---
kind: "section"
citation: "14 C.F.R. § 48.15"
title: "14"
number: "48.15"
heading: "Requirement to register."
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/14/48.15"
---

# §48.15. Requirement to register.


No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft that is eligible for registration under [49 U.S.C. 44101-44103](/usc/49/44101-44103.md) unless one of the following criteria has been satisfied:

- (a) The owner has registered and marked the aircraft in accordance with this part;
- (b) The aircraft is operated exclusively in compliance with [49 U.S.C. 44809](/usc/49/44809.md) and weighs 0.55 pounds or less on takeoff, including everything that is on board or otherwise attached to the aircraft; or
- (c) **The aircraft is an aircraft of the Armed Forces of the United States.**

## Notes

### Amendments

[Doc. No. FAA-2015-7396; Amdt. No. 48-1; 80 FR 78645, Dec. 16, 2015, as amended by Doc. No. FAA-2019-1100; Amdt. No. 48-3; 86 FR 4504, Jan. 15, 2021]

### Authority

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 106(f), 106(g), 40101, 40103, 40113-40114, 41703, 44101-44103, 44105-44106, 44110-44113, 44809(f), 45302, 45305, 46104, 46301, 46306.

### Source

Source: Doc. No. FAA-2015-7396; Amdt. No. 48-1; 80 FR 78645, Dec. 16, 2015, unless otherwise noted.

### Amendments

[Doc. No. FAA-2015-7396; Amdt. No. 48-1; 80 FR 78645, Dec. 16, 2015, as amended by Doc. No. FAA-2019-1100; Amdt. No. 48-3; 86 FR 4504, Jan. 15, 2021]