Can drone teams still fly near the Mexico border?
Drones are restricted within 1 nautical mile of the US-Mexico border until October 2027. Which jobs CBP can approve, what to send, and what to do with the rest.
If your drone team has work within a nautical mile of the Mexican border, sort those jobs now: some can still fly with approval from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the approval list doesn't name most routine commercial work. Since October 19, 2026, every drone flight in that band, from the ground to 400 feet and from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico, needs CBP's prior approval, and the restriction runs until October 19, 2027.
The approval list in the FAA's three NOTAMs names kinds of missions, not kinds of operators. National defense, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, medevac, search and rescue and disaster response work is on it. Line patrols, surveys, mapping, crop work and roof inspections aren't. Even the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) says it's "not yet clear" whether commercial survey, infrastructure, agriculture and newsgathering operators can be approved, and it wants clearer criteria, a response-time commitment and standing approvals for operators who fly the area regularly.
So don't plan routine work inside the band around an approval that may never come. Flying it without approval is worse: the FAA classifies the band as National Defense Airspace. A pilot who flies in without approval can be intercepted and detained, fined, lose an FAA certificate or face criminal charges, and federal agencies may disable, seize or destroy a drone they judge a credible threat.
Which of your border jobs can still fly?
| Job inside the band | What the NOTAMs allow | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Storm damage, outage restoration or other disaster response | Disaster response is on the approval list, and emergency work may qualify for CBP's faster phone line | Ask CBP before you launch, by email or by phone for an emergency. CBP decides whether the job counts |
| Work in direct support of an active law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue, medevac, homeland security or national defense mission | On the approval list | Send the request to CBP at least 48 hours ahead |
| Routine inspection, survey, mapping, agriculture or real estate work | Not on the list. CBP may also approve "event operations", which the NOTAMs don't define | Keep the aircraft outside the band for the whole flight, move the job, or postpone it |
| Work more than 1 nautical mile from the border | Not restricted by these NOTAMs | No change, but check NOTAMs before each flight. The FAA says these can change |
Where exactly does the restriction apply?
The restriction covers the airspace within 1 nautical mile (about 1.15 miles, or 1.85 km) inland from the U.S. side of the border, from the surface to 400 feet above ground level. Mexican airspace is excluded. It applies to every drone, including recreational drones under 250 grams. DroneXL and UAV Coach both report that the band takes in parts of El Paso, Laredo and Brownsville in Texas, Nogales in Arizona and Calexico in California.
Three NOTAMs carry it, split by the FAA's air traffic control centers. Look up the one for your stretch on the FAA's TFR list:
| NOTAM | Center | Stretch |
|---|---|---|
| FDC 6/9954 | Los Angeles (ZLA) | California and western Arizona, from the Pacific coast |
| FDC 6/9978 | Albuquerque (ZAB) | Arizona, New Mexico and west Texas |
| FDC 6/9956 | Houston (ZHU) | Texas, to the Gulf coast near Brownsville |
Does a LAANC authorization or Part 107 waiver still count?
You still need them, but they don't get you in. The NOTAMs allow a flight inside the band only with CBP's prior approval and only if it also meets every other federal aviation rule. So a job near an airport still needs LAANC or another airspace authorization, a job flown under a Part 107 waiver still needs that waiver, and each also needs CBP's approval.
Can you capture a border asset from outside the band?
Sometimes. The band is airspace that starts at the ground, so the aircraft has to stay outside the 1 nautical mile line for the whole flight: launch point, route, and any drift in wind. From there it comes down to how far inside the band the asset sits and what your sensor can resolve at that distance. A substation right on the border may be out of reach. A pipeline segment near the band's inland edge often isn't. Draw the band on the job's map before the crew goes out, not on site.
What does CBP need from you?
Requests go by email to SWBDRONEZONEWAIVERS@CBP.DHS.GOV at least 48 hours before the flight. According to the FAA's Domestic Notice, each request must include:
- the operator's name
- the pilot's FAA certifications
- the operator's phone number
- the proposed flight date, time and location
- the drone's Remote ID, make, model and serial number
First responders and other organizations responding to natural disasters or time-sensitive emergencies may be eligible for expedited coordination by calling CBP at 951-570-4185.
Most of that list is the same for every flight: who flies, what they're certified for, and which aircraft. Keep it ready for every pilot and aircraft that might work near the border. Then a request for a qualifying job only needs a date, a time and a place. When CBP says yes, attach the approval to the job's flight plan with its other permits in FlybyOps, so it stays with the flight log once the flight is done. If anyone asks later why a drone was in the band that day, the answer is on the flight's own record.
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