Exactly as Racer38 stated, your access to CAPS has to be individually approved and you are issued a unique PIN#. You must be sponsored by the Agency and prior to actual ALLOWED ACCESS you have to provide a letter from the CITY/STATE that your agency is a sub-division of. More complete information is available on our website (First Responder UAS OPS, LLC) (
HOME) with copies of actual filings and background information. Below is the specific guidance that the handlers (contractors) provide to accomplish the Public Declaration Letter (PDL). They are restricted from providing a TEMPLATE; so this is as close as it gets.
Here is the guidance that they provide to accomplish the PUBLIC DECLARATION LETTER (PDL):
The FAA Legal Office has cautioned us to not provide a template since the public declaration letter must represent the understanding to the parties that are submitting them. Having said this there is some basic pieces to the declaration letter that must be present.
1. The public declaration letter is on official letterhead from a governmental entity (
your department cannot self-certify your public aircraft status) who is in a position to determine that your agency is qualified to operate as a public aircraft operator (
the individual should be an attorney). Hence the reason why for a public agency the City, County or State Attorney General is the appropriate party to make that declaration.
2. Your public agency is named in the letter as the agency the declaration is being made for (
Please be aware that it is not uncommon for a public agency under a municipality not be qualified as a political sub-division of a state so the municipality will be the proponent for the COA).
3. That the public declaration letter references the two sections in title 49 USC (40102A(41)(C) and 40125B) so that the individual making the declaration understands that the entity is a political subdivision of the state based on these sections.
4. The Letter reference the enabling statute from your State that declares that the entity qualifies as apolitical sub division of the state for the purposes of operating as a public aircraft operator per Title 49 UASC 40102(a)(41)(c).
5. That the public agency that is requesting to operate as a public aircraft operator in compliance with Title 49 USC 40125(A) and as such will not operate for compensation or hire in compliance with Title 49 USC 40125(b).
6. The declaration letter is dated and signed by the individual making the declaration and include in the letter a point of contact from the public agency (phone and email address of that individual).
Please email a signed copy to
9-AJV-115-UASOrganization@faa.gov and a copy to
Federal Aviation Administration
Scott J. Gardner, Acting Air Traffic Manager
Unmanned Aircraft Tactical Operations, AJV-115
490 L’Enfant Plaza SW Suite 7105
Washington DC 20024
NOTE: Also e-mail
a copy of the completed Declaration letter to Steven.ctr.pansky@faa.gov).
PLEASE NOTE that while the statutory list also does not contain a public works function, the FAA finds that public works projects such as the inspection and maintenance of dams, waterways, bridges, and roads may all be characterized as valid governmental functions
when the projects belong to and are funded by a governmental entity, and the operations do not also constitute a commercial purpose. Similarly, a government entity may conduct a public aircraft operation using a UAS for the purpose of conducting a mandatory code inspection of a construction project. On the other hand, the more general purpose of
simply observing a public works or construction project using a UAS would
not qualify as a governmental function. In addition, the commercial purpose prohibition in the statute would prevent a governmental entity from charging another entity for operation of the aircraft, or if the aircraft were used in in support of a revenue-generating business that does not constitute a core function of a qualifying government entity.