A few thousand drone zones in UAS SkyCheck changed from red to yellow this week. If you checked a regional park, state park, or city park location before and saw a red PERMIT REQUIRED badge, you may now see a yellow CHECK LOCAL RULES badge instead. Here is exactly why we made that change and what it means for your flights.
The problem with blanket red
When we originally built the restricted zone dataset, we defaulted to PERMIT REQUIRED for any zone where a land manager theoretically could require a permit. The logic was conservative: if in doubt, warn the pilot.
The problem is that "could require a permit" and "does require a permit" are very different things -- and for regional parks, state parks, city ordinances, and local restrictions, the gap between them is enormous.
A regional park in the East Bay might allow recreational drone use in designated areas with no permit needed. The next regional park district over might require a commercial use permit for any flight. A state park in Colorado might have an approved launch area posted on its website. A state park in New York might prohibit all drone operations in all units.
Showing red PERMIT REQUIRED for all of them is not accurate. It tells a recreational pilot who just wants to fly at their local park that they need formal paperwork when they may not. It trains pilots to ignore the warning because it fires everywhere. And it understates the actual severity of zones where a permit genuinely is required -- like wildlife refuges and national parks, where the rules are clear and consistently enforced.
What changed
We introduced a new restriction level called CHECK LOCAL RULES, shown as a yellow badge. It applies to zones where:
- Rules are set locally, not by the FAA or a federal land agency
- Policies vary significantly by specific district, park, or jurisdiction
- Recreational use may be allowed without a permit in some areas
- Commercial operations typically require a permit
The zones that moved from red to yellow:
| Zone type | Count | |-----------|-------| | Regional and county parks | 1,612 | | State parks | 305 | | City and county ordinances | 193 | | Local restrictions | 124 | | Total | 2,234 |
Zones that stayed red: national parks (NPS blanket prohibition), wildlife refuges (USFWS permit required), tribal lands (full sovereignty, contact required), altitude restrictions (FAA-designated ceiling), military installations, and any specific zone where we have verified documentation of a blanket prohibition.
What CHECK LOCAL RULES means in practice
Yellow does not mean green. CHECK LOCAL RULES means: the rules at this location are variable, and you need to confirm the specific rules for this park or jurisdiction before showing up.
For recreational pilots: call the park, check their website, or look up the specific park unit's drone policy. Many regional and state parks have designated areas or simply follow standard FAA rules in uncontrolled airspace. Some do not allow drones at all. The badge tells you to check, not that you are cleared.
For commercial operators: a permit application to the local authority is almost always the right path. The zone expansion in the Airspace tab gives you Part 107-specific guidance on what the permit process typically looks like.
Why this matters
Other drone apps show green at these locations because they have no restricted zone data at all. UAS SkyCheck shows yellow because we have the zone boundaries, but we are being honest about what the yellow means: the rules vary, and we do not know which specific variant applies to your specific park.
That is the difference between no data and honest data.
A tool that shows green everywhere because it has no park boundary data is not more permissive -- it is just uninformed. A tool that shows red everywhere because it defaults to worst-case is not more safe -- it is just inaccurate. Yellow with a clear explanation of what to do is the correct answer.
How to use CHECK LOCAL RULES
- Tap the badge to see what type of zone it is
- Scroll to the Airspace tab and expand the zone row for guidance specific to your pilot type
- Check the specific park or jurisdiction's website for their drone policy
- Call the park ranger station directly if the policy is unclear -- they know their rules better than any database
If you find a park where the rules are clearly documented (either "recreational use allowed without permit" or "all drones prohibited") and the badge does not reflect that accurately, use the feedback form or reply to any beta email. That kind of specific correction is exactly how we get the data right.
UAS SkyCheck, a subsidiary of SudoKodes LLC