Curv Aero Do I Need to File FAA Form 7460-1? A 5-Minute Check
If you're putting up a tower, a building, a wind turbine, a power line or even a crane, someone will eventually ask whether the FAA needs to know. The answer comes down to four questions about height, location and nearby airports. This guide walks through them, shows three real-world scenarios, and explains what data you need to answer with confidence instead of guessing.
Updated November 7, 2026 · Based on 14 CFR 77.7 and 77.9, as amended October 28, 2026
Decision check
The four questions
Work through these in order. A "yes" to any one of them means you need to file Form 7460-1 (unless an exception applies, covered further down).
Will anything be more than 200 ft above ground?
Count the total height: the structure plus antennas, lights, lightning rods, and any crane or equipment used to build it. More than 200 ft AGL needs notice anywhere in the country, no matter how far from an airport. If yes → file.
Is the site within about 4 miles of an airport, or 1 mile of a heliport?
Measure from the nearest point of the nearest runway (not the terminal or the airport's center):
- 20,000 ft (≈3.8 mi) if the airport's longest runway is more than 3,200 ft
- 10,000 ft (≈1.9 mi) if its longest runway is 3,200 ft or less
- 5,000 ft (≈0.95 mi) from a heliport's landing and takeoff area
Only certain airports count: public-use airports in the Chart Supplement, military and federal airports, public or military airports under construction, and any airport or heliport with an FAA instrument approach. A private grass strip with no approach usually doesn't. If you're outside these distances, skip to question 4.
If so, does the top break the notice surface?
Inside those distances, an invisible sloped surface rises from the runway's elevation: 1 ft up for every 100 ft out (100:1), 50 ft out (50:1), or 25 ft out (25:1 for heliports). Compare the elevation of your structure's top (ground elevation + height) against the surface elevation at your site. If the top is higher, even by a foot, file.
This is the step people get wrong. The surface is measured in elevation above sea level, so a 60 ft building on a hill can need notice while a 120 ft building in a valley at the same distance doesn't.
Is it on an airport, or is it a road, railroad or waterway near one?
Any construction on a qualifying airport needs notice regardless of height. Roads, railroads and waterways are tested as if their traffic were part of the structure: add 17 ft for an Interstate, 15 ft for other public roads, 10 ft (or the tallest normal vehicle) for private roads, 23 ft for railroads, and the tallest normal vessel for waterways, then run questions 1–3 again. If yes → file.
Four "no" answers mean notice isn't required under the numeric criteria. The FAA can still request notice for a specific proposal, and you can always file voluntarily if a lender, insurer or local authority wants an FAA determination on record.
Worked examples
Three scenarios
A 75 ft apartment building, 2 miles from a regional airport
Under 200 ft, so question 1 is no. The airport's longest runway is 7,000 ft, and the site is 10,560 ft (2 mi) from the nearest runway end, inside the 20,000 ft range. At 100:1 the surface is 105.6 ft above the runway's elevation. The site sits 40 ft higher than that runway end, so the surface is only about 65.6 ft above the site's ground.
The building's 75 ft top is about 9 ft above the surface. Notice is required. The construction crane, which will work above the roofline, needs its own notice too.
A 150 ft monopole in farmland, 8 miles from the nearest airport
Under 200 ft and more than 20,000 ft from any runway, so no notice surface applies. No road or airport issue. No notice is required under 77.9, as long as the total height, including the antennas and lightning rod, stays at or below 200 ft. Add a 55 ft antenna extension later and the alteration crosses 200 ft and needs notice.
A 90 ft mobile crane for a 3-day HVAC lift, near a hospital helipad
The rooftop helipad has an instrument approach procedure, so it counts. The crane will be 1,500 ft from the landing and takeoff area, where the 25:1 surface is 60 ft above the pad. The pad is on a 50 ft roof at about the same ground elevation as the crane, so the surface sits about 110 ft above ground at the crane. At 90 ft the crane stays under it, so no notice is required. Swap in a crane with a 130 ft boom and it penetrates by about 20 ft: file, as a temporary structure, at least 45 days ahead.
