Bought a Pocket 4P or a DJI drone in Europe? The FCC import rule, the three-device personal exemption, FAA drone rules for visitors, and what's still unclear.
If your DJI camera or drone has an FCC ID, the US import rule lets you bring it in, and the FCC has repeated in 2026 that the Covered List doesn't stop anyone using gear they already own. The Osmo Pocket 4 and Pocket 4P have no FCC authorization. For them the only personal route is a three-device exemption in 47 CFR 2.1204(a)(7), written for a narrow set of radios, and neither the FCC nor US customs has said whether a traveller's Pocket 4P fits it.
We read the rule text on eCFR and the FCC notices in the Federal Register up to 10 November 2026. What follows is our reading for filmmakers who travel. It isn't legal advice.
On 22 December 2025 the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau added two things to the Covered List: every uncrewed aircraft system and UAS critical component "produced in a foreign country", and the communications and video surveillance equipment listed in section 1709 of the FY2025 NDAA. Section 1709 names DJI and Autel. Covered equipment can't get a new FCC equipment authorization, and in the US you can't legally import or market most radio devices without one.
The first rule catches every foreign-made drone. The second catches DJI hardware that isn't a drone, which is why a gimbal camera like the Pocket 4 got stuck. DJI launched it worldwide on 17 April 2026 and the Pocket 4P on 30 July, both without the US, and told reporters its applications were still pending. In its April brief to the Ninth Circuit, DJI counted 25 launches planned for 2026 that it can't bring to the US. The Osmo Action 6 skipped DJI's own US channels too.
| Product | Launched | Sold by DJI in the US | FCC authorization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osmo Pocket 3 | 2023 | Yes | Yes, granted before the listing |
| Mini 5 Pro | 2025 | Authorized, US stock has been patchy | Yes, granted before the listing |
| Osmo Action 6 | 18 Nov 2025 | No, DJI said it wouldn't sell it through its own channels | Check the label on your unit |
| Osmo Pocket 4 | 17 Apr 2026 | No | No, DJI says pending |
| Osmo Pocket 4P | 30 Jul 2026 | No | No, DJI says pending |
The legal fight hasn't settled anything yet. DJI asked the FCC to reconsider in January 2026 and sued in the Ninth Circuit in February (case 26-1029). On 16 October the FCC filed a renewed motion to dismiss the case as premature, since its own reconsideration is still open.
47 CFR 2.1203 says no radio device enters the US unless the importer decides it meets one condition in 2.1204. For a traveller, the importer is you. Fail every condition and the rule allows "refused entry, refused withdrawal for consumption, required redelivery to the Customs port", plus civil and criminal remedies. You also have to be able to show, if asked within a year, how you decided the device complied.
| Condition | What the rule says | Who it helps |
|---|---|---|
| (a)(1) | The device has a valid FCC equipment authorization that hasn't been limited under 2.939(e) | Pocket 3, Mini 5 Pro and other DJI gear authorized before December 2025 |
| (a)(7) | Three or fewer devices for personal use, not for sale, and only from listed categories | Possibly a Pocket 4 or 4P, see below |
| (a)(8) | Imported for repair, not for sale | A unit going to a repair centre, not a holiday |
Paragraph (a)(7) accepts four kinds of device: unintentional radiators (receivers, computers), consumer ISM equipment, licensed transmitters run by a licensed operator, and Part 15 intentional radiators "only if they can be used in client modes". Section 15.202 defines a client as a device whose transmissions are "under control of the master" and that "is not able to initiate a network".
A drone and its remote controller build their own video link, and a wireless mic transmitter does the same with its receiver. Under the 15.202 definition that's master behaviour, so an unauthorized drone or mic kit doesn't fit (a)(7) as written. A Pocket 4P talks to your phone over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and can take a DJI Mic directly. DJI doesn't publish which side starts each link, and the FCC hasn't ruled on cameras like this one. For the Pocket 4P the answer is "unclear".
The airport is another matter. We found no CBP or FCC guidance for travellers carrying Covered List gear, and no reported case of a visitor losing a personal Pocket 4 or 4P at the border. Section 2.1203(b) still lets customs refuse entry. If the camera earns you money on the trip, you're further from "personal use" than a tourist filming a holiday.
