Under Part 107, routine flight beyond visual line of sight needs a certificate of waiver from 14 CFR 107.31. The waiver is available in principle, but it cannot be granted for carrying another person's property for compensation or hire. Check the FAA for the current position before planning.
The baseline rule
Section 107.31 requires that the remote pilot in command and the person at the controls, or a visual observer, can see the aircraft for the whole flight with unaided vision. The purpose is to know the aircraft's position and altitude, watch for traffic and hazards, and confirm it is not endangering people or property.
A visual observer helps with a pilot who cannot see the aircraft, but the observer must be able to see it as 107.31 describes. An observer does not remove the need for sight. Section 107.33 also requires effective communication at all times between the pilot in command, the person flying and the observer.
What a waiver can and cannot do
Section 107.205 lists 107.31 as waivable. It adds the carve out: not waivable for carrying another person's property for compensation or hire. The same limit applies to 107.25, operation from a moving vehicle.
Waiver lists also include 107.33, the visual observer rule, 107.35 for multiple aircraft and 107.39 for flights over people. A beyond line of sight application might involve several of them at once, for example a long corridor flight with no observer.
The Remote ID link
Part 89 requires visual line of sight for the alternative Remote ID pathways, which are a broadcast module and an identification area. If you plan beyond line of sight, a standard Remote ID aircraft is the pathway that does not carry that condition in the rule text I read. Confirm in Part 89 before you design the operation.
What goes into a good application
I could not read the FAA's guidance pages for this post, so the following is a general approach and not an FAA checklist. A strong application usually explains:
- The route, the area and the people and property under it.
- How the pilot keeps awareness of the aircraft and of other air traffic.
- What happens on link loss, GPS loss and low battery, in specific terms.
- How the aircraft is tracked and how others can identify it.
- Training and currency of the crew.
Software behaviors become evidence
Beyond line of sight cases lean hard on automation. The lost link behavior, the geofence and the return height are all software settings. Document the versions and parameters that your application describes. If you later update firmware, check that those settings still hold, and keep a change record.
Where to watch for change
The FAA has been working on a rule for routine beyond line of sight operations. I could not fetch a primary source on its current status, so this post does not state a date or contents. Check the FAA and the Federal Register for the current status before you plan around a rule that may not exist yet.
Quick check
Can a visual observer replace line of sight entirely?
No. The observer must themselves be able to see the aircraft as 107.31 describes, and must stay in effective communication with the pilot.
Is a beyond line of sight waiver available for package delivery for hire?
Not under 107.205. The waiver for 107.31 is not available for carrying another person's property for compensation or hire.
Sources
- 14 CFR 107.31, eCFR: visual line of sight.
- 14 CFR 107.205, eCFR: waivable sections.
- 14 CFR 107.33, eCFR: visual observer.
- 14 CFR Part 89, eCFR: Remote ID pathways.
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
