Airspace
Flying in Controlled Airspace: Authorization and LAANC
✓ Reviewed against current FAA sources on October 22, 2026
In this guide
In short
Section 107.41 (opens in a new tab) prohibits operating a small unmanned aircraft in Class B, Class C or Class D airspace, or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, unless that person has prior authorization from Air Traffic Control.
Airspace authorization is the one Part 107 procedure that a pilot is most likely to need on a real job and most likely to misunderstand on the test. The rule itself is one sentence.
What Section 107.41 (opens in a new tab) says
No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft in Class B, Class C or Class D airspace, or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, unless that person has prior authorization from Air Traffic Control. The section title is "Operation in certain airspace."
What it does not say
It does not say you must call the tower. It does not say authorization is automatic. And it does not cover Class G, where no authorization is required, or Class E that is not surface area designated for an airport.
How authorization is actually obtained
The Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, LAANC, is the system through which most authorizations are issued. It checks a request against the UAS Facility Map, which publishes the maximum altitude Air Traffic Control has pre-approved for each grid square around an airport. A request at or below that ceiling is normally approved in near real time. A request above it goes through the FAA's further coordination process instead.
Reading the facility map
A grid value of 0 does not mean the airspace is closed. It means no altitude is pre-approved there, so an automatic authorization is unavailable and the request must go the longer route.
Authorization is not the same as a waiver
This is the distinction the test cares about. An authorization permits entry into controlled airspace under Section 107.41 (opens in a new tab). A waiver, under Section 107.200 (opens in a new tab), permits deviation from an operating rule such as flying beyond visual line of sight. They are different applications with different criteria, and holding one does not give you the other.
Where the airspace itself is defined
If the classes are what you are shaky on rather than the procedure, start with airspace classes A through G and then how to read a sectional chart, because the chart is where you will identify which class you are standing in.
Sources: 14 CFR 107.41 (opens in a new tab), 107.200 (opens in a new tab); FAA UAS Facility Maps.