS. After
completing his risk assessment,
Officer Schroeder determines the UAS is a potential threat and takes
action in accordance with
his agency's procedures.
On a different occasion, Officer Schroeder is alerted to the presence
of a UAS near the
same protected area of the facility because the UAS is transmitting
remote identification
information in accordance with FAA regulatory requirements. Officer
Schroeder is able to
identify the UAS and sees the location of the person manipulating the
flight controls of the UAS
on a tablet computer. The serial number being transmitted by the UAS
is used to determine that
the registered owner is Schultz Inspection Services. Officer Schroeder
checks the facility’s log of
authorized UAS activities for the day and determines that Schultz
Inspection Services is
conducting an authorized inspection.
119
XII. Means of Compliance
A. Introduction
Performance-based regulations describe outcomes, goals, or results
without establishing a
specific means or process for regulated entities to follow. Under
certain FAA performance-based
rules, a person may use a means of compliance to meet these
performance requirements.
The FAA recognizes that UAS technology is continually evolving, making
it necessary to
harmonize new regulatory action with technological growth. Setting
performance requirements is
one way to promote that harmonization. Developing a regulatory
framework with performancebased requirements rather than prescriptive
text provides a flexible regulation that allows a
person to develop means of compliance – which may include consensus
standards – that adjust to
the fast pace of technological change, innovation, design, and
development while still meeting
the regulatory requirements. The FAA believes that the use of an
FAA-accepted consensus
standard as a means of compliance would provide stakeholders this
flexibility to comply with the
remote identification requirement.
The FAA recognizes that consensus standards are one way, but not the
sole means, to
show compliance with the performance requirements of the proposed part
89. The FAA
emphasizes that, although a means of compliance developed by a
consensus standards body (e.g.,
ASTM International (ASTM), Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE),
Consumer Technology
Association (CTA), etc.) may be available, any individual or
organization would also be able to
submit its own means of compliance to the Administrator for
consideration and potential
acceptance.
120
The FAA encourages consensus standards bodies to develop means of
compliance and
submit them to the FAA for acceptance. These bodies generally
incorporate openness, balance,
due process, appeals process, and peer review. The FAA has an
extensive history of working
with consensus standards bodies such as ASTM International, SAE, and
Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Section 12(d) of the National
Technology Transfer and
Advancement Act of 1995 (NTAA)67 directs Federal agencies to use
consensus standards in lieu
of government-unique standards except where inconsistent with law or
otherwise impractical.
The FAA intends to rely increasingly on consensus standards as
FAA-accepted means of
compliance for UAS performance-based regulations for remote
identification, consistent with
FAA precedent for general aviation aircraft and other initiatives
taken with respect to UAS.
The proposed approach aligns with the direction of the Office of
Management and
Budget (OMB) Circular A-119, which favors the use of performance-based regulations and
voluntary consensus standards. OMB Circular A-119 states that, for
cases in which no suitable
voluntary consensus standards exist, an agency may consider using
other types of standards. In
addition, an agency may develop its own standards or use other government-unique standards,
solicit interest from qualified standards development organizations
for development of a
standard, or develop a standard using the process principles outlined
in Section 2e of the
Circular.68 OMB Circular A-119 cautions regulators to avoid standards
with biases in favor of a
few large manufacturers that create an unfair competitive advantage.

67 Pub. L. 104-113; 15 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.
68 OMB Circular A-119, Section 5d.
121
B. Applicability
The FAA is proposing that – with limited exceptions – all UAS produced
for operation in
the United States would be required to be designed and produced to
meet the performance
requirements of proposed part 89 in accordance with an FAA-accepted
means of compliance for
remote identification. The FAA is also proposing that persons
operating a UAS within the
airspace of the United States (other than within FAA-recognized
identification areas) would be
prohibited from doing so unless the UAS meets the requirements of the
rule.
Subpart D of the proposed rule prescribes the minimum remote
identification message
element set and minimum performance requirements for standard remote identification UAS and
limited remote identification UAS. Specifically, § 89.305 and § 89.315 establish the proposed
minimum message elements which would have to be broadcast or
transmitted, as appropriate, by
standard remote identification UAS and limited remote identification
UAS. The minimum
remote identification message element requirements are discussed in
greater detail in section
XII.C of this preamble. Sections 89.310 and 89.320 propose the minimum performance
requirements for standard remote identification UAS and limited remote identification UAS.
These requirements are discussed in section XII.D of this preamble.
