The FCC Covered List: new foreign drone parts and FCC authorisation.

What it rests on. The FCC's fact sheet of 7 January 2026 is the main source, read directly for this site. The date and number of the December 2025 action, and the date of the related rule changes, come from secondary sources (a law firm and a testing company). No FCC statement after 7 January 2026 was read, so this page may be out of date. The FCC's own list decides; this page does not say whether any particular product is covered or authorised.

Background: FCC equipment authorisation

The FCC regulates radio equipment in the United States. Its 2018 Notice of Apparent Liability, FCC 18-71, explains that under Section 302(b) of the Communications Act, a radio-frequency device subject to certification may not be marketed unless authorised, and that intentional radiators such as drone video transmitters must be certified before marketing. More on radio equipment rules. The Covered List works on that authorisation step.

What happened in December 2025

According to secondary sources, on 22 December 2025 the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau added all foreign-produced drones (unmanned aircraft systems, UAS) and UAS critical components to the Covered List, in an action the sources number DA 25-1086. New models of those products therefore cannot receive FCC equipment authorisation. A law firm, K&L Gates, reports that separate FCC rule changes took effect on 26 December 2025.

What the FCC's fact sheet says (7 January 2026)

The parts it names

The fact sheet lists these as UAS critical components, together with their associated software:

• data transmission devices;
• communications systems;
• flight controllers;
• ground control stations and UAS controllers;
• navigation systems;
• sensors and cameras;
• batteries and battery management systems;
• motors.

The FCC reads the term as covering components designed and intended primarily for use in drones. Its example is a camera: a general-purpose camera that could be fitted to a drone is not a UAS critical component.

What does not change

• Existing authorisations. The Covered List blocks only new equipment authorisations. Models the FCC authorised before the December 2025 additions can still be imported, sold and used, and consumers may keep using authorised devices they bought lawfully.
• No new paperwork for generic parts. No device now needs FCC authorisation that did not need it before, so generic batteries and similar parts that never required authorisation do not newly require it.

What is not allowed

Bringing in and operating, from abroad, a covered drone or component that the FCC has not authorised is generally not allowed, according to the fact sheet.

Exemptions

Drones and critical components on the Blue UAS Cleared List, and components that qualify as domestic end products under the Buy American Standard, are exempt until 1 January 2027. Other entities may seek a conditional approval, which the fact sheet says is evaluated by the Department of War and the Department of Homeland Security.

Modified equipment

K&L Gates (16 January 2026), a secondary source, says previously authorised foreign-produced drones and components may continue to be imported, marketed and operated only if they are not modified in a way that requires a new or updated authorisation. This site does not describe modifying any equipment.

What is unconfirmed

• A secondary source says the Covered List has changed roughly monthly since December 2025. No FCC statement after 7 January 2026 was read, so the list's state on 30 October 2026 is not confirmed here.
• The December 2025 action itself was not read; its number and date come from secondary sources.

Where it applies

The Covered List is an FCC measure for the United States. Radio and aviation rules for the UK, the EU, Canada and Australia are set out on radio rules by country and each country's law page. Racing bodies' equipment rules, such as the FAI's F9U limits, are separate again.