When you don't need to file, even if you meet a criterion
Section 77.9(e) lists four exceptions:
- Shielded objects in a congested city, town or settlement, hidden behind existing permanent structures or terrain of equal or greater height, that won't adversely affect air navigation.
- Aviation equipment such as navigation aids, approach lights, arresting gear and weather sensors meeting FAA siting criteria, whose position is fixed by their function.
- Projects already requiring notice under another FAA rule.
- Antenna structures of 20 ft or less, unless they make another antenna structure taller.
Treat the shielding exception with care. Every condition has to hold, and the FAA may not agree with your reading. If you're relying on it, document why.
The data you need to answer accurately
The four questions are simple. The inputs are where mistakes creep in:
- Accurate coordinates. A phone GPS reading can be off by hundreds of feet, enough to flip question 3. The FAA doesn't accept hand-held GPS on the 7460-1 for the same reason.
- Ground elevation at the site, from survey or reliable elevation data, not a guess from a map.
- Every nearby qualifying airport and heliport, including small instrument-approach heliports at hospitals that are easy to miss.
- The nearest point of every runway, with its elevation, not just the airport reference point.
- The full height, including appurtenances and the construction equipment.
Getting any one of these wrong produces a confident wrong answer. That's the real risk: not filing because the math looked fine on a rough map, then hearing about it from the building department, the airport, or the FAA.
How the CurvAero Part 77 Report answers this for you
You enter a coordinate and a structure height. The report then runs every 77.9 test against FAA airport and runway data and terrain elevation, and shows its work.
It replaces an afternoon of looking up runway coordinates and doing slope math with a result you can hand to a client, a permitting office or your own engineering team, along with the reasoning behind it.
Check a site- check_circleA clear answer: notice required or not, and which criterion controls.
- check_circleThe controlling airport and runway point, with the distance to it.
- check_circleSurface elevation vs. structure top, and the margin in feet either way.
- check_circleThe maximum height you could build at that spot without triggering notice, useful when a few feet of design change can save a filing.
- check_circleFiling-ready data, so if notice is required, the report becomes the starting point for the 7460-1.
If the answer is yes
- 01
Note your deadline: 45 days before construction or the permit application, whichever is first (90 days for wind projects). If the structure needs an FCC license, file on or before the FCC application.
- 02
Gather your data: surveyed coordinates and datum, site elevation, total height, schedule, and radio details for transmitters.
- 03
File on OE/AAA, the FAA's e-filing system. There's no filing fee. Our step-by-step 7460-1 guide covers every item on the form.
- 04
Check state and local rules too. Some states and airports run their own tall-structure review alongside the FAA's, and an FAA determination doesn't replace zoning or building permits.
Prefer to hand it off? CurvAero prepares and files the 7460-1 and follows the case to a determination.
Frequently asked questions
My structure is under 200 ft. Am I in the clear?
Only if you're also outside the airport and heliport distances in question 2, not on an airport, and not a road, railroad or waterway that triggers question 4. Near an airport, structures well under 200 ft can need notice.
Does my contractor's crane need its own 7460-1?
Yes, if it meets a criterion. Check the crane at its maximum working height, which is often well above the finished building. See our crane guide.
Is FAA notice the same as FAA approval?
No. Notice starts the FAA's aeronautical study, which ends in a determination, usually of no hazard, sometimes with marking or lighting conditions. Local permits are still separate.
What happens if I should have filed and didn't?
Notice is required by federal law (49 U.S.C. 44718), and knowingly failing to file can bring civil penalties. In practice the bigger cost is schedule: a permit or project that stops until the FAA completes a study that could have started months earlier.
How close to an airport do I need to worry about Part 77?
Up to 20,000 ft (about 3.8 miles) from the nearest runway of an airport whose longest runway is over 3,200 ft; 10,000 ft for airports with shorter runways; 5,000 ft from a heliport's landing and takeoff area. Beyond those distances only the 200 ft rule applies.
Where can I read the rule itself?
Our 14 CFR 77.9 notice criteria guide covers each paragraph of the regulation in detail, with the slope math worked through.