Subpart E of the proposed rule would prescribe the requirements for
the submission
(§ 89.405) and acceptance (§ 89.410) of means of compliance used in
the design and production
of standard remote identification UAS or limited remote identification
UAS to ensure such UAS
meet the minimum performance requirements of subpart D. The process
for submission and
acceptance of a means of compliance is discussed in section XII.F of
this preamble.
122
C. Remote Identification Message Elements
The FAA is proposing the minimum message elements necessary for the
remote
identification of UAS. These message elements contain the data
required to meet the objectives
of the proposed rule. Although the message elements are designed
specifically to meet remote
identification requirements, the FAA anticipates the proposed message
elements would also
support future UTM services.
Under proposed § 89.315, the message elements for limited remote
identification UAS
would include: (1) the UAS Identification; (2) an indication of the
control station’s latitude and
longitude; (3) an indication of the control station’s barometric
pressure altitude; (4) a time mark;
and (5) an indication of the emergency status of the UAS.
Under proposed § 89.305, the message elements for standard remote identification UAS
would include the same message elements required for limited remote identification UAS plus
(1) an indication of the unmanned aircraft’s latitude and longitude,
and (2) an indication of the
unmanned aircraft’s barometric pressure altitude.
In accordance with § 89.120, unless authorized by the Administrator to
operate UAS for
the purpose of aeronautical research or showing compliance with
regulations, a person operating
a UAS that does not meet the requirements for standard remote
identification UAS under
§ 89.110 or for limited remote identification UAS under § 89.115 would
only be allowed to
operate within FAA-recognized identification areas.
123
1. UAS Identification
The UAS Identification message element establishes the unique identity
of UAS
operating in the airspace of the United States. This message element
would consist of one of the
following:
? A serial number assigned to the unmanned aircraft by the person
responsible for the
production of the standard or limited remote identification unmanned
aircraft system;
or
? A session identification number (session ID) assigned by a Remote ID
USS.
The FAA considered but is not proposing to use the unmanned aircraft registration
number instead of a serial number as the UAS Identification. A serial
number is a unique
identifier issued by the UAS producer to identify and differentiate
individual aircraft. The serial
number is preferable as a unique identifier in a remote identification
message because it would
be encoded into the unmanned aircraft system during production whereas
a registration number
is provided to the owner of the unmanned aircraft and may change for
that aircraft if the
unmanned aircraft is resold. In addition, a registration number is
assigned by the FAA only after
a UAS owner applies for one, whereas a serial number would be assigned
prior to the UAS being
purchased and would provide a means for the UAS to send out a remote identification message,
even if it is not registered. The FAA anticipates a UAS would be
designed to broadcast and
transmit, as appropriate, its serial number regardless of whether the
unmanned aircraft has been
registered or not.
124
i. Session Identification
The FAA is proposing an option for UAS operators to be able to use a
session ID
assigned by a Remote ID USS as the UAS Identification, instead of the
unmanned aircraft serial
number. This would provide a layer of operational privacy. The
association between a given
session ID and the unmanned aircraft serial number would not be
available to the public through
the broadcast message. This association would be available to the
issuing Remote ID USS, the
FAA, and other authorized entities, such as law enforcement. The FAA
recognizes there could be
concerns with the transmission of the serial number from UAS
conducting routine or repetitive
operations. For example, some businesses operating UAS may be
concerned with the collection
and analysis of flight information by their competitors in a manner
that reveals sensitive business
practices, such as the flight profile of an individual UAS over time.
Allowing a UAS to broadcast
and transmit to a Remote ID USS, as appropriate, a session ID instead
of a serial number would
provide operational privacy to these operators without adversely
impacting the safety and
security needs of the FAA, national security agencies, and law
enforcement. Where a session ID
has been issued, the FAA and authorized entities would have the means
to correlate the session
ID to the UAS serial number and would consequently be able to
correlate the UAS serial number
to its registration data.
ii. Correspondence Between Serial Number and Session ID
The FAA is proposing in § 89.310(j)(1) to require standard remote identification UAS to
use the same remote identification message elements, including the
same UAS Identification,
when transmitting to a Remote ID USS and broadcasting directly from
the unmanned aircraft.
The FAA considers that the UAS Identification should be required to be identical because a lack
of consistency regarding this message element could create confusion
as to who is flying in the
125
airspace of the United States. If the broadcast message and the
transmission to the Remote ID
USS contain different UAS Identifications, it may potentially appear
as if there are two different
aircraft in the airspace instead of one in a particular location.
