Customer FAQ

Informational. This is help content, not a contract. If it ever differs from the Customer Terms of Service, the Mission Authorization, the Cancellation, Refund & Recapture Policy or the Privacy Policy, those documents control.

How does Send a Drone work?

1. Enter a property address and choose a service.
2. If a pilot serves that area, you see a fixed price, complete the Mission Authorization and pay at checkout.
3. Anyone whose consent is needed gets an email asking them to consent.
4. Once every consent is in, the mission is offered to qualified independent pilots nearby.
5. A pilot accepts and flies the mission, then uploads the files.
6. We review the files for quality and deliver them to your mission page.

Who is Send a Drone for?

Businesses and professionals who need exterior aerial documentation: property sales and listings, property management, construction, permitting, signage and site records. Before checkout, every order (guest orders included) requires you to confirm: "I am ordering for a business or commercial documentation purpose, not for personal, family, or household use."

What can I order?

Six services: Building / Sign Survey; Property Management Exterior; Listing Aerials; Roof / Exterior Documentation; Construction Progress (a single visit or a 4-Pack); and CRE Site Package. All of them capture the exterior only. We don't capture building interiors, and we don't target people or neighboring property.

Listing Aerials can be ordered by licensed real estate brokers and agents and by property managers.

Whose permission is needed?

Texas law allows drone imagery of private property with the consent of its owner or lawful occupant, so every mission needs that consent. The Mission Authorization asks a few questions and tells you exactly whose consent is needed:

• If you own or occupy the property, your own authorization covers it.
• If you're ordering for someone else, that person gets a consent request by email.
• Homes with one to four units lived in by someone other than the owner: one adult occupant of each unit consents.
• Apartment and other buildings with five or more units: the owner or manager consents, and you post a notice at the property at least 48 hours ahead and upload a photo of it.
• Listings: the seller consents by email, or you upload the signed listing agreement page that authorizes marketing.
• Sites with several parcels or owners: each owner consents; parcels without consent are left out. If a principal building you bought lacks consent, the mission is cancelled with a full refund.
• Association common areas: the association's manager or a board member consents, or common areas are left out.

You must give each person's own email address. A consent from your own email, your company's email domain or your own device is reviewed before it counts.

When does consent have to be in?

At least 24 hours before your scheduled window starts. If it isn't, we reschedule once to a window you choose. If it's still missing, the mission is cancelled with a full refund.

When am I charged?

In covered areas, you pay the full price at checkout, even while consents are pending. If consent isn't given, you get a full refund. Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see your card details.

Do I need to be at the property?

No. You do need to give us a site contact who can confirm access and consent on the day. The pilot checks with them before flying. Tell us about anything that could stop a pilot from working safely: gates, tenants, association or landlord rules, and so on.

Can you fly anywhere?

No. Some places need an FAA authorization or can't be flown at all. The pilot, as remote pilot in command, checks the airspace and obtains any authorization before every flight; Send a Drone doesn't certify that a location can be flown. We also review every address for restricted sites under Texas law, such as substations, cell towers, freight terminals, stadiums, schools and airports. If one is inside the mission area, we may need the facility operator's written consent, may shrink the area, or may decline the mission with a full refund.

What does "Expanding" mean? Am I charged?

No pilot serves that address right now. You can still submit your request, which tells us where demand is. We never charge for requests in expanding areas, and no pilot is sent. When coverage arrives, we email you a link showing today's price. If you choose Find a pilot and one accepts, the job is held for up to 2 hours while you decide whether to pay.

I ordered without an account. How do I see my mission?

After checkout you get a private link to your mission page. Each link works for 7 days. If it expires, request a new one from the mission page; it's emailed only to the address on the mission and replaces the old link. Keep the link private.

What if weather or airspace prevents the flight?

The pilot decides whether it's safe and legal to fly. If weather, airspace or another safety problem stops the flight, we reschedule at no cost to you. If we can't reschedule within 30 days, we refund the full amount.

What if my pilot can't make it?

We send the mission back to our pilot network to find another pilot or reschedule. If we ultimately can't provide the service, we refund the full amount.

How quickly will I get the files?

Typical delivery is within 2 business days after a completed flight. This is an estimate, not a guarantee, and a later delivery doesn't change the price.

What files will I receive?

Edited JPEG photos, plus an MP4 video for Listing Aerials, Construction Progress and the CRE Site Package. For example, a Building / Sign Survey includes 12 photos; Listing Aerials include 10 photos and a 20–30 second video, with faces and license plates blurred; and a CRE Site Package includes 20 photos and a 45–60 second video. If an item doesn't exist at the property or can't be captured safely or lawfully, we tell you why. Files appear in a private gallery with a ZIP download for 90 days after delivery. Please save your own copies.

What can I do with the files?

Use them for any business purpose related to the property: listings and marketing, permits, insurance, financing, construction records, and reporting to landlords, tenants and lenders. You can share them with MLSs, listing portals, brokers, lenders, insurers, contractors, landlords, tenants, associations and government offices for that property. You get a broad, permanent license, not the copyright. You can't sell the files as stock content, add them to a stock library, use them to train AI models, or use them for anything unrelated to the property.

We won't use your imagery publicly unless you give us written permission for that mission, and we never use residential imagery for marketing. Pilots can't post it either.

What if the images don't show what I ordered?

Use Report a problem on your mission page within 5 business days after delivery. If a critical item is missing or unusable because of an error by the pilot or by us, we recapture it at no charge. New requests after the flight, or conditions that weren't visible, may need a new mission.

What if the recapture still doesn't fix it?

We choose one outcome: complete the mission if the files now meet our standard; try one final time; refund part of the price; or refund the full price. A partial refund equals the price multiplied by the share of required items not delivered, and is never less than 25% of the price.

Are these images an inspection, survey, appraisal or engineering report?

No. They're observational photos and video only.

How do cancellations and refunds work?

Windows start at 8:00 a.m. for "anytime" and "morning" and 12:00 p.m. for "afternoon," Central Time.

• Cancelled more than 24 hours before your window: Full refund.
• Cancelled within 24 hours, before the pilot starts travelling: All but $25.
• Cancelled after the pilot starts travelling or arrives: All but $75.
• Consent not given, declined or withdrawn before dispatch: Full refund.
• Pilot blocked by a locked gate, wrong address or missing permission, but still captured enough to meet our standard: Mission delivered normally.
• Pilot blocked and couldn't capture enough: All but $75, or apply the rest to a rescheduled mission.
• Weather, airspace or safety stop: Rescheduled at no cost.
• We can't provide the service: Full refund.

What if my property appears in someone else's imagery?

Use the imagery privacy form on our website. When you submit it and confirm your email, imagery from missions at that address is withdrawn from customer galleries right away while we review it. We decide within 15 business days.

How long do you keep my files and records?

Photos and video are deleted 12 months after the mission closes, unless an open dispute or privacy request needs them. Mission and consent records are kept 5 years. The Privacy Policy lists every period.

How do I contact Send a Drone?

Email support@sendadrone.us. For privacy, consent or imagery requests, use the subject line "Privacy". Customer Terms of Service section 20 lists our response times.