When you fly over a government facility, national parks, private property, fires, crime scenes, or people, you might get apprehended. You are not allowed to take drone videography over these institutions and of course, over people, for private and security reasons. When the police see you, they will ask you about the project that you’re doing and ask to see permits and licenses.

But how do you deal with the police under these circumstances?

Be polite and explain what you are doing

When the police approach you, ask them nicely what the problem is. You have to know what you did wrong in order for you to make the proper explanation. If you are doing it for personal use and collection, you have to tell that to the police.

Tell the authorities that you are taking videos and photos for your own collection and your portfolio so you can attract more clients to your business. The authorities will understand this and would usually just ask to see your permits.

Show your permits and licenses

You have to make sure that your permits and licenses are all updated. Otherwise, you will have a huge problem. Even if you have previous licenses and permits, you could get into trouble if they have not been updated.

The moment the police asked to see your permits and licenses, be polite and show them immediately. They will certainly let you go and you’ll get off the hook easily if there are no problems with your permits and you paid the right fees and dues.

Make sure that your drones are registered

When you buy your drones, make sure that they are properly registered with the FAA. Small drones are not required to be registered but there’s no harm in also letting know the FAA that they exist. This will protect you from all sorts of legal problems in the future.

When the police approach you and asked to see your drone, they would know if your drone is required for registration. If it is not, they will simply ask you to keep off private and government premises. However, problems will occur if you show an unregistered drone over the weight limit of 0.5 pounds.

So before flying your drones and shooting drone videography, review all the things that you must bring with you. Think of it as driving your car to work. You always bring your driver’s license with you because not bringing it with you will result in legal problems in the end.