2. An Indication of the Control Station’s Latitude and Longitude
As proposed in § 89.305(b) for standard remote identification UAS and
§ 89.315(b) for
limited remote identification UAS, the FAA would require a UAS to
transmit the latitude and
longitude of its control station through an internet connection to a
Remote ID USS. In addition,
standard remote identification UAS would have to broadcast this
information. This message
element would be derived from a position source, such as a GPS
receiver. The FAA notes that it
is not proposing a specific type of position source used to determine
this information to allow the
greatest flexibility to designers and producers of UAS. The FAA would
require that the person
manipulating the flight controls of the UAS is co-located with the
control station; therefore,
knowing the control station location would also provide the location
of the person manipulating
the flight controls. This message element would be used by the FAA and authorized entities to
locate the UAS operator when necessary for the safety, security, or
efficiency of aircraft
operations in the airspace of the United States.
3. An Indication of the Control Station’s Barometric Pressure Altitude
As proposed in § 89.305(c) for standard remote identification UAS and
§ 89.315(c) for
limited remote identification UAS, the FAA would require an indication
of the control station’s
barometric pressure altitude, referenced to standard sea level
pressure of 29.92 inches of mercury
or 1013.2 hectopascals. This information would be used to establish a
standard altitude reference
for UAS operating in the airspace of the United States and provide
information that could be
126
used to approximate the control station’s height above ground level.
This information is
necessary for instances where the person manipulating the flight
controls of the UAS is not at
ground level, such as a person operating a UAS from the roof of a
building.
The FAA considered and rejected a requirement to indicate the control
station’s
geometric altitude, which is a measure of altitude provided by GPS
that is not affected by
atmospheric pressure. Barometric pressure altitude is a more precise measurement than
geometric altitude and is the standard altitude reference for
aviation. While systems such as
ADS-B require an indication of both barometric pressure altitude and
geometric altitude, those
requirements are necessary to ensure the safe separation of aircraft
in controlled airspace. The
FAA concluded that a single altitude reference for UAS with remote identification equipment is
sufficient for identification and thus is proposing to use only
barometric pressure altitude. The
FAA requests comments regarding whether both barometric pressure
altitude and geometric
altitude of the control station should be part of the remote
identification message elements.
4. An Indication of the Unmanned Aircraft’s Latitude and Longitude
As proposed in § 89.305(d) for standard remote identification UAS,
this message element
would provide the position of the unmanned aircraft using its latitude
and longitude and would
be derived from a position source, such as a GPS receiver. This
message element would be used
to associate a specific unmanned aircraft with its associated control
station position. It would
also be used to provide situational awareness to other aircraft, both
manned and unmanned,
operating nearby. Manned aircraft, especially those operating at low
altitudes where UAS
operations are anticipated to be the most prevalent, such as
helicopters and agricultural aircraft,
could carry the necessary equipment to display the location of UAS
operating nearby. Facility
operators could use latitude and longitude information to know about
the location of UAS
127
operating near an airport, airfield, or heliport. The FAA notes that
this proposed requirement
would not apply to limited remote identification UAS, which would be
required to transmit
message elements regarding the location of the control station only
through an internet
connection to a remote ID USS.
5. An Indication of the Unmanned Aircraft’s Barometric Pressure
Altitude
As proposed in § 89.305(e) for standard remote identification UAS,
this message element
would indicate the unmanned aircraft’s barometric pressure altitude
referenced to standard sea
level pressure of 29.92 inches of mercury or 1013.2 hectopascals. This information would be
used to establish a standard altitude reference for UAS operating in
the airspace of the United
States. It would also be used to provide situational awareness to
other aircraft, both manned and
unmanned, operating nearby. The FAA notes that this proposed
requirement would not apply to
limited remote identification UAS, which would be required to transmit
through an internet
connection to a Remote ID USS message elements regarding the location
of the control station
only. The FAA considered and rejected a requirement to indicate the
unmanned aircraft’s
geometric altitude, concluding that a single altitude reference –
barometric pressure altitude – is
sufficient (see discussion in XII.C.3 of this preamble). The FAA
requests comments regarding
whether both barometric pressure altitude and geometric altitude of
the unmanned aircraft should
be part of the remote identification message elements.
6. Time Mark
This message element would provide a time mark identifying the
Coordinated Universal
Time (UTC) time of applicability of a position source output. A
position source output is the
latitude and longitude coordinates of the unmanned aircraft or control
station, as applicable. The
128
time of applicability is therefore a record of the UTC time when the
UAS was at a particular set
of coordinates. As proposed in § 89.305(f) for standard remote
identification UAS, the time mark
would apply to the position source output for both the control station
and the unmanned aircraft.
