{ "name": "Drone laws by jurisdiction", "source": "https://listdrone.com/drone-laws/", "licence": "Facts are from the official sources cited on each entry. Verify before you fly.", "generated": "2026-11-04", "jurisdictions": [ { "slug": "china", "name": "China", "iso2": "CN", "url": "https://listdrone.com/drone-laws/china/", "regulator": { "name": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "abbr": "CAAC", "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/" }, "inherits": null, "verified_on": "2026-10-27", "rules": { "registration_threshold": { "value": 0, "display": "Every civil drone, whatever its weight — sub-250 g models included. The owner registers in their real name on the CAAC's national platform and receives a registration mark. Since 1 May 2026 newly made drones cannot be activated until they are registered; drones already in use have a 12-month transition. Flying toys, model aircraft and indoor flight fall outside the scheme.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/MHGZ/202401/P020240103569247124102.pdf", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "CCAR-92, §§ 92.201(b) and 92.205(a)", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "pilot_credential": { "value": "tiered", "display": "No licence for micro (under 250 g) or light (up to 4 kg empty, 7 kg take-off) drones, but flying a light drone in controlled airspace requires a CAAC theory-training certificate. Small, medium and large drones need a CAAC operator licence: full legal capacity, CAAC-assessed training, a clean medical and drug record, and no conviction for specified intentional offences in the past five years. Minors are limited to micro (and, depending on legal capacity, light) drones with an adult supervising on site.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/FLFG/202401/t20240115_222642.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft, Arts. 16–17", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "max_altitude": { "value": 120, "display": "120 m above ground. All airspace above 120 m true height is controlled airspace and needs prior approval. Micro drones are limited by definition to 50 m.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/FLFG/202401/t20240115_222642.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft, Arts. 19 and 62", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "remote_id": { "value": "mandatory", "display": "Mandatory. Every drone except micro must report identification data to the national unmanned aircraft supervision platform in flight, and micro, light and small drones must also broadcast identification automatically. Since 1 May 2026 a mandatory national standard, GB 46750-2025, has set the technical requirements and barred any civil drone that has no operational-identification sending function at all from flying. Drones that can already send broadcast or network identification but do not meet the standard's specified clauses may fly until 1 November 2026, by which date manufacturers must fit a module giving both broadcast and network identification; aircraft fitted with such a module then have 36 months from 1 May 2026 to comply in full. Drones made before 2024 that cannot report automatically may fly only with a flight approval. The standard does not apply to large drones flown only in civil-aviation controlled airspace with the required communication, navigation and surveillance capability, or to indoor-only aircraft.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/FLFG/202401/t20240115_222642.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft, Arts. 24 and 61", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "bvlos": { "value": "licence_rating", "display": "Permitted with the right licence: a small or medium operator licence with a BVLOS rating, or a large-drone licence. Relay flight over a cellular network or the internet always needs a flight approval, even in airspace otherwise open to small drones.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/MHGZ/202401/P020240103569247124102.pdf", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "CCAR-92, § 92.51(c)", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "visitor_can_fly": { "value": "unclear", "display": "Unconfirmed. The national rules set no nationality exemption from real-name registration, but no official source we could verify explains how a short-term foreign visitor registers or activates a drone. Surveying and mapping flights by foreign nationals or with foreign drones are prohibited, with confiscation, fines of CNY 100,000–500,000 (up to CNY 1 million in serious cases) and possible expulsion. Beijing is off-limits: bringing a drone into the city, even in transit, is prohibited.\n", "confidence": "low", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/FLFG/202401/t20240115_222642.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft, Arts. 10 and 53", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "no_fly": { "value": null, "display": "Controlled airspace covers everything above 120 m; prohibited and restricted areas; and the airspace over and around airports, border zones, military and other classified sites, nuclear and hazardous-materials sites, power stations and substations, fuel stations, water works, transport hubs, ports, expressways, electrified railways, radar and satellite stations, and major heritage sites. Temporary controlled airspace can be declared at 24 hours' notice (30 minutes in emergencies). Flying there needs air traffic management approval, requested by 12:00 the day before. Flying over crowds always needs approval. Micro, light and small drones may fly outside controlled airspace without applying. In Beijing, the whole municipality has been controlled airspace since 1 May 2026, and all drone flight there is prohibited from 15 November 2026.