The holiday season is rolling around, and one of the most popular days of the year comes with it. Christmas is fast approaching, and the FAA (federal aviation administration) estimates that over 700,000 quadcopters, or more commonly known as drones, will be gifted. With that knowledge, they have decided to prepare for it by making drone owners register their drones.

Now, what's the purpose, you ask? The FAA says that they want to make sure that you and others are kept safe and that in the event that your drone was lost, it would be easier to find. They also want to encourage responsibility with piloting drones through having a unique  registration number assigned to your drones.

What are the requirements for registration? If your drone is over 250 grams (no teeny drones) and below 55 pounds, then you need to register. The cost is five dollars, but if you register within the first 30 days of availability (Dec 21- Jan 20,) then the FAA will give you five dollars back to help encourage speedy registration. The FAA can fine you if you don't register your drone. If you buy a drone previous to the 21st of December, you then have 60 days to register. While flying, the drone owner must carry certification that he/she has registered their drone. They also need to keep their unique registration number readily available on their drone.

When you read this you probably thought the same thing I did: The people who want to do bad things won't register their drones, so isn't this just a penalty for responsible drone owners? The FAA says that by this new registration system, there will hopefully be a more widespread understanding that with piloting drones comes responsibility. They also want to make a clearer line between what's right or wrong.

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For more information, please go to the FAA's website.