Why drone spraying regulation matters
If you're a Florida grower hiring a drone applicator, you should care about regulation for one simple reason: an unlicensed application is not a legal application. Crop-insurance auditors will reject the spray records, organic certifiers will void the field certification, and the FAA can pursue civil penalties against both the operator and the property owner who knowingly hired them.
The good news: Florida's drone-spraying regulatory framework is clear, well-established, and built on the same Part 137 rules that have governed manned crop dusters for decades. Once you know what to ask for, vetting an applicator takes about five minutes.
FAA Part 107 — the pilot license
Every person flying a commercial drone in the United States must hold an FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. Part 107 covers the basics: airspace knowledge, weather decision-making, drone systems, emergency procedures and the legal limits on commercial unmanned flight.
Part 107 alone is enough for photography, mapping and basic inspection work — but it is not enough to legally apply agricultural chemicals. That requires the company-level Part 137 waiver on top.
FAA Part 137 — the company-level agricultural waiver
Part 137 is the rule that authorizes the dispensing of economic poisons (which is the FAA's term for pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers) from an aircraft. It applies equally to drones and manned crop dusters. The certificate is held by the operating company, not the pilot, and is issued after the company demonstrates: safe operating procedures, an aircraft and dispensing system fit for purpose, and a chemical knowledge test for at least one operator.
When you ask a drone applicator for their 'Part 137,' you are asking for the document number issued by the FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO). A legitimate operator can pull it up in seconds. AeroAcres operates under an active Part 137 certificate issued out of the Miami FSDO.
Florida FDACS commercial applicator license
Beyond the federal rules, Florida adds a state-level layer through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Every person who applies a restricted-use pesticide commercially in Florida must hold an applicator license in the appropriate category — Aerial Application is the relevant category for drone work.
FDACS licensing requires written exams in pesticide law, label reading, application math and crop-specific safety, plus ongoing continuing-education credits to renew. It's the layer that ensures the person making spray decisions understands Florida-specific issues like aquifer protection, pollinator buffers and tropical-fruit chemistry.
What this means when you hire a drone applicator
Three documents, every time: a Part 107 license for the pilot, a Part 137 certificate for the company, and an FDACS commercial applicator license for whoever made the spray decision. A serious applicator will offer to send you copies before the first job — and will include them in the post-flight coverage report for your records.
If any of those three are missing, walk away. The risk is not yours to take.