ok so i bought a mini 3 pro a couple months ago and ive been flying it around my neighborhood and some parks near me and i just realized i have no idea if im supposed to register it somewhere besides the FAA. i did the FAA DroneZone thing and got my registration number on the body of the drone but then someone at the field told me some states have their own rules on top of that?? is that actually true or was he just messing with me

i live in Florida if that matters. havent had any issues so far but i really dont want to get a fine or have someone confiscate my drone or whatever. any advice would help

So the FAA registration is federal and covers you nationally as far as the federal side goes, but yeah your friend wasnt totally wrong - some states and especially local municipalities have their own rules layered on top. Florida itself is actually pretty reasonable from a state level, they passed a preemption law a while back that basically stops local governments from making their own drone ordinances, which is nice compared to like California where its kind of a patchwork of city rules.

That said you still need to watch out for state parks vs national parks (national parks are a flat no without a permit, state parks in FL vary by location), and flying near beaches or certain wildlife refuges can get complicated. The FAA registration alone is enough registration-wise, there isnt a separate Florida drone registration system or anything like that. Just make sure youre checking controlled airspace with something like B4UFLY or the Aloft app before you go up near any airports or that kind of thing.

im in the same boat kinda, been flying for like 8 months and the rules are honestly confusing as hell to parse through. what i do is just check the B4UFLY app every single time before i go out, even if ive flown the same spot before cause the temporary flight restrictions change. saved me from flying near a presidential visit thing once lol