Texas Robotics Law

The BVLOS Proposal and Existing Drone Approvals

Published

Proposed rule; final rule under White House review. Law checked through October 18, 2026.

The Pony Express carried mail across the West for about eighteen months before the telegraph made it obsolete; it worked because riders and stations were arranged one route at a time. Drone delivery and long-range inspection in the United States still run that way, by individual permission, while the general rule that would make them routine waits.

The FAA and TSA proposed that rule on August 7, 2025, at 90 FR 38212. The proposal would add a new Part 108 for beyond visual line of sight operations, with permits and certificates issued to operating organizations rather than case-by-case waivers to pilots. Congress required a final rule within 16 months of the proposal in 49 U.S.C. § 44811, and Executive Order 14307 set a 240-day target "as appropriate." Both dates have passed. The final rule went to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on July 10, 2026, and no published final rule had been located as of October 18, 2026.

Until it appears, the existing pathways govern. A Part 107 operator may seek a waiver of the visual-line-of-sight rule in § 107.31 under § 107.205. Heavier aircraft and agricultural operations rely on exemptions under 49 U.S.C. § 44807. Package delivery for compensation runs through air-carrier certification under Part 135. Operators in Texas holding these approvals should expect a transition period and should not assume that a waiver converts automatically into a Part 108 permit.

Limits

Federal airspace authority does not displace Chapter 423 of the Texas Government Code. Whatever Part 108 ultimately says about routes and altitudes, Texas rules on image capture and on low flight over critical infrastructure and large sports venues will still apply.

Sources

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