The commercial UAV industry in the United States is coming up on the one-year anniversary of the Part 108 BVLOS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Now, after an extensive commenting period, a reopening of those comments, and a passed deadline for the statutory rule in January, the industry is eagerly awaiting more motion.

While the rule is overdue, there has been some promising movement recently. On July 10, 2026, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the rule for its final approval. This office is responsible for reviewing draft regulations from executive branch agencies and evaluating the costs and benefits of the proposed rule, clearing government information collections, and coordinating federal privacy and statistical policies.

The office’s page notes a due date of the final rule as “07/00/2026”, meaning that the agency is targeting a release in July, but these internal agency targets are often not met. The caveat here is that the OIRA has a 90-day review process for significant draft regulations before federal agencies can publish them. This process ensures that agencies aren’t rushing into putting rules into place without proper oversight, but this means the industry will probably continue to wait on this rule to move along.

During the 90 – Day Review Process

There are three essential steps happening during this review process. These include a cost-benefit interrogation to verify the agency’s benefits to justify its cost, an interagency coordination where the OIRA circulates the draft rule to other federal departments to ensure it doesn’t conflict with existing policies, and lastly, public listening meetings. Also known as EO 12866 Meetings, this step involves OIRA acting as a listening ear for the public. This is a time for trade associations, businesses, environmental groups, and any citizen to make their voice heard one last time. These meetings happen upon request and are not a publicly sanctioned event and are not intended to replace written comments on the proposed rule.

Possible Outcomes

What can we expect after this review period is over? There are few different outcomes that are possible. One of these four actions will be announced:

1. Consistent without change: OIRA approves the rule exactly as it was submitted

2. Consistent with changes: Agencies agree to make edits as suggested by OIRA during the interagency review.

3. Withdrawn: The rule is pulled back to reassess or address deep flaws.

4. Returned: OIRA issues a formal return letter, sending the rule back because it is deeply flawed or conflicts with presidential priorities.  

If any option besides the first occurs, this will of course push back the date for the final ruling.

But for a minute, let’s pretend everything works out perfectly, and the OIRA approves the rule without changes, what happens next?

This is the sequence of events we can expect.

1. Publication in the Federal Register: The final rule gets an FR citation which is the official legal publication.

2. Effective Date is Set: A final rule usually takes effect 30-60 days after publication. Since this rule is technically complex, it may take longer, but the rule itself will specify the date.

3. Compliance Dates: This date sets the timeline for when operators need to be compliant by. It’s different than the effective date above. Big structural changes such as this one typically get staggered timelines for different categories like aircraft design, certifications, and operational rules.

4. Legal Challenge Window: This is another chance for the industry to make their voice heard. Industry groups, safety advocates, and government can petition for reconsideration or file suit in a U.S. Court of Appeals, usually within 60 days of publication. Given this rule touches package delivery, agriculture, and airspace access broadly, expect some petitions, possibly from manned aviation groups worried about airspace conflicts, or from privacy and local government interests.

5. FAA implementation actions: The FAA usually follows up with:

  • Advisory Circulars (guidance on how to comply)
  • Updated Order 8900-series inspector guidance
  • New forms/application processes for UTM service provider approval
  • Possible new airworthiness/type certification pathways (relevant here since Part 21/36/43/45/48 are in the CFR list)

For now, the message for operators, manufacturers, and UTM providers is the same one that's applied for months: stay ready, but stay patient. The finish line is visible. Whether it's crossed in July, or slips again, will depend on what happens inside OIRA over the next several weeks.