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/FLFG/202401/t20240115_222642.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft, Arts. 19, 20, 26 and 31", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "penalties": { "value": null, "display": "Flying an unregistered drone: an order to correct and a fine of up to CNY 200, or CNY 2,000–20,000 in serious cases. Flying without a required operator licence: CNY 5,000–50,000, or CNY 10,000–100,000 in serious cases. Flying a micro, light or small drone in controlled airspace without approval: police order the flight stopped and may fine up to CNY 500; in serious cases the drone is confiscated and the fine is CNY 1,000–10,000. Commercial operation without an operating certificate: CNY 50,000–500,000. Separately, since 1 January 2026 the revised Public Security Administration Punishments Law has made flying a civil drone in breach of airspace management rules an offence carrying 5 to 10 days' administrative detention where the case is serious, rising to 10 to 15 days if the flight illegally crosses the national or border line. Beijing sets its own penalties, including confiscation.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/FLFG/202401/t20240115_222642.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft, Arts. 47, 49, 50 and 51", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } } }, "travel": { "import_status": "unknown", "note": "National customs treatment of drones in passenger baggage has not been verified. Beijing separately prohibits transporting or carrying drones or their core components into the city, by any means and including transit.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.beijing.gov.cn/fuwu/bmfw/sy/jrts/202604/t20260427_4617643.html", "publisher": "Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau (via the Beijing municipal government portal)", "citation": null, "published": "2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "events": [ { "id": "cn-2026-09-11-beijing-possession-ban", "date": "2026-09-11", "kind": "pending", "title": "Beijing adopts citywide ban on flying, owning and storing drones — in force 15 November 2026", "summary": "Beijing's municipal legislature revised the Beijing Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aircraft. From 15 November 2026 all drone flight in Beijing is prohibited, as are possessing or storing drones or their core components anywhere in the city, bringing them into the city, and selling or renting them to anyone in Beijing. Units with approved special needs (emergency response, major events, teaching and research, manufacturing, agriculture and forestry) are exempt after a police security assessment. Existing drones must be moved out of the city before 15 November. The city offers police-verified individual owners a subsidised buyback (30% of the sale price, up to CNY 3,000 per drone, until 31 October; 15%, up to CNY 1,500, from 1 to 14 November), scrapping (CNY 200, then CNY 100), or free EMS shipping to an address outside Beijing. Unapproved flight carries confiscation and a CNY 1,000–10,000 fine; unlawful possession or storage carries confiscation and a fine of CNY 500–5,000 for individuals or CNY 5,000–50,000 for organisations. This is a municipal rule and applies only in Beijing.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.beijing.gov.cn/zhengce/dfxfg/202609/t20260914_4862677.html", "publisher": "Beijing Municipal People's Government", "citation": "Beijing Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aircraft, revised 11 September 2026, Arts. 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "cn-2026-07-01-civil-aviation-law-revision", "date": "2026-07-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Revised Civil Aviation Law brings drones into the statute", "summary": "The comprehensively revised Civil Aviation Law took effect, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress having adopted it on 27 December 2025. It runs to 16 chapters and 262 articles and writes unmanned aircraft into the statute for the first time. Two provisions are drone-specific: anyone engaged in the design, production, import, maintenance or flight of civil unmanned aircraft must apply to the civil aviation authority under the State Council for an airworthiness permit in accordance with state rules, except where those rules dispense with one; and an organisation producing civil unmanned aircraft must assign each aircraft it makes a unique product identification code. Both are framed as statutory backing for rules set elsewhere — the exemptions, thresholds and procedures that decide what an individual flyer must do still come from the Interim Regulations and CCAR-92, which are unchanged. Nothing in the revision alters the registration threshold, the altitude limit or the licence tiers.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202512/content_7052902.htm", "publisher": "State Council of China (government portal)", "citation": "Report on the adoption of the revised Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China", "published": "2025-12-27T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "cn-2026-05-01-beijing-drone-regulation", "date": "2026-05-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Beijing makes the whole city controlled airspace and bans drone sales", "summary": "Beijing's first drone regulation, adopted on 27 March 2026, made the entire municipality controlled airspace, so every outdoor flight needs prior approval. It banned selling or renting drones and core components to anyone in Beijing, and bringing them into the city, except by owners of existing drones that had completed real-name registration and a police information check. Existing owners had to register and activate their drones by 30 April 2026 and complete the police check within three months. New storage sites were banned inside the Sixth Ring Road; more than three drones or ten core components at one address counted as a storage site. This is a municipal rule and applies only in Beijing. The 15 November 2026 revision replaces it.