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Part 108, explained: where the BVLOS rule stands and what it changes.

The FAA's rule for routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone flight is written but not yet published. Here is its status as of November 2026, what it would change for operators, how airspace authorization works today, and how to prepare.

Air Pixels Research · Updated November 13, 2026

Answer first

Part 108 is not in effect. The FAA sent the final rule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on July 10, 2026, and as of early November 2026 it was still under review with no publication date. Until it publishes and takes effect, BVLOS flight needs a Part 107 waiver, an exemption or another FAA authorization.1,2

Timeline

DateMilestone
Jun 6, 2025Executive Order 14307, "Unleashing American Drone Dominance," orders a final BVLOS rule within 240 days of the order.11
Aug 7, 2025The FAA and TSA publish the Part 108 proposed rule (NPRM).3,4
Early 2026The executive order's deadline for a final rule passes.4
Jul 10, 2026The FAA sends the final rule, "Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations," to OIRA.1
Sep 2026An FAA official says the agency hopes to publish before the end of the year.5
Nov 2026Still under OIRA review; not in the Federal Register or the eCFR.2

What Part 108 would change

Today BVLOS is granted case by case. The proposal creates a standing path instead, with two tiers: an operating permit for lower-risk, limited-scale operations and an operating certificate for larger or more complex ones. Aircraft would need an airworthiness acceptance through a streamlined process based on industry consensus standards.6,7 The rule covers low-altitude BVLOS operations; Part 107 continues to govern visual-line-of-sight work.12

Industry groups flagged one gap in the proposal: it didn't set out a clear path for operators that already hold Part 107 BVLOS waivers.3 How existing approvals carry over will come from the final text, along with the effective date.

Why it matters. Delivery, linear inspection, agriculture, mapping and public-safety programs have all scaled through one-off approvals. A standing permission changes the bottleneck from getting permission to proving you deserve it: a defined operating area, a safety case and clean records, on demand.

How airspace authorization works today: LAANC

For flights in controlled airspace near airports, the FAA's Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) handles most requests. Pilots submit through an app from an FAA-approved UAS Service Supplier (USS), which exchanges data with the FAA.

  • Automatic approval. Requests at or below the altitude shown on the published UAS Facility Map for that grid are processed automatically, in near real time.8,9
  • Further coordination. Requests above the map altitude can be sent for review by air traffic instead of being approved automatically.9
  • DroneZone. Anything outside LAANC's limits, or flown under a waiver, goes through manual review in FAA DroneZone.8

The FAA also reported in September 2026 that UTM systems had deconflicted 1.5 million BVLOS operations, a sign of how much automated coordination already runs in low-altitude airspace.10

Compliance as software

Most compliance work under Part 107 is record-keeping: authorizations, pilot credentials, aircraft registration, maintenance and flight logs. Part 108 is likely to raise the bar on the same records. That's the layer Air Pixels builds. Flight OS handles LAANC authorizations and airspace checks, keeps fleet and pilot records, and generates FAA Part 107 audit records and client flight briefings. Proof of Flight is our framework for tamper-evident records of the decisions an autonomous aircraft makes.

How to prepare now

  1. Keep pursuing waivers and exemptions for planned BVLOS work rather than waiting for the final rule.
  2. Write down your operating areas, procedures and safety case as if you'll need to submit them.
  3. Keep complete, consistent flight and maintenance records for every aircraft.
  4. Track which of your aircraft could support an airworthiness acceptance, and what evidence you'd need.
  5. Watch for the Federal Register date, the effective date and the transition terms for existing waivers.

We log rule changes as they happen in the Drone Delivery Tracker's regulations log, and summarize them each quarter in State of the Airspace.

Questions

Is Part 108 in effect?

No. As of November 2026 the final rule remained under OIRA review, with no publication date announced.

When will Part 108 be published?

The FAA has said it hopes to publish before the end of 2026, but timing depends on the White House review. Publication may also come with a later effective date.

Does Part 107 go away?

No. Part 107 continues to govern visual-line-of-sight operations. Part 108 adds a standing path for BVLOS.

What happens to existing BVLOS waivers?

The proposal didn't define a clear transition, and the final terms aren't public. The final rule will set them.

How fast is a LAANC authorization?

Requests inside the UAS Facility Map altitude for the grid are approved automatically, in near real time. Requests above it need further coordination or a DroneZone application.

Sources

  1. Vertical Aviation International, Part 108 final rule sent to OIRA for review (Jul 15, 2026). verticalavi.org
  2. Unmanned Systems Institute, Get FAA Part 108 Ready (updated Nov 4, 2026). flyusi.org
  3. DLA Piper, FAA's proposed Part 108 BVLOS rule: industry response and key concerns (Oct 13, 2025). dlapiper.com
  4. Knobbe Martens on Part 108 and patent strategy (2026). knobbe.com
  5. UAV Coach, FAA says Part 108 is on the 10-yard line (Sep 16, 2026). uavcoach.com
  6. Crowell & Moring, Landmark proposed rule may open American skies to expanded commercial drone deployments. crowell.com
  7. Conventus Law, summary of the Part 108 proposal. conventuslaw.com
  8. FAA information collection 2120-0776, Part 107 airspace authorizations (LAANC and DroneZone). omb.report
  9. FAA, LAANC USS Performance Rules. faa.gov
  10. FAA remarks at Commercial UAV Expo (Sep 2026), reported by DroneLife, summarized by Drone Intelligence. droneintelligence.ai
  11. Executive Order 14307 of June 6, 2025, Federal Register Vol. 90, No. 111. govinfo.gov
  12. DLA Piper, FAA proposes comprehensive BVLOS UAS regulatory framework (Aug 2025). dlapiper.com

For information only; not legal or regulatory advice.