# Classifying Drones: Aircraft, Camera, or Toy?

Source: https://hscodescout.com/blog/2026-11-08-classify-drones-hs-code/

Cross-border operations guide · November 8, 2026


**Short answer:** Drones classify under heading 8806, created in the HS 2022 edition, with subheadings by maximum take-off weight: 8806.21 up to 250 grams, 8806.22 over 250 grams to 7 kilos, 8806.23 over 7 kilos to 25 kilos, and parts under 8806.90. A lightweight drone that cannot fly far, high, or on its own stays a toy in 9503.

## Heading 8806, and why it exists

Before the HS 2022 edition, drones had no heading of their own, and classifiers squeezed them into aircraft headings or into the heading for the camera they carried. Heading 8806 fixed that. It covers unmanned aircraft, and it sorts them by maximum take-off weight, because weight is the feature that decides what a drone is for and what it can do.

The subheadings are the map: 8806.21 for drones up to 250 grams, 8806.22 for over 250 grams to 7 kilos, 8806.23 for over 7 kilos to 25 kilos, and 8806.90 for parts. The weight bands matter because the duty and the regulatory treatment follow them. A drone that crosses a band is a different product for classification purposes, even if it looks identical to the one below it.

## The toy test, and where it draws the line

Not every flying thing is an aircraft. The UK's guidance puts it plainly: a lightweight drone with limited height, limited distance, limited speed, and no ability to fly autonomously is a toy, and it stays in heading 9503. The test is about capability, not marketing. A box that says toy does not make it one, and a box that says professional does not make it an aircraft.

The practical check is the flight envelope. Can it climb high enough to matter, fly far enough to leave sight, move fast enough to be useful, or hold a course on its own? If the answer to all four is no, the product is a toy, and the classification follows the toy rules, including the toy safety standards. If the answer to any of them is yes, it belongs in 8806, and the toy heading is closed.

## The camera does not decide the heading

The mistake most first-time classifiers make is classifying by the camera. A drone with a good camera looks like a camera platform, and the camera heading is tempting. But GRI 1 decides by the terms of the headings, and heading 8806 is the heading for the aircraft itself. The camera is a part of the drone, not the other way around.

The exception is the part. A camera sold separately for a drone classifies as a camera part, and a drone sold without a camera still classifies in 8806, because the heading covers the aircraft with or without its payload. The classification follows the article, and the article is the thing that flies.

## What the duty actually looks like

The US MFN rate on drones is around 2.6 percent, which looks small until the remedy layers arrive. Chinese drones carry an additional 25 percent Section 301 duty, which turns a small base rate into a real cost. The stack is the rate, and the stack is what the importer pays, so a classification that gets the heading right and the remedy layer wrong is still a wrong answer.

File the classification with the weight documented. The subheading turns on maximum take-off weight, and CBP will ask for the specification that proves it. A listing page is not a specification. The manufacturer's data sheet, with the weight stated, is, and it is the document that belongs in the file.

Keep reading: [Classifying Lithium Batteries: Chapter 85 and the Dangerous Goods Overlap](https://hscodescout.com/blog/2026-11-06-classify-lithium-batteries/), [How to Classify Footwear: The Chapter 64 Rules That Trip Importers Up](https://hscodescout.com/blog/2026-11-06-classify-footwear-chapter-64/), [How do you classify smart rings and wearable health trackers for an HS code?](https://hscodescout.com/blog/2026-10-15-classify-smart-rings-wearable-trackers-hs-code/).

## Frequently asked questions

## What HS code is a drone?

Drones classify under heading 8806, created in the HS 2022 edition. The subheadings sort by maximum take-off weight: 8806.21 up to 250 grams, 8806.22 over 250 grams to 7 kilos, 8806.23 over 7 kilos to 25 kilos, and parts under 8806.90.

## When is a drone a toy instead of an aircraft?

When it is lightweight with limited height, distance, and speed, and it cannot fly autonomously. The UK guidance uses that test: if the drone cannot climb high, fly far, move fast, or hold a course on its own, it stays a toy in heading 9503. The box calling it a toy does not decide it, the capability does.

## Does the camera decide the drone's classification?

No. Heading 8806 covers the aircraft itself, and the camera is a part of the drone. A drone sold without a camera still classifies in 8806, and a camera sold separately classifies as a camera part. The classification follows the article that flies.

## What duty do Chinese drones pay in the US?

The US MFN rate is around 2.6 percent, plus a 25 percent Section 301 duty on Chinese drones. The stack is the rate, so the classification has to get the heading right and the remedy layer right, or the landed cost will be wrong.