Radio equipment rules: certification and marketing, regulator by regulator.

Each section is one regulator's position, applying only in its own country or region. Whether a particular product may be sold or used is decided by that regulator's authorisation rules and lists. This page does not say any product meets them. How the bands themselves may be used is on radio rules by country.

United States: the FCC

Notice of Apparent Liability FCC 18-71 (June 2018)

The FCC's Notice of Apparent Liability FCC 18-71 (adopted 4 June 2018, released 5 June 2018) was issued against an online hobby retailer group over the marketing of drone audio/video transmitters. In it the FCC set out how such transmitters are treated as equipment:

• Certification before marketing. Under Section 302(b) of the Communications Act and 47 CFR 2.803(b)(1), a radio-frequency device subject to certification may not be marketed unless it is authorised and properly identified and labelled. Intentional radiators such as audio/video transmitters must be approved through equipment certification before marketing (47 CFR 15.201).
• Amateur-only equipment. The FCC has generally not required amateur equipment to be certified, but such equipment must be designed to operate only in amateur bands. Equipment that can operate on both amateur and non-amateur frequencies must be certified before it is marketed or operated, and a device able to transmit on the restricted bands listed in 47 CFR 15.205(a) cannot be certified.
• The amateur bands named. The notice lists the amateur bands in which such transmitters claim to operate, citing 47 CFR 97.301(a): 1240 to 1300 MHz, 2300 to 2310 and 2390 to 2450 MHz, and 5650 to 5925 MHz.
• A licence to operate. Operating amateur equipment requires an amateur licence under Part 97. Operators of noncompliant devices may face enforcement under the technical rules, and operating amateur equipment without a licence may lead to enforcement under the amateur rules (47 CFR 97.5).
• Power. The FCC cited 47 CFR 97.215(c), which limits transmitter power for telecommand of model craft under an amateur licence to 1 watt, when assessing transmitters marketed at higher powers.

Enforcement Advisory No. 2018-02 (DA 18-581, 5 June 2018)

This site's research lanes differed on this document: one read the FCC's own copy at docs.fcc.gov, while another could open only a law-firm copy, which returned an error, and recorded just a search summary. The points below come from the FCC's own copy, which was opened again on 30 October 2026 to confirm them. The advisory says drone audio/video transmitters may not be advertised, sold or used unless authorised through FCC equipment authorisation or unless they operate only on amateur frequencies; that any drone accessory, and the drone itself, must comply with FCC radio-frequency rules; that buyers should check devices are labelled FCC-compliant; and that violations can bring a civil penalty under 47 U.S.C. 503(b). Its fuller wording on amateur licences is on radio rules by country.

Association statement and the Covered List

The AMA's Document 550 (3 March 2021, para 2(l)), an association document and not law, says FPV aircraft must use FCC-approved frequencies for video, control and telemetry, and that some systems need FCC licensing because of their power or their use of amateur bands. Separately, since December 2025 new foreign-produced drone components cannot, with some exemptions, receive FCC authorisation; see the FCC Covered List.

European Union: the Radio Equipment Directive and harmonised standards

In the EU, the Radio Equipment Directive, 2014/53/EU, is the law a maker declares a radio product conforms with, citing ETSI standards, as the example declaration below shows. The standards named in this site's research:

• ETSI EN 300 440: CEPT's ERC Recommendation 70-03 (read 30 October 2026) lists the 5725 to 5875 MHz band for non-specific short range devices under this standard.
• ETSI EN 300 220: the same recommendation lists model-control frequencies at 26.99 to 27.20 MHz (five channels), 34.995 to 35.225 MHz and 40.66 to 40.70 MHz under this standard.
• ETSI EN 300 328: a search summary describes it as the harmonised standard for wideband data equipment in the 2.4 GHz band, linked to the essential requirements of Article 3.2 of the directive. The ETSI text was not read.
• ERC/DEC/(01)06 (12 March 2001): a search summary of a CEPT table says it designates 5725 to 5875 MHz for non-specific short range devices at 25 mW e.i.r.p.; the decision itself was not read.

When ERC/REC 70-03 was last amended is reported two ways: a search summary gave 13 February 2026, while CEPT's document page lists an amendment dated 9 October 2026 (though its own amendment list shows 5 June 2026 as the latest entry).

One maker's declaration, as an example

An EU Declaration of Conformity dated 9 April 2024 by Shenzhen Baida Moxing Co., Ltd. for the Cetus, Cetus Lite and Cetus Lite FPV brushed whoop drones, hosted on BetaFPV's support site, shows what such a document contains. It declares conformity with the Radio Equipment Directive, RoHS and WEEE, citing ETSI EN 300 328, EN 300 440, the EN 301 489 series, EN IEC 62368-1 and EN 62311. It states a 2.4 GHz receive-only link and a 5.8 GHz FM video link at 5733 to 5866 MHz with a maximum output power of 13.86 dBm, and says the radio parameters are not accessible to the user. That is the maker's declaration; regulators were not asked to confirm it.

Makers' own statements on national rules

• Team BlackSheep (Crossfire manual, 9 August 2022) says its system is capable of transmissions and output power that may not be allowed in a given country, and that users must follow local radio-frequency law.
• DJI (O4 Air Unit specification page) says permitted bands vary by country and states different output limits under CE and FCC.

United Kingdom: Ofcom (unconfirmed)

Every Ofcom page tried returned an error, so this rests on search summaries only. They say almost all drones use licence-exempt spectrum designated for Wi-Fi or model aircraft (35 MHz for model aircraft only, plus the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi bands), and that a drone using only licence-exempt equipment does not need Ofcom's UAS Operator Radio Licence, introduced in January 2023 for operations needing more range and covering spectrum only, not flight permission. They also say Ofcom's licence-exempt interface requirement is IR 2030, which replaced IR 2006, and that the UK exemption regulations treat use as not airborne where an interface requirement does not say airborne use is permitted. None of this was read from Ofcom or the legislation itself.

Canada: ISED

ISED's RSS-Gen, Issue 6 (30 July 2026, Amendment 1 of 15 September 2026), section 3.5, says all radio apparatus, receivers included, need a radio licence under section 4(1) of the Radiocommunication Act unless exempted under section 15 of the Radiocommunication Regulations. A search summary of ISED's RSS-247 page says that standard, now in Issue 4, covers licence-exempt digital transmission and frequency-hopping equipment in bands including 2400 to 2483.5 MHz and 5725 to 5850 MHz, which needs ISED or recognised-body certification; that detail is unconfirmed. No ISED page specific to FPV video transmitters was found.

Australia: ACMA (unconfirmed)

The ACMA's site timed out. A search summary of its page on the Radiocommunications (Low Interference Potential Devices) Class Licence 2025 says it covers short-range devices including drone telecommand and video senders, with no application needed, and that other frequencies need an apparatus licence. Its power limit for 5.8 GHz video senders was not read.