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.news.cn/20260327/a3e61d90b2de41cc8fdaac08250c8a78/c.html", "publisher": "Xinhua", "citation": "Xinhua report on the adoption of the Beijing Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aircraft", "published": "2026-03-27T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "cn-2026-05-01-real-name-activation-standard", "date": "2026-05-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "National standard requires registration before a drone can be activated", "summary": "A mandatory national standard, Requirements for Real-Name Registration and Activation of Civil Unmanned Aircraft, took effect. It applies to every civil drone flown outdoors in China, including self-built drones and products sold as toys or models whose performance reaches civil-drone level. A drone cannot fly until its owner has registered it and the system has confirmed activation, and it must be deactivated and deregistered when it is sold or scrapped. New drones must comply from 1 May 2026. Drones already sold and in use have a 12-month transition, after which drones that do not meet the requirements may no longer be flown.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/ZCFBJD/202604/t20260421_230620.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "CAAC explanatory note on the mandatory national standard GB 46761-2025 for real-name registration and activation", "published": "2026-04-21T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "cn-2026-05-01-operation-identification-standard", "date": "2026-05-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "National standard sets the technical requirements for drone identification", "summary": "A second mandatory national standard, GB 46750-2025 Specification for civil unmanned aircraft system operational identification, took effect alongside the real-name registration standard. Issued on 31 October 2025 by the market regulator and the standardisation administration, with the CAAC as the competent department, it requires a civil drone to send its identity, position, speed and status throughout a flight, and sets detailed requirements for the sending end, the communication link and the receiving and processing systems. Identification covers two modes — broadcast, read by receivers nearby, and network, sent to a designated system over a network. The CAAC states the reported data contains no personal information such as name, telephone number or address. The standard does not apply to large drones flown only in civil-aviation controlled airspace that already carry the communication, navigation and surveillance capability that airspace requires, nor to aircraft flown only indoors. It is staged: from 1 May 2026 a drone with no operational-identification sending function at all may not operate; until 1 November 2026 a drone that can send broadcast or network identification but does not meet the standard's specified clauses may still operate, and within that period manufacturers must fit a module giving it both modes; aircraft fitted with such a module have 36 months from 1 May 2026 before full compliance is required. Manufacturers must publish a firmware upgrade plan where an aircraft can be upgraded that way and a hardware upgrade plan where it cannot.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/PHONE/XXGK_17/XXGK/SYZCFBJD/202601/t20260120_229793.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "CAAC explanatory note on the mandatory national standard GB 46750-2025", "published": "2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "cn-2026-01-01-public-security-law-detention", "date": "2026-01-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Unauthorised drone flight becomes a detainable public-security offence", "summary": "The revised Public Security Administration Punishments Law took effect. Article 46 makes it an offence to fly a civil unmanned aircraft or aviation sports equipment, or to release an unmanned free balloon, tethered balloon or similar airborne object, in breach of the law and regulations on flight airspace management: where the case is serious the penalty is 5 to 10 days' administrative detention. Where the flight or release illegally crosses the national or border line the penalty is 10 to 15 days' detention. This is detention imposed by the police, and it sits on top of the fines the Interim Regulations already carry rather than replacing them. The law was revised on 27 June 2025 by the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress and Article 144 sets its commencement at 1 January 2026.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.samr.gov.cn/zw/zfxxgk/fdzdgknr/bgt/art/2025/art_8a1c722747214869b28c0ad7a0f8bb7a.html", "publisher": "State Administration for Market Regulation (government information disclosure)", "citation": "Public Security Administration Punishments Law of the People's Republic of China, Arts. 46 and 144", "published": "2025-06-27T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "cn-2025-12-02-unique-product-id-standard", "date": "2025-12-02", "kind": "pending", "title": "Unique product identification code standard published — in force 1 January 2027", "summary": "A mandatory national standard, GB 46860-2025 Unique product identification code for civil unmanned aircraft, was issued on 2 December 2025 and takes effect on 1 January 2027. The national standards register lists it as not yet in force, with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as the competent department. It is the implementing standard for the requirement in the revised Civil Aviation Law that a producer of civil unmanned aircraft assign each aircraft it makes a unique product identification code. The obligation falls on manufacturers, not on flyers, and we have not verified what it will mean for aircraft already in use.