Can I charge for my drone photos/videos without having a license?

[SkyviewLou]

Dear forum,

I have an acquaintance of mine who is a roofer and he is inquiring about paying me to use my drone (DJI 3 4K) to do photos and videos of him for roofing jobs. I told him that I am not licensed and to my knowledge, I can not take and sell pictures as it would be considered a business and as much I would be violating the law. I have researched this some, but wanted to reach out to everyone here just to get your insight on whether or not my thinking is accurate.

Thanks!

 

[dirkclod]

Short answer Sky....No
If you want to research more look in rules and regulations here and you will see the hoops you have to jump through to be able to .

 

[Cobs]

I think they look the other way if it is for a friend and you only get a beer or fuel costs ... may differ in other Countries.

 

[planedr]

What about having him hire you as an employee and you only work when he needs you? He's not paying you for the aerial work, he's paying you as a roofer.

 

[Richard R]

What about having him hire you as an employee and you only work when he needs you? He's not paying you for the aerial work, he's paying you as a roofer.

In the US if you fly a sUAS for any type of compensation (Beer, pretzels or regular employment) or to support any type of 'business' activity, you need the license! There all kinds of post throughout this forum from people trying to word-smith their way around the regs, but the simple fact is you need the license.

 

[Richard R]

What about having him hire you as an employee and you only work when he needs you? He's not paying you for the aerial work, he's paying you as a roofer.

Planedr,
I love your footnote. I think that we all should make a concerted effort to scrub out the use of 'Drones'. The DOD and FAA calls them Unmanned Aeronautical Systems (UAS) and the sooner that we get on board, the better IMHO!

 

[trevsdad]

Planedr,
I love your footnote. I think that we all should make a concerted effort to scrub out the use of 'Drones'. The DOD and FAA calls them Unmanned Aeronautical Systems (UAS) and the sooner that we get on board, the better IMHO!

Agreed!! I'm a TV/radio news anchor. I edit the word 'drone' (...at least 1st an 2nd reference) out of all copy I don't write.

 

[NI.Spo]

Is this a workaround? Could you use your UAS for free, then agree a charge for the editing and processing only?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[Richard R]

End use seems to be the trigger. You are still taking images for commercial use. It's been discussed many times on this forum.

 

[N42742]

Is this a workaround? Could you use your UAS for free, then agree a charge for the editing and processing only?

No. The intent of the flight is commercial.

 

[SoCalDude]

Even putting a video on YouTube and monetizing it, you'll need an FAA Part 107 license. It's called, "in furtherance of a business". Check out out...

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