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US government will reportedly require all drone purchases to be registered

US government will reportedly require all drone purchases to be registered

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The US government plans to make it a mandatory requirement that all drone purchases, including those made by consumers, be formally registered. NBC News reports that the Department of Transportation will announce the new plan on Monday, with hopes to have this drone registry implemented by the holidays, when drones will likely prove a popular gift. The Obama administration and DoT have yet to announce any such press conference for Monday.

The DoT will reportedly form a "task force" with leading drone manufacturers to create a registration process and ease the potential headache for owners. A drone registry will bring stricter order and accountability to the industry after several recent close calls involving remote-controlled drones and commercial aircraft. Police have also routinely called for stricter drone laws.

Until we hear the DoT's proposal, major questions remain: will this policy be retroactive and include previous purchases? What guidelines will the government use to officially classify drones? Will people need to update registry data when privately selling their drone? We've reached out to both the White House and Department of Transportation for more details. Separately, the FAA is continuing to work on its own drone regulations but has said they might not be ready until 2017.