Drone Safety

What is LAANC

Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) is a partnership between the FAA and private industry to safely integrate small drones into the national airspace. Flying within the national airspace is strictly regulated by the FAA. All FAA Certified Part 107 (commercial) and All FAA TRUST Certified (recreational) drone operators require FAA LAANC authorization before operating in controlled airspace. Drone operators can receive LAANC authorization for most operations in just a few seconds. Additionally, commercial pilots can request further coordination with the FAA for those operations that cannot be automatically approved by LAANC. LAANC is now available at over 541 air traffic facilities and 732 airports nationwide.

Using Airhub® Portal

Step 1: Create A Pilot Account Within AirHub® Portal

• Register using a valid email address in the AirHub® Portal’s application. Once registered, you’ll have access to the most up-to-date airspace information, be able to create new LAANC operation submissions and receive near real-time automated approvals from participating air traffic facilities and airports nationwide.

Step 2: Create Your Operation

• After logging in, locate where you will be operating your drone using either an address, a known location name, the geographic coordinates, or manually navigate using the interactive map.
• Alternatively, you can create an operation by clicking anywhere on the map and selecting “Get Approval” or “Clear to Fly,” depending on the location selected. This feature quickly generates a flight by pre-populating your information and automatically creating a circular flight boundary around the selected location.

Step 3: Define Operation Parameters

• The basics of an operation consist of an operation name, a start time (and duration), the operation altitude and the area you intend to fly. 

Step 4: Request Authorization From The FAA

• The final step is to request authorization from the FAA (if necessary) by clicking “Save Operation.” Sometimes, the operation is divided up into multiple areas, if you need to submit to different Air Traffic Control facilities – AirHub® Portal will handle that too.

Responsibility For Terms Of Service

Drone pilots are responsible for understanding and adhering to all applicable FAA, state and local regulations. The city of Las Vegas provides access to Airspace Link’s AirHub® Portal services solely for your convenience. The city of Las Vegas does not assume any responsibility, liability, or obligation related to (i) the accuracy, legality or content of the AirHub® Portal offerings, (ii) your use of the AirHub® Portal services, (iii) or any terms, conditions or obligations imposed by Airspace Link. Your use of AirHub® Portal services is governed exclusively by Airspace Link’s terms of service, which can be found at: https://airspacelink.com/terms-conditions-portal. BY USING THE AIRHUB® PORTAL SERVICES, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE, CONSENT AND AGREE THAT YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING AND ADHERING TO THE TERMS OF SERVICE FOR AIRHUB® PORTAL.

FAA Resources

Register Your Drone

Follow the FAA guidelines regarding registering your drone

Certifications

Follow the FAA guidelines regarding the certifications needed

• Recreational Remote Pilot TRUST Certificate
• Commercial Remote Pilot Certificate

Know the rules

Knowing the drone pilot rules of the sky is the best way to start your flight.

• Recreational Drone Pilot Rules
• Commercial Drone Pilot Rules

Drone FAQs

For questions or support in the region, email smarcus@lasvegasnevada.gov.

Answers to your most frequently asked questions about drones:

Does Las Vegas have a blanket no-fly zone?

No. LAANC program through the FAA can tell you where you can fly and any restrictions around that area.

Can you fly over other people’s houses?

There are no laws against it, but safety and privacy need to be considered. So if you’re flying below 250 feet, property owners can express concerns over flying over their property.

Can you fly drones at parks?

The FAA can approve for you to fly up to 400 feet at our parks, depending upon the area, but drones should never be flown over people or moving vehicles for safety reasons (unless authorized by the FAA).

Do you need a drone license?

Recreational pilots don’t need a license, but the FAA does ask recreational pilots to get a special license to make sure everyone is following the same standards. Commercial pilots are required to have a license.

Recreational pilots need to pass the TRUST test in order to make sure they understand the basic concepts of flying a drone within the National Airspace System. Commercial pilots are required to have their part 107 certification.

Film Permit Rules

Film permits are required for filming in the public right of way (city streets, sidewalks and other city facilities), residential areas or when scenes include fight or chase scenes, use of law enforcement uniforms or vehicles or weapons, special effects such as laser, fire, flame effects or pyrotechnics.

To film on commercial private property, there is no city film permit (because it's commercial private property) i.e., hotel, casino, restaurant.

Basic categories for drone filming and the need for a film permit:

Recreational drone flying – no film permit

Drone filming – launching/landing on commercial private property (i.e. hotel, casino, restaurant) – no film permit

Commercial filming with a drone - launching/landing from city property or public right-of-way (sidewalks/streets) – film permit required

Drone operators are required to follow all FAA Rules and Regulations. All film permits are reviewed and approved by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and Las Vegas Fire & Rescue. You can email filming@lasvegasnevada.gov for additional information and timelines. Film permits are free.