
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my FAA # used to register my drone / aircraft?
The FAA (USA) or TC (Canada) registration number you are assigned when you register your drone with either the FAA or Transport Canada (TC) is unique to you and/or your drone. By law you are required to display your FAA # or TC # on all drones / aircraft over a specified weight (see guidelines for FAA or TC).
Because of the FAA and TC registration numbers unique makeup it is difficult to guess a valid FAA or TC registration number. This means there should very be few, if any, hoax “Finders” able to lookup your aircraft owner information without knowing your real FAA or TC registration number. Only those “Finders” that have your labeled drone in front of them should be able to gain access to your owner information, which is what you would want.
You should label each of your drones with that uniquely assigned FAA or TC #. You can register all your drones under your single ReclaimDrone.com account.
What information is shared with the finder of my drone?
When someone finds your drone / aircraft, they are prompted to enter ONLY the FAA # that you should have displayed on your drone. This is a unique number assigned to you, as the owner, by the FAA. If the finder enters your number exactly, they will be shown only what you want them to see. You have complete control over what to show the finder:
- Your name, with options for full name, first name only, or last name only.
- Your email address.
- Your phone number.
- A message that you create. You can tell them anything in this message. You might want to offer a reward to entice them to contact you.
You also have an option to allow the finder to send you an email thru our internal and secure email service, without having to disclose your email address.
Surely you want to have the finder of your lost drone contact you, but depending on your situation, you may not want to provide too much information. ReclaimDrone.com allows you the option to share name, phone, email and a message which could include even your address and the promise of a reward, or you can share minimal information and allow them to contact you via our email system. You have options.
Should I offer a REWARD for the return of my drone / aircraft?
Your goal should be to get your lost drone back. There are many good and honest people that would love to help in returning a found drone back to the owner, and a thoughtful “thank you” would be reward enough. But unfortunately, there are also many that take some motivation to do the right thing. For those a “REWARD” can be the motivation.
For this reason, we recommend that you include in your message to a finder or your aircraft, that there is a “reward”. We don’t recommend putting the amount of the reward unless you feel strongly about it. The hope in leaving off the amount of the reward is that the finder will establish contact with you, via email or phone, to at least find out what the amount of the reward is. Curiosity is a powerful thing. It is hoped that once contact with the finder is established, that you will have the ability and the option to negotiate what makes sense to both parties to get your aircraft back into your possession.
Along this same line of thinking, we also recommend that you apply a label that lets the finder of your lost drone know immediately that there is a REWARD for its return.