Three FAA NOTAMs ban drones within one nautical mile of the U.S.-Mexico border for one year, starting at 00:00 UTC on Monday, October 20, 2026. DroneXL reported the restriction and published the NOTAM numbers earlier today. We are writing this so our clients in San Diego and along the California corridor know exactly what it means for their shoots and inspections, and how to plan around it.
What the restriction covers
The ban covers the surface to 400 feet above ground level within one nautical mile of the entire border, from the Pacific coast to the Gulf coast. One nautical mile is about 1.15 statute miles, or 1.85 kilometers. That puts the downtowns of border cities inside the restricted band. Calexico is in that zone, and any work we do near the line from San Diego eastward needs to be checked against it.
The key point is that this is a ground-location restriction as well as an altitude restriction. A pilot cannot solve the issue by staying low, taking off from a nearby parking lot, or using a smaller aircraft. The band begins at the surface and extends to the usual Part 107 ceiling of 400 feet above ground level.
That matters for ordinary production decisions. A roof inspection may need only a 30-foot climb. A listing still might be captured from 80 feet. An FPV pass through a venue could be below roofline for its entire route. If the aircraft is within the one-nautical-mile band, those low-altitude flights are still prohibited unless CBP has approved the operation.
The restriction runs through October 19, 2027. It applies to every drone, including recreational aircraft under 250 grams. The FAA classifies the airspace as National Defense Airspace under 49 U.S.C. 40103(b)(3).
A sub-250 g drone does not create an exception. Weight can matter for certain operations over people, but it does not override a National Defense Airspace restriction. The same applies to a drone that is FAA-registered, equipped with Remote ID, or flown by a Part 107 remote pilot. Those are separate compliance requirements.
Who can get permission
Permission now goes through U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The NOTAMs list categories CBP can approve: flights in direct support of national defense, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, medevac, search and rescue, disaster response, and event operations. There is no category for routine commercial work or recreational flying.
Requests go to CBP at least 48 hours before the flight. Each request needs the operator’s name, FAA certifications and phone number, the flight’s date, time and location, and the drone’s Remote ID, make, model and serial number. First responders working an emergency may be eligible for expedited coordination by phone.
The request needs enough detail for CBP to evaluate the actual operation. “Aerial footage near the border” is not a useful flight location. A site address, planned operating area, proposed date and time, and the aircraft that will fly are the practical details a production team should have settled before asking for approval. If the operator or aircraft changes after a request is submitted, the client should not assume the earlier approval follows the replacement.
That means a real estate photographer in Calexico, a roof inspector near the line, or a production crew shooting a border town cannot simply file a Part 107 waiver and fly. If the work does not fall into one of the listed categories, the default answer is no.
A common mistake is treating this as an airspace-authorization issue that LAANC can resolve. LAANC is useful for many controlled-airspace requests in Los Angeles and elsewhere, and FAA DroneZone is used when needed. Neither changes the CBP approval process described in these NOTAMs. Start with the border restriction, then assess the usual airspace requirements for any flight that remains possible.
What this means for our clients
We serve clients from San Diego to San Francisco. The border band touches the southern end of that corridor. If your project is in San Diego County and sits within roughly a mile of the international line, assume you cannot fly there under this restriction unless CBP approves it under a listed category.
This changes how we plan several types of work:
- Real estate listing videos and photos for properties near the border
- Roof and solar inspections for homes and commercial buildings in the band
- Construction progress documentation for sites close to the line
- FPV fly-throughs and aerial production work in border-adjacent venues
The restriction affects the full flight path, not only the final camera position. For example, a construction site may be outside the band while the most obvious takeoff point, orbit path, or establishing shot crosses into it. We need to map the intended route before the crew arrives. That is especially important for FPV work, where a planned one-take move can cover more ground than a conventional hover-and-pan shot.
For anything outside the nautical-mile band, normal Part 107 rules still apply. We still check TFRs and NOTAMs before every flight, our aircraft remain FAA-registered with Remote ID broadcasting, and we still operate under the 400-foot ceiling.
How to plan a shoot or inspection now
If you have a project near the border, start by measuring the distance from the site to the international line. One nautical mile is the hard edge. If the site is inside that circle, do not schedule a drone flight expecting a Part 107 authorization to cover it.
Measure the actual intended operating area, not only the street address. A large industrial parcel, solar installation, construction site, or estate can extend closer to the line than its main entrance. For a roof inspection, consider where the aircraft will take off and where it needs to travel to view each roof face. For a listing film, consider the orbit radius and any planned rise-and-reveal shot.
Next, determine whether the flight could qualify for a CBP exception. The listed categories are national defense, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, medevac, search and rescue, disaster response, and event operations. Routine real estate, inspection, and marketing work does not appear on that list.
If you believe your flight qualifies, contact CBP at least 48 hours before you want to fly. Have the operator’s name, FAA certifications, phone number, flight date, time, location, and drone details ready: Remote ID, make, model, and serial number. Build time into the production schedule. A request submitted two days before a shoot is not a promise that the flight will be approved or that a crew should travel before the answer is in hand.
If the flight does not qualify, move the site boundary. A property one and a half miles from the line is outside the restriction. We can shoot from there and still capture the building, the roof, or the progress you need documented. It may change the angle or the lens choice, but it keeps the flight legal.
That adjustment can be practical. A telephoto view from a legal operating position may document a roof feature that would otherwise need a closer overhead pass. Fixed-angle construction photos can be planned from a permitted edge of the site. Ground camera work can cover areas that an aerial platform cannot reach under the restriction. The right substitute depends on the deliverable, so raise the location issue before shot lists, vendor call times, and inspection dates are fixed.
Airspace tools may lag
As of Friday afternoon, the three NOTAMs had not appeared on the FAA’s graphic TFR map or in the UAS Data Delivery System. The FAA’s Domestic Notice does carry a map of the full line. Flight planning apps may not draw the band immediately. Do not rely on an app alone to tell you whether a site is inside the mile. Read the NOTAMs and check the Domestic Notice before you commit to a shoot date.
This is a familiar planning trap: an app may show ordinary controlled-airspace grids, a clear-looking launch point, and no graphic alert for the border band. That display does not cancel a published NOTAM. Use the official notice and map as the starting point, then retain the flight-planning record with the project file. For commercial work, that record helps explain why a flight was moved, revised, or declined.
Penalties are serious
Violators can be intercepted, detained, fined, stripped of an FAA certificate, or charged under 49 U.S.C. 46307. The government may also seize, damage, or destroy a drone judged a credible threat. For a licensed operator, one flight inside the band can cost a certificate and a livelihood.
There is no production deadline, listing launch, or inspection backlog that makes an unauthorized flight a reasonable risk. A client may see a short aerial request. The pilot is responsible for deciding whether the planned operation is lawful before motors start.
What we are doing
We are reviewing every upcoming job with a site in San Diego County or near the border against the one-nautical-mile line. When a site falls inside the band, we are telling the client immediately and offering alternative angles from outside the restriction. When a client believes their work fits a CBP category, we are helping them assemble the 48-hour request package with the right aircraft and operator details.
For projects outside the band, we will continue the normal preflight review: location, controlled airspace, applicable authorizations, TFRs, NOTAMs, weather, site conditions, and the intended camera move. Dronaldo’s Part 107 pilot training is recurrent every 24 months, and every aircraft is FAA-registered and broadcasts Remote ID. Those steps remain part of the work, even where the new border restriction does not apply.
If you have a shoot or inspection scheduled near the border in the next year, contact us before Monday evening so we can check the site against the restriction.
Read the original reporting from dronexl.
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