\n", "source": { "url": "https://openstd.samr.gov.cn/bzgk/gb/newGbInfo?hcno=26257D27F546360A98C814D079D32C2E", "publisher": "State Administration for Market Regulation / Standardization Administration of China", "citation": "GB 46860-2025, national standards register entry", "published": "2025-12-02T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "cn-2024-01-01-ccar-92", "date": "2024-01-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "CAAC operating rules for civil drones (CCAR-92) take effect", "summary": "The CAAC's Rules on the Operational Safety Management of Civil Unmanned Aircraft (CCAR-92) took effect on publication. They require every civil drone flying in China to be registered in its owner's real name on the CAAC's national platform. They require manufacturers to build drones that can only be activated after registration. They also set out the operator licence system, including the BVLOS rating.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/MHGZ/202401/t20240103_222566.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "Ministry of Transport Order No. 1 of 2024 (CCAR-92)", "published": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "cn-2024-01-01-interim-regulations", "date": "2024-01-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft take effect", "summary": "The first national regulations on drone flight, issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission, took effect. They sort drones into micro, light, small, medium and large classes, with micro meaning under 0.25 kg empty weight, at most 50 m high and at most 40 km/h. They require real-name registration and set operator licences for small and larger drones. They define controlled airspace, including everything above 120 m, which needs approval requested by 12:00 the day before, and let micro, light and small drones fly without applying outside it. They also require drones to report and broadcast identification data.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/FLFG/202401/t20240115_222642.html", "publisher": "Civil Aviation Administration of China", "citation": "State Council and Central Military Commission Decree No. 761, signed 31 May 2023", "published": "2023-06-28T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" } ] }, { "slug": "european-union", "name": "European Union", "iso2": null, "url": "https://listdrone.com/drone-laws/european-union/", "regulator": { "name": "European Union Aviation Safety Agency", "abbr": "EASA", "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/civil-drones" }, "inherits": null, "verified_on": "2026-10-13", "rules": { "registration_threshold": { "value": 250, "display": "250 g — or any weight if the drone carries a sensor able to capture personal data (so almost every camera drone, regardless of mass, unless it is certified as a toy)\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/the-agency/faqs/drones-uas", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "pilot_credential": { "value": "tiered", "display": "Free online training and a 40-question exam (75% to pass) for A1/A3; a further 30-question exam for the A2 Certificate of Competency. Both valid 5 years. The operator registers, not the aircraft — in one member state only.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/drones-air-mobility/operating-drone/open-category-low-risk-civil-drones", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "max_altitude": { "value": 120, "display": "120 m from the closest point of the surface", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/regulations/commission-implementing-regulation-eu-2019947", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": "(EU) 2019/947 Art. 4(1)", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "remote_id": { "value": "mandatory", "display": "Direct (broadcast) remote ID, required on C1, C2, C3, C5 and C6 class-marked aircraft. C0 and C4 are exempt, and there is no retrofit mandate for legacy aircraft in the open category. Network remote ID exists only inside U-space.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/drones-air-mobility/operating-drone/open-category-low-risk-civil-drones", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "bvlos": { "value": "specific_category", "display": "Not available in the open category. Routed through the Specific category — SORA 2.5, the published PDRAs, or standard scenario STS-02 with a C6 aircraft.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": null }, "visitor_can_fly": { "value": "yes_with_registration", "display": "Yes. A non-resident registers with the national authority of the first EASA-area country they intend to fly in, and that single registration is then valid across all 31. Beware of fraudulent sites selling \"drone pilot licences\" — a competency certificate can only come from a recognised aviation authority and always requires an exam.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/the-agency/faqs/drones-uas", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "no_fly": { "value": null, "display": "Geographical zones are designated by each member state under Article 15 and published on national maps. EASA's own pan-EU map is preliminary, covers only Ireland and Spain, and carries an explicit notice that it is not yet to be used for planning operations — so in 2026 the answer to \"where can I fly\" is still the host state's national map.