⚖ Regulations · 49 U.S.C. § 44102; 14 CFR § 48.20REG-047 · 44 of 261

A remote pilot acquires a drone that is currently registered in another country and wants to register it with the FAA. What must happen first?

AThe foreign registration must be cancelled, because an aircraft may be registered in only one country at a time✓

BNothing; the drone can hold both a US and a foreign registration at the same time as long as the operator carries both certificates

CThe drone must be physically re-manufactured in the US before it is eligible for FAA registration

Why →By law, an aircraft may be registered with the FAA only if it is not registered under the laws of a foreign country. Aircraft registration is exclusive: a single aircraft cannot legally hold registration in two nations simultaneously. To bring a previously foreign-registered drone onto the US registry, the prior foreign registration must first be terminated.

The trap →The two-registrations option sounds reasonable because operators are used to carrying multiple documents, but dual-country registration is specifically not allowed. The re-manufacture option invents a requirement that does not exist; where the drone was built is irrelevant to registration eligibility.

Field note →Think of aircraft registration like a car's title: a vehicle can be titled in only one place at a time. The same exclusivity applies to drones, which is why test questions about a drone 'registered in the US and a foreign country' hinge on the word only.

SOURCE → 49 U.S.C. § 44102; 14 CFR § 48.20CHECKED JUL 16ACS I.A.K1MED

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