Are DJI drones banned in the US? Not for people who already own one. Existing DJI aircraft remain legal to fly, with no FCC or FAA order grounding them. What changed: the FCC added DJI’s unmanned aircraft systems to its Covered List on December 22, 2025. That blocks new DJI equipment from receiving US authorization going forward. A separate, broader Commerce Department proposal to restrict Chinese-made drones was withdrawn in 2026.
Is DJI currently banned in the United States?
Not in the way most people picture a ban. If you already own a DJI drone, you can keep flying it. The FCC’s Covered List doesn’t grant authority to disable, ground, or otherwise interfere with drones already in service. No FAA flight restriction has been placed on them either. What the Covered List blocks is new DJI equipment getting FCC authorization to be marketed or sold in the US going forward.
How did DJI end up on the FCC Covered List?
The path here ran through the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which didn’t ban DJI outright. Instead, it built in a review trigger. A federal national security agency had until December 23, 2025 to complete a formal security audit of DJI. If no agency finished that audit by the deadline, the law required DJI to be automatically added to the FCC’s Covered List.
No agency completed the audit in time. The FCC added DJI and other foreign-made drone systems to the Covered List on December 22, 2025. That was one day ahead of the automatic deadline.
What happened to the Countering CCP Drones Act?
The Countering CCP Drones Act was a separate bill that would have banned DJI more directly. It passed the House but did not become law on its own. The NDAA’s automatic-trigger mechanism ended up producing a similar practical outcome without that standalone bill being enacted.
Is there a broader ban on Chinese-made drones too?
There was a proposal for one, but it didn’t go through. The Commerce Department had been developing a rule under its Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) authority. That rule would have restricted or barred Chinese-made drones more broadly. The proposal was sent to the White House for review in October. The Commerce Department ultimately withdrew it in 2026 rather than finalizing it.
Separately, and unrelated to the Covered List decision, US Customs and Border Protection has been detaining DJI shipments since October 2024. That’s under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), an import-enforcement action, not a flight ban.
Why is this happening now?
The FCC has tied the Covered List addition to airspace security ahead of a run of major US events. That includes the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the America250 celebrations, and the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
What should current and prospective DJI owners actually do?
If you already own DJI equipment, nothing changes. Keep flying under the same FAA rules that applied before. If you’re shopping for a new drone, expect DJI’s newest releases to face growing friction reaching the US market through normal retail channels. That friction will likely show up as availability and import issues before it shows up as anything resembling a flight ban. Operators buying for commercial or public-safety use should watch for agency-specific procurement restrictions. Some federal and state agencies have already moved faster than the FCC on excluding Chinese-made drones from their own purchasing.
Traveling with a DJI drone raises a separate question entirely. See our overview of countries where drone flights are restricted before you pack one for an international trip.
Sources: DroneDJ on the Commerce Department withdrawal, DroneDJ on the FCC Covered List addition, DJI’s own account of the Countering CCP Drones Act.