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/drones-air-mobility/operating-drone/where-fly-easa-member-states-geo-zones", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "penalties": { "value": null, "display": "Set nationally, not by EU law — the regulations leave enforcement and penalties to each member state. Check the national authority for the country you are flying in.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/civil-drones/naa", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } } }, "travel": { "import_status": "permitted", "note": null, "source": null }, "events": [ { "id": "eu-2026-07-28-reg-2026-1821", "date": "2026-07-28", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Occurrence reporting extended to UAS and U-space — Regulation (EU) 2026/1821", "summary": "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1821, adopted 27 July 2026 and published in the Official Journal on 28 July 2026, amends Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1018 and adds a new Annex VI listing the UAS occurrences that must be reported under Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 — air-operations, technical, human-factor and U-space occurrences. Article 2 sets entry into force at the twentieth day after OJ publication, so it binds in all member states. Two limits matter for a leisure flyer: Annex VI applies to the operation of UAS \"for which a certificate or declaration for design is required pursuant to Article 56(1) and (5) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139\" — not the open category — and the U-space items in point 6 fall on remote pilots and UAS operators only when they are actually operating in U-space airspace. Open-category flying carries no new reporting duty. This is the first binding EU drone-related regulation since the 2024/1107–1110 set; it leaves registration, remote ID, class marks and the open-category limits untouched.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/regulations/commission-implementing-regulation-eu-20261821", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": "(EU) 2026/1821 — ELI http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2026/1821/oj", "published": "2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "eu-2026-02-11-counter-drone-action-plan", "date": "2026-02-11", "kind": "proposed", "title": "Commission action plan proposes a \"Drone Security Package\"", "summary": "The European Commission presented an Action Plan on Drone and Counter-Drone Security announcing, among other things, a future package to \"revamp the existing rules on civilian airborne drones\", supply-chain measures and an EU Trusted Drone label. It is an action plan for discussion with member states, not legislation: as of September 2026 it has changed nothing about registration, remote ID, class marks or U-space. The direction of travel is toward tighter identification for security reasons, but nothing you must comply with has changed yet.\n", "source": { "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/ip_26_364/IP_26_364_EN.pdf", "publisher": "European Commission", "citation": "COM(2026) 81 final", "published": "2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "eu-2026-01-01-national-sts-expire", "date": "2026-01-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Declarations under national standard scenarios cease to be valid", "summary": "Article 23(4) of 2019/947 ended the transitional acceptance of operator declarations made under national standard scenarios. Specific-category operators who never migrated to STS-01/STS-02 or to an operational authorisation lost their legal basis on this date.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/easy-access-rules/easy-access-rules-unmanned-aircraft-systems", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": "2026-06-30T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "eu-2025-09-29-sora-25", "date": "2025-09-29", "kind": "in_force", "title": "SORA 2.5 adopted as the accepted means of compliance", "summary": "ED Decision 2025/018/R brought the JARUS SORA 2.5 package into the AMC and guidance material for 2019/947, with a revised quantitative ground-risk table, containment treated as a distinct function, and 17 consolidated operational safety objectives. Note its legal character: this is an accepted means of compliance, not a regulation. Even so, each member state set its own SORA 2.0 acceptance window — one methodology, one regional regulator, 27 different transition calendars.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/agency-decisions/ed-decision-2025018r", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": "ED Decision 2025/018/R", "published": "2025-09-29T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "eu-2025-05-01-reg-2024-1110", "date": "2025-05-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Latest binding amendments to 2019/947 and 2019/945 become applicable", "summary": "Regulations (EU) 2024/1110 and 2024/1108 took effect, revising definitions, the authorisation of specific-category operations, remote pilot responsibilities under the standard scenarios, and which UAS must be certified. These remain the most recent binding amendments to the drone regulations themselves: EASA's regulations index still lists the 2024/1107–1110 set as the latest, and everything since has been soft law or, in the case of (EU) 2026/1821, a change to a neighbouring regulation.