For limited remote identification UAS, the same requirement is
proposed in § 89.315(d), but the
time mark would only be applicable to the control station position
source output. While the FAA
is not proposing a particular format for the time mark, the FAA
anticipates that a means of
compliance that specifies a GPS position source would also specify a
GPS time mark.
As an unmanned aircraft or control station position changes, the
position source, such as
a GPS receiver, provides continuous outputs that indicate the new
position of the unmanned
aircraft or control station. The time mark message element would be
used to indicate the time a
particular unmanned aircraft or control station location was measured, therefore providing
information that can be used to correlate the time and location of
unmanned aircraft operating in
the airspace of the United States.
7. An Indication of the Emergency Status of the UAS
As proposed in § 89.305(g) for standard remote identification UAS and
§ 89.315(e) for
limited remote identification UAS, this message element would specify
a code that indicates the
emergency status, which could include lost-link, downed aircraft, or
other abnormal status of the
UAS. The FAA anticipates that a standard for remote identification
would specify the different
emergency codes applicable to unmanned aircraft affected by this rule.
This message element
could be initiated manually by the person manipulating the flight
controls of the UAS or
automatically by the UAS, depending on the nature of the emergency and
the UAS capabilities.
This message element would alert others that the UAS is experiencing
an emergency condition
and would indicate the type of emergency. The requirement would be
useful for a multitude of
129
reasons. For example, security personnel could use an emergency status
to differentiate a
nefarious actor from a malfunctioning unmanned aircraft. Other users
of the airspace of the
United States or Remote ID USS could use the information to make
informed decisions about
how best to keep nearby aircraft out of the way of an unmanned
aircraft experiencing an
emergency. Thus, the emergency status requirement would contribute to
a safer and more
efficient airspace of the United States.
D. Minimum Performance Requirements
The proposed rule would require standard remote identification UAS to
meet the
minimum performance requirements established in § 89.310 by using an FAA-accepted means of
compliance. These requirements relate to the control station location, automatic connection to a
Remote ID USS, time mark, self-testing and monitoring, tamper
resistance, connectivity, error
correction, interference considerations, message transmission, and
message elements
performance requirements.
The proposed rule would require limited remote identification UAS to
meet the minimum
performance requirements established in § 89.320 by using an
FAA-accepted means of
compliance. The performance requirements for limited remote
identification UAS cover the
topics addressed in the requirements for standard remote
identification UAS not related to
broadcast functionality, and include criteria for range limitation.
1. Control Station Location
As proposed in § 89.310(a) for standard remote identification UAS and
§ 89.320(a) for
limited remote identification UAS, the FAA would require all UAS with
remote identification to
generate and encode a control station location that corresponds to the
location of the person
130
manipulating the flight controls of the UAS. The rationale for this
requirement is to assist the
FAA and authorized persons using this information to locate the person manipulating the flight
controls of the UAS. The FAA envisions that in some situations, the
control station might be a
distributed system where some elements, such as a remotely sited
uplink antenna, might not be
located in a close enough proximity to the person manipulating the
flight controls of the UAS.
Thus, the FAA intends for an FAA-accepted means of compliance to
outline a process for UAS
designers and producers to determine which part or element of the
control station should be
incorporated into the remote identification message due to its close
proximity to the person
manipulating the flight controls of the UAS.
2. Automatic Remote ID USS Connection
As proposed in § 89.310(b) for standard remote identification UAS and
§ 89.320(b) for
limited remote identification UAS, the FAA is proposing that from
takeoff to landing, the UAS
would be required to automatically maintain a connection to the
internet when available and
would be required to transmit the message elements to a Remote ID USS
through that
connection. The FAA envisions that UAS would connect to an
internet-based Remote ID USS
upon initialization. This process would be similar to the way cell
phones automatically connect
to cellular networks without user input when the cell phones are
turned on and when they are
within range of a cellular network. Standard remote identification UAS
would also be required to
broadcast message elements.
The FAA welcomes comments on whether the connection should be required
from
takeoff to landing or whether it should be required from start up to
shut down.
131
3. Time Mark
As proposed in §§ 89.310(c) for standard remote identification UAS and
§ 89.320(c) for
limited remote identification UAS, the FAA is proposing that all UAS
with remote identification
would be required to generate and transmit through an internet
connection to a Remote ID USS
messages with the time mark message element; standard remote
identification UAS would
broadcast the message element as well. The time mark message element
would have to be
synchronized to the time when all other message elements are
generated. The purpose of this
requirement is to ensure that position and other data contained in
remote identification messages
would have a usable time reference for the purposes of reconstructing
unmanned aircraft flight
profiles.
