Recreational Drone Operations Exceptions Clarification

House Floor Schedule

Published January 6th, 2026

Detected April 5th, 2026

Summary

The Recreational Drone Empowerment Act (H.R. 6460) proposes to amend 49 U.S.C. § 44809 to expand permissible airspace for recreational drone operations. The bill adds Class E airspace designated as extensions to Class B, C, D, or E surface areas, as well as Class E airspace above Class G airspace, to the existing exception for uncontrolled Class G airspace. Introduced by Rep. Dann and Rep. Davids, the bill is pending in the 119th Congress.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

H.R. 6460 would amend Section 44809(c)(2)(C) of Title 49, United States Code, to expand where recreational drone operators may fly without additional FAA authorization. The current statute permits recreational drone operations in uncontrolled Class G airspace without a waiver; the proposed amendment would extend this exception to include Class E airspace above Class G airspace and Class E airspace designated as extensions to Class B, C, Class D, or Class E surface areas. The bill is titled the 'Recreational Drone Empowerment Act.'

Recreational drone operators should monitor this legislation as it progresses through Congress. If enacted, operators would gain expanded access to certain controlled airspace without needing to obtain individual FAA authorization, simplifying compliance for hobbyist drone use. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; stakeholders may wish to engage with their representatives during the legislative process.

What to do next

Monitor bill progress through House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Contact congressional representatives to provide input on recreational drone airspace provisions
Review current operational airspace classifications if the bill passes to identify newly permitted flight areas

Source document (simplified)

H.L.C.

Union Calendar No. H. R. 6460

119 CONGRESS TH 2 ESSION

[Report No. 119-]

To amend title 49, United States Code, to clarify exceptions for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

D 4, 2025 ECEMBER Mr. M(for himself and Ms. D of Kansas) introduced the following DANN SAVIDS bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure J --, 2026 ANUARY Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:12 Jan 06, 2026 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 C:\USERS\TAMERYWEATHER\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\H6

H.L.C.

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, to clarify exceptions for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft, and for other purposes.

VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:12 Jan 06, 2026 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 C:\USERS\TAMERYWEATHER\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\H6

H.L.C.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3

This Act may be cited as the ''Recreational Drone 4 Empowerment Act''. 5

SEC. 2. CLARIFYING RECREATIONAL OPERATIONS OF 6 DRONE SYSTEMS. 7

Section 44809(c)(2)(C) of title 49, United States 8 Code, is amended-- 9 '' 10 (1) in the heading by inserting '' AND CLASS E ''; and 11after ''U NCONTROLLED (2) by inserting '', Class E airspace above Class 12 G airspace, or a Class E airspace designated as an 13 extension to a Class B, Class C, Class D, or Class 14 E surface area'' after ''Class G airspace''. 15

VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:12 Jan 06, 2026 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 C:\USERS\TAMERYWEATHER\APPDATA\ROAMING\SOFTQUAD\XMETAL\11.0\GEN\C\H6