For import, yes, as long as nobody limits that authorization. In October 2025 the FCC created a procedure under 2.939(e) to ban further importing and marketing of covered gear that already holds an authorization. It used it in July 2026 on equipment added to the Covered List in 2024 or earlier, which doesn't include DJI. Its July and August 2026 proposals for drones target DJI lookalike brands (Xtra, Anzu and others) and the agricultural maker XAG. The August notice says the ban "would not apply to any other already-authorized covered equipment". None of the notices we read lists DJI's own FCC IDs. Comments on the August notice closed on 23 September, so check again before a trip.
On use, the FCC's July 2026 notice is plain: consumers "may continue to use any device or equipment that they currently possess, if the equipment was legally purchased and maintains an existing equipment authorization".
Flying falls under the FAA, with its own rules. A foreign national flying for fun needs to pass TRUST, the FAA's free online safety test. Our Mini 5 Pro C0 article explains why that drone can cross 250 g with the Battery Plus, and in the US the same line decides registration.
| Situation | TRUST | Registration | Remote ID |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recreational, under 250 g | Yes | No | No, if not registered |
| Recreational, 250 g or more | Yes | Yes, $5 for three years | Yes |
| Paid work (Part 107) | Part 107 rules instead | Yes, at any weight | Yes |
The FAA keeps a separate page for international operators with foreign-registered drones. Read it before you pack.
Bringing one home puts you under the same (a)(7) test as a European visitor. Buying one online in the US gets harder in 2027. In September 2026 the FCC ruled that listing a device on an online marketplace counts as marketing, even when a third party sells it, and that marketplaces face enforcement without any proof they knew. From 1 March 2027, marketplaces that hold the stock must show a valid FCC ID on the listing; from 1 June 2027 the rule reaches marketplaces that rely on the seller's word. Listings from sellers under the INFORM Consumers Act's high-volume threshold, older listings nobody has edited, and used devices are exempt.
A new Pocket 4P from a high-volume seller has no FCC ID to display, so expect those grey listings to thin out next year. Used units stay outside the rule.
| You are | Carrying | Our read |
|---|---|---|
| A tourist | Pocket 3 or Mini 5 Pro | Covered by (a)(1). Do TRUST and register the drone if it's 250 g or more |
| A tourist | Pocket 4 or 4P | No clear legal route, no reported seizures. Keep the receipt and keep it personal |
| Crew on a paid US job | Pocket 4P as a B-cam | Weakest position: business use and no authorization. A Pocket 3 or another brand is the safer B-cam |
| Anyone | A DJI drone or Mic kit launched after December 2025 with no FCC ID | Doesn't fit (a)(7) in our reading. Leave it at home |
| An American abroad | A Pocket 4P bought in Europe | Same test as a visitor. Don't plan to resell it in the US |
Before you fly, check each DJI device for an FCC ID on the label, the box or the regulatory screen in the app. If it shows one, (a)(1) covers you. If it doesn't, you're relying on (a)(7) and on nobody asking. If you shoot the Pocket 4P a lot, our ND filter guide and D-Log 2 grading guide apply wherever you film.
The rule doesn't give a clear yes. The Pocket 4P has no FCC authorization, so the only route is the personal exemption in 47 CFR 2.1204(a)(7), which covers some Part 15 radios only if they work in client mode. Neither the FCC nor US customs has published guidance for travellers, and we found no reported seizures of personal units.
No. The FCC says the Covered List doesn't affect continued use of equipment that was legally purchased and keeps its existing authorization. FAA rules on registration, TRUST and Remote ID still apply.
Yes, if you follow FAA rules. The Mini 5 Pro received its FCC authorization before December 2025. As a foreign recreational flyer you need TRUST, and if the drone weighs 250 g or more with your battery, you need to register it ($5 for three years) and broadcast Remote ID.
Three or fewer, for personal use and not for sale, and only from the categories listed in 2.1204(a)(7): unintentional radiators, consumer ISM equipment, licensed transmitters and Part 15 radios that work in client mode.
The FCC has a procedure to stop importing and marketing covered equipment that already has an authorization. In 2026 it proposed that step for DJI lookalike brands and XAG, not for DJI's own FCC IDs. Use of devices you own isn't affected under any of those notices.
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