4. Self-Testing and Monitoring
The FAA is proposing in § 89.310(d) for standard remote identification
UAS and
§ 89.320(d) for limited remote identification UAS, to require UAS with
remote identification to
automatically test the remote identification functionality when the
UAS is powered on and to
notify the person manipulating the flight controls of the UAS of the
result of the test. Further, the
FAA is proposing to prohibit these UAS from taking off if the remote identification equipment is
not fully functional. Since a person would only be allowed to operate
a standard remote
identification UAS or a limited remote identification UAS if its
remote identification equipment
is functional (§ 89.110(c)(2) and §89.115(c)(2)), the FAA envisions
that UAS designers and
producers would build a notification system to alert potential
operators of any remote
identification equipment-related malfunction. This notification
requirement would help operators
comply with the operating requirements of proposed part 89.
132
The FAA is also proposing to require UAS to continuously self-monitor
the remote
identification functionality throughout the flight and to provide
notification of malfunction or
failure to the person manipulating the flight controls of the UAS.
With this capability, the person
manipulating the flight controls of the UAS can make informed
decisions about what actions to
take to minimize risk to other users of the airspace and people and
property on the ground. This
requirement is necessary because, as proposed in § 89.110(b), a
standard remote identification
UAS would be required to land as soon as practicable if it loses
broadcast capability in-flight.
Similarly, a limited remote identification UAS would be required to
land as soon as practicable if
it can no longer transmit the message elements through an internet
connection to a Remote ID
USS, as proposed in § 89.115(b).
5. Tamper Resistance
The FAA is proposing in § 89.310(e) for standard remote identification
UAS and in
§ 89.320(e) for limited remote identification UAS to require that UAS
with remote identification
be designed and produced in a way that reduces the ability of a person
to tamper with the remote
identification functionality. The FAA envisions the UAS would have tamper-resistant design
features to hinder the ability to make unauthorized changes to the
remote identification
equipment or messages.
6. Connectivity
For standard remote identification UAS, the FAA is proposing in §
89.310(f)(1) and
§ 89.310(f)(2) that if the internet is available at takeoff, the
unmanned aircraft would be required
to be designed and produced so that it would not be able to take off
unless it is connected to the
133
internet and transmitting the message elements in proposed § 89.305
through that internet
connection to a Remote ID USS.
In addition, the FAA is proposing to require that the message elements
be broadcast
directly from the unmanned aircraft. If the internet is unavailable at
takeoff, the standard remote
identification UAS would not be able to take off unless it is
broadcasting the message elements.
Further, in § 89.310(f)(3), the FAA is proposing to require a standard
remote identification UAS
to continuously monitor its connection to the internet and the
transmission of remote
identification message elements to a Remote ID USS. If either is lost,
the UAS would have to
notify the person manipulating the flight controls of the UAS so he or
she may take appropriate
action, as needed.
For limited remote identification UAS, the FAA is proposing in §
89.320(f)(1) that if the
internet is available at takeoff, the limited remote identification
UAS would be required to be
designed and produced in such a way that it would not be able to take
off until it establishes a
connection to the internet and transmits the message elements in
proposed § 89.315 through that
internet connection to a Remote ID USS. If the internet is unavailable
at takeoff, the limited
remote identification UAS would not be able to take off because,
unlike a standard remote
identification UAS, a limited remote identification UAS would not be
able to broadcast the
remote identification message elements in § 89.305 or § 89.315.
Further, under proposed
§ 89.320(f)(2), a limited remote identification UAS would be required
to continuously monitor
the connection to the internet and the transmission of remote
identification message elements to a
Remote ID USS. If connection to the internet is lost or the UAS stops transmitting to a Remote
ID USS, the UAS would be required to notify the person manipulating
the flight controls of the
UAS so that the person may land the limited remote identification UAS
as soon as practicable.
134
7. Error Correction
As proposed in § 89.310(g) for standard remote identification UAS and
§ 89.320(g) for
limited remote identification UAS, the FAA is proposing to require all
UAS with remote
identification equipment to incorporate error correction in the
transmission and broadcast of the
message elements, as appropriate. Error correction would allow remote identification broadcast
receivers, such as smart phones, and Remote ID USS to detect potential
errors that may exist in
the message, and take the appropriate action. The FAA is not proposing
any specific algorithms
or technologies that would be required to be incorporated into an
FAA-accepted means of

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