FCC Covered List Toy Drones Removed: US UAS Update
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FCC Removes Toy Drones from the Covered List: A Narrow Exemption for Low-Risk Foreign-Made UAS
On June 15, 2026, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), acting through its Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), issued Public Notice DA 26-588 removing a narrowly defined category of "Toy Drones" and "Toy Drones that contain foreign produced components" from the FCC Covered List. The action implements a June 12, 2026 National Security Determination from the U.S. Department of War (DoW), which concluded that this specific class of low-capability devices does not pose an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security or to the safety and security of U.S. persons.
For regulatory affairs teams, the headline is real but should not be over read: this is a tightly bounded carve out from the FCC's December 2025 blanket addition of all foreign produced uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to the Covered List not a broad reopening of the U.S. market to foreign made drones.
What the FCC Covered List toy drones update actually does
The Covered List, maintained under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, identifies communications equipment and services deemed to pose an unacceptable national security risk. Equipment on the list is barred from receiving new FCC equipment authorizations, which most radio frequency (RF) devices require before they can be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States.
In December 2025, the FCC added all foreign produced UAS and UAS critical components to the Covered List following an interagency National Security Determination. Because the FCC cannot unilaterally modify the Covered List it must act on determinations from the appropriate national security authorities the agency built in a mechanism to remove items if the DoW or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later determined that a given device, class of device, or component does not present unacceptable risks.
The June 15 Public Notice is the FCC applying that mechanism to a defined class of toy drones. With this update, the Covered List now recognizes four exemption pathways for foreign produced UAS:
UAS and UAS critical components on the DoW Blue UAS Cleared List.
UAS and UAS critical components that qualify as "domestic end products" under the Buy American Standard.
Devices granted a Conditional Approval by the DoW or DHS.
Foreign-produced toy drones that meet the newly established DoW definition (added by DA 26-588).
The practical effect: a foreign made device that satisfies every element of the DoW toy-drone definition is no longer treated as covered equipment, and may therefore pursue a normal FCC equipment authorization rather than being blocked.
How the FCC defines a qualifying "toy drone"
This is where scope matters. The DoW determination draws a deliberate line between, in its words, unsophisticated, low risk toys that cannot operate efficiently in U.S. airspace and more capable UAS. It frames qualifying devices as lacking the range, endurance, sensing, payload, connectivity, and data-collection capabilities that would raise national security concerns.
To qualify for removal from the Covered List, a device must meet every criterion below (this list reflects the publicly reported criteria and should be reconciled against the full primary text):
Weigh 150 grams or less.
Operate only within visual line of sight and within 100 meters.
Remain below 300 feet altitude.
Lack GPS, GNSS, return-to-home, waypoint missions, and subject tracking.
Have no internet, mobile app, Wi-Fi, cellular, or network connectivity.
Have no imaging or sensing capability — no cameras, microphones, video transmission, recording, or surveillance-related sensors.
Have a maximum flight time of 10 minutes.
Have a maximum horizontal speed of 10 meters per second.
Be explicitly marketed as a toy for recreational use.
Have no modular payload capability.
Use no brushless motors.
In addition, a qualifying device cannot be produced by an entity identified in Section 1709 of the FY2025 NDAA which by name includes DJI, Autel, and their subsidiaries.
Read together, these conditions exclude the overwhelming majority of modern foreign made consumer drones. Camera systems, GPS navigation, app connectivity, autonomous flight modes, and brushless motors all standard on mainstream consumer UAS each independently disqualify a product. The exemption is best understood as covering simple, short-range, camera less recreational toys, and little else.
What this means for manufacturers
For manufacturers, importers, and regulatory affairs teams, treat this as a precise compliance opening rather than a change in posture toward foreign made drones generally.
The carve-out is narrow and feature-gated. Eligibility turns entirely on the device's specifications and marketing. If a single feature exceeds a threshold (a camera, a Wi-Fi link, a brushless motor, GPS), the device stays on the Covered List.
Entity-of-origin still controls. Products from Section 1709 NDAA entities (DJI, Autel, and subsidiaries) are ineligible regardless of how stripped down the device is.
The certification burden sits with the applicant. Equipment authorization applicants must certify, in good faith, that an RF device is not covered equipment. For a toy drone, that now means being able to demonstrate the device meets each DoW criterion supported by retained engineering and marketing documentation.
It is also a risk-assessment signal. Beyond the narrow product class, the DoW determination is one of the clearest public statements yet of the capabilities connectivity, sensing, data collection, payload, endurance, autonomy that federal officials associate with higher risk UAS. That framing is useful when assessing where future products may fall.
Everything else is unchanged. Foreign produced UAS and UAS critical components that do not fit an exemption remain on the Covered List and blocked from new equipment authorizations.
Certification impact summary
Area | Before June 15, 2026 | After DA 26-588 |
Foreign-made toy drone meeting all DoW criteria | Covered equipment; blocked from new FCC equipment authorization | Not covered; may pursue normal authorization (e.g., SDoC) |
Foreign-made consumer drone with camera/GPS/app/brushless motor | Covered; blocked from new authorization | No change — remains covered |
Products from Section 1709 entities (DJI, Autel, subsidiaries) | Covered | No change — remains covered, even if low-capability |
Previously authorized devices | Continued import/sale/use permitted | No change — prior authorizations unaffected |
Certification responsibility | Applicant certifies device is not covered equipment | Same, plus good-faith certification against the toy-drone definition |
Blue UAS / Buy American / Conditional Approval pathways | Available | No change — toy-drone removal is an additional, fourth pathway |
Timeline and required actions
Date | Event |
Dec 21, 2025 | Interagency National Security Determination: foreign-produced UAS pose unacceptable risk |
Dec 22, 2025 | PN DA 25-1086 adds all foreign-produced UAS and UAS critical components to the Covered List |
Jan 7, 2026 | PN DA 26-22 exempts Blue UAS Cleared List and Buy American "domestic end products" (carve-outs run to Jan 1, 2027) |
Mar 17–18, 2026 | First Conditional Approvals received and announced |
Jun 12, 2026 | DoW National Security Determination on the toy-drone class |
Jun 15, 2026 | PN DA 26-588 removes qualifying toy drones from the Covered List |
Required actions for manufacturers and importers:
Map every product feature against the DoW toy drone criteria; confirmed eligibility requires meeting all of them, not most.
Screen for origin. Confirm the device and its producer are not identified under Section 1709 of the FY2025 NDAA (DJI, Autel, subsidiaries).
Document and retain evidence of toy classification specifications, test data, and the "marketed as a toy" basis to support a good faith certification.
For RF-equipped toy drones, proceed with the appropriate equipment authorization route (commonly SDoC), certifying the device is not covered equipment.
Do not extend the logic to camera, GPS, app, or brushless motor equipped products; these remain covered.
Monitor for any expiration or further determinations the Jan 2026 carve outs sunset Jan 1, 2027, and Conditional Approvals are time limited; confirm whether any end date applies to the toy drone removal .
