Federal, state, and local government agencies need an FAA Certificate of Waiver or Authorization before flying unmanned aircraft systems [1]. In March, the FAA created an office to oversee the process.

Dozens of organizations have in the past received authorization to fly UAVs domestically [2], many for research and testing purposes, but the authorization was only good for one year. In addition to the creation of the new office, a new rule extends authorizations another 12 months. The FAA has 90 days from Monday to find a way to expedite the authorization process [3].

We spoke to Ben Gielow, government relations manager at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, about the process and what the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 [4], signed into law in February, means for agencies looking to fly unmanned vehicles.

thumbnail by an honorable german/flickr [5]

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