Is the FAA taking forever to approve your 137 request? You are not alone!
Currently we have customers waiting over 3 months for approval. Why? System overload and the possibility of regulation changes and modifications to the approval process.
The FAA is currently taking up to and exceeding the 120 day time frame for completing 137 applicator exemptions and 44807 heavy drone exemption requests. Even though you submit your request for exemption through regulations.gov you do not reach out to the government body for information on your request. Instead you have to go directly to the FAA to get a status update. And then you have to find the right department in the FAA, the UAS or UAV department.
To contact the UAS division of the FAA call 1-844-359-6982.
If you go to the FAA website you will see a notice that the FAA is cracking down on people not following their procedures. They are now requesting additional information from RPICs requesting exemption. Typically they want to know:
- Who owns the company?
- Who is the RPIC?
- What is your Part 107 license number?
- What drone are you flying?
- What is the tail number?
If you include this information in the original 137 request they may still reach out to you so be sure to check your email regularly. Once they ask for information you only have a week to respond or they close the petition and you have to start over!
If this sounds like a nightmare, just call us. We can do your FAA 137 for you.
"The FAA has become aware of exemption holders conducting commercial agricultural operations in a manner noncompliant with the conditions and limitations of their exemption. Therefore, the FAA is implementing operational validations to ensure that each exemption holder fully understands their obligations to conduct operations in accordance with their exemption, the required Part 137 certificate, their ATO-issued COA, and all pertinent sections of 14 CFR. This includes basic requirements such as obtaining a Remote Pilot Certificate and registering their UAS.
The FAA has begun to send requests for information (RFI) seeking basic operational information. Without this information, the FAA will not move forward with a decision letter and will close your petition request for failure to respond to the RFI. If you have any questions about the RFI, please contact 9-AVS-ARM320-Exemptions@faa.gov"
FYI... here's what Regulations.gov will tell you if you reach out to them.
The Regulations.gov Help Desk is unable to help you with this request. The FAA uses the Regulations.gov website as a way for the public to review and submit documentation on exemptions. The Regulations.gov team is not involved in the exemption process and is unable to provide any information or status updates. You will need to contact the FAA directly. Their contact page can be found at the below address.
https://www.faa.gov/contact
If you need any help using the Regulations.gov website to review or comment on proposed federal rules or regulations, please contact us again.
Thank you,
Regulations.gov Help Desk