\n", "source": { "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/1110/oj/eng", "publisher": "EUR-Lex", "citation": "(EU) 2024/1110", "published": "2024-04-10T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "eu-2024-01-01-transition-ends", "date": "2024-01-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "The transitional regime expires — legacy drones lose the A2 route", "summary": "Article 22's transitional scheme ended. The widely used \"under 2 kg at 50 m from people\" route is gone and has not returned. What survived is Article 20: a non-class-marked drone placed on the market before this date may still be flown indefinitely — in A1 if under 250 g, and in A3 (150 m from built-up areas) if between 250 g and 25 kg. There is no legacy route into A2 at all, because A2 requires a C2 class mark. That, not a ban, is what owners actually lost.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/drones-air-mobility/operating-drone/open-category-low-risk-civil-drones", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": "2022-04-04T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" } ] }, { "slug": "germany", "name": "Germany", "iso2": "DE", "url": "https://listdrone.com/drone-laws/germany/", "regulator": { "name": "Luftfahrt-Bundesamt / Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr", "abbr": "LBA / BMDV", "url": "https://www.dipul.de/homepage/en/" }, "inherits": "european-union", "verified_on": "2026-10-13", "rules": { "registration_threshold": { "value": 250, "display": "250 g — or any weight if the drone carries a sensor able to capture personal data (so almost every camera drone, regardless of mass, unless it is certified as a toy)\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": "european-union", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/the-agency/faqs/drones-uas", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "pilot_credential": { "value": "tiered", "display": "Free online training and a 40-question exam (75% to pass) for A1/A3; a further 30-question exam for the A2 Certificate of Competency. Both valid 5 years. The operator registers, not the aircraft — in one member state only.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": "european-union", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/drones-air-mobility/operating-drone/open-category-low-risk-civil-drones", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "max_altitude": { "value": 120, "display": "120 m from the closest point of the surface", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": "european-union", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/regulations/commission-implementing-regulation-eu-2019947", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": "(EU) 2019/947 Art. 4(1)", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "remote_id": { "value": "mandatory", "display": "Direct (broadcast) remote ID, required on C1, C2, C3, C5 and C6 class-marked aircraft. C0 and C4 are exempt, and there is no retrofit mandate for legacy aircraft in the open category. Network remote ID exists only inside U-space.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": "european-union", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/drones-air-mobility/operating-drone/open-category-low-risk-civil-drones", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "bvlos": { "value": "specific_category", "display": "Not available in the open category. Routed through the Specific category — SORA 2.5, the published PDRAs, or standard scenario STS-02 with a C6 aircraft.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": "european-union", "source": null }, "visitor_can_fly": { "value": "yes_with_registration", "display": "Yes. A non-resident registers with the national authority of the first EASA-area country they intend to fly in, and that single registration is then valid across all 31. Beware of fraudulent sites selling \"drone pilot licences\" — a competency certificate can only come from a recognised aviation authority and always requires an exam.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": "european-union", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/the-agency/faqs/drones-uas", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "no_fly": { "value": null, "display": "§ 21h LuftVO adds German-only zones on top of the EU rules — dipul lists eleven zone types under § 21h(3), so check the map tool before every flight. The ones that catch people: over and within 1,500 m of the boundary of a non-airport aerodrome (specific category or operator consent); over and within 1,000 m of an airport boundary, plus within 1,000 m of the runway centreline extended 5 km on approach and departure (specific category only); over and within 100 m of industrial plants, prisons, secure psychiatric units, military installations and central energy generation or distribution plants (explicit consent of the operator); and over and within 100 m of federal trunk roads, federal waterways and railway installations — for DB InfraGO AG railway facilities, written consent is now obtainable under NfL 2026-1-3788.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.dipul.de/homepage/en/information/geographical-zones/legal-basis/", "publisher": "dipul (DFS / BMDV)", "citation": "§ 21h LuftVO", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "penalties": { "value": null, "display": "Set nationally, not by EU law — the regulations leave enforcement and penalties to each member state. Check the national authority for the country you are flying in.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": "european-union", "source": { "url": "https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/civil-drones/naa", "publisher": "EASA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } } }, "travel": { "import_status": "permitted", "note": null, "source": null }, "events": [ { "id": "de-2026-02-11-infrago-railway", "date": "2026-02-11", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Flying over DB InfraGO AG railway facilities becomes possible with written consent", "summary": "Railway installations are