Drone Sub-250g Registration Threshold Comparator
"Under 250 grams, no FAA registration" is the version everyone repeats. The regulation's own words say something slightly stricter, and at least one brand sells an official accessory for its own lightest drone that quietly crosses the line. We fetched the regulation and five current drone product pages directly to see how each one actually states its weight — and what it leaves out.
The legal line is 249.48 g, not a round 250.
14 CFR § 48.15(b) exempts a drone from registration only
if it "weighs 0.55 pounds or less on takeoff, including everything that is on board or otherwise
attached to the aircraft." At the exact 453.59237 g/lb conversion, 0.55 lb is 249.4758 g — a few
tenths of a gram under the "250 grams" shorthand almost every article, and every brand's own product
page below, actually uses.
The same drone, two of its maker's own batteries, two different sides of the line.
DJI's own Mini 3 page states "248 g" for the standard configuration — then states its own
optional Intelligent Flight Battery Plus takes that same drone to "approximately 290 g." Nothing about
the drone's model name or listing changes; only the battery you choose from DJI's own accessory list
does.
Five current models, unfiltered
This table doesn't depend on what you typed above — every figure here is straight from each brand's own current page.
| Brand | Model | Their own stated weight | States what it includes? | Margin under 249.48 g |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJI | Mini 4 Pro | <249 g | Intelligent Flight Battery, propellers, microSD card | 0.48 g (at most — their own figure is a ceiling) |
| DJI | Mini 3 | 248 g | Intelligent Flight Battery, propellers, microSD card | 1.48 g |
| Autel Robotics | EVO Nano+ | 249 g | not stated on this page | 0.48 g |
| Autel Robotics | EVO Nano | 249 g | not stated on this page | 0.48 g |
| Potensic | ATOM 2 | <249 g | the original intelligent battery, propellers, and a MicroSD card (their own wording) | 0.48 g (at most — their own figure is a ceiling) |
What this does not do
- Compares five named models across three independently owned brands whose own current page states a takeoff weight in plain, readable text — not every sub-250g drone sold. HOVERAir's current spec page, for one well-known competitor, renders its weight figures in a way this session's fetch tool could not read as text, so it isn't included here.
- 49 U.S.C. §44809, the statute §48.15(b) requires compliance with, is titled "Exception for limited recreational operations." Flying commercially, including monetized video, needs Part 107 registration regardless of weight — this tool checks only the recreational weight exemption, not whether a specific flight qualifies as recreational, and it is not legal advice.
- Two of the five rows above (DJI Mini 4 Pro, Potensic ATOM 2) state their own weight as a ceiling ("<249 g"), not an exact figure. The margin shown for those rows is the minimum their own wording guarantees, not a measured number — the true figure could be a little lower.
- DJI's own current pages state no exact gram figure for propeller guards, ND filters, or other small accessories — only the Battery Plus jump above. Enter your own accessory weight if you have it; nothing here estimates it for you.