Regulation Text
(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b), (c), (e), and (f) of this section and §§ 91.701 and 91.703, this part prescribes rules governing the operation of aircraft within the United States, including the waters within 3 nautical miles of the U.S. coast.
(b) Each person operating an aircraft in the airspace overlying the waters between 3 and 12 nautical miles from the coast of the United States must comply with §§ 91.1 through 91.21; §§ 91.101 through 91.143; §§ 91.151 through 91.159; §§ 91.167 through 91.193; § 91.203; § 91.205; §§ 91.209 through 91.217; § 91.221, § 91.225; §§ 91.303 through 91.319; §§ 91.323 through 91.327; § 91.605; § 91.609; §§ 91.703 through 91.715; and § 91.903.
(c) This part applies to each person on board an aircraft being operated under this part, unless otherwise specified.
(d) This part also establishes requirements for operators to take actions to support the continued airworthiness of each aircraft.
(e) This part does not apply to any aircraft or vehicle governed by part 103 of this chapter, or subparts B, C, or D of part 101 of this chapter.
(f) Except as provided in §§ 107.13, 107.27, 107.47, 107.57, and 107.59 of this chapter, this part does not apply to any aircraft governed by part 107 of this chapter.
(g) Additional requirements for powered-lift operations are set forth in part 194 of this chapter.
[Docket 18334, 54 FR 34292, Aug. 18, 1989, as amended by Amdt. 91-257, 64 FR 1079, Jan. 7, 1999; Amdt. 91-282, 69 FR 44880, July 27, 2004; Amdt. 91-297, 72 FR 63410, Nov. 8, 2007; Amdt. 91-314, 75 FR 30193, May 28, 2010; Docket FAA-2015-0150, Amdt. 91-343, 81 FR 42208, June 28, 2016; FAA-2023-1275, Amdt. 91-379, 89 FR 92485, Nov. 21, 2024]
Research Notes
Section 91.1 establishes the scope of Part 91 — the general operating and flight rules that apply to every person operating an aircraft within the United States, including its territorial waters and (with stated exceptions) U.S.-registered aircraft anywhere in the world. Part 91 is the baseline. Every other operating rule part — 121, 135, 91 Subpart K, 137 — layers on top of these provisions. If a more-specific operating rule conflicts with Part 91, the more-specific rule generally wins, but Part 91 applies as the default whenever no other rule does.
The reach is extraterritorial: Paragraph (b) extends Part 91 to U.S.-registered aircraft operating outside U.S. airspace, except where contrary to the law of the country where the operation takes place. This is why a private pilot flying an N-registered Cessna in the Bahamas is still bound by § 91.17 (alcohol/drugs), § 91.211 (oxygen), § 91.205 (equipment), and the rest of Part 91 — those rules follow the aircraft.
Subpart K — a parallel operating regime: Paragraph (d) carves out Subpart K (fractional ownership operations) as having its own set of operating rules that supplement and in some cases override the rest of Part 91. A Subpart K program manager and program aircraft operate under both Part 91 generally AND the heightened Subpart K standards — which approach Part 135 in some respects (operations specifications, recordkeeping, training).
What's excluded: Moored balloons, kites, unmanned rockets, and unmanned free balloons are governed by Part 101. Ultralights by Part 103. Parachute operations by Part 105. Small UAS by Part 107. Part 91 does not apply to those categories.
Reference: The full applicability framework for Title 14 sits in 14 CFR Title 14. Part 91's scope is intentionally broad — when in doubt about whether a Part 91 rule applies to your operation, the default answer is yes.
Amendment History
Amendment History Coming Soon
Every time this regulation changes, we'll record it here — the date, what was amended, and a plain-English summary of what shifted.