Government agencies have a bit of latitude when it comes to certification and flying drones.
Your agency could operate under a Certificate of Authorization (COA), which is more paperwork intensive and can take a few months, but no one has to actually have a remote pilot certificate.
Your agency could also opt to operate under the Part 107 rules, where each pilot would obtain an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate. Most of the agencies we work with have gone this route, because it’s a cleaner and less cumbersome process, and most Part 107 rules allow the agency to meet the mission requirements.
More information on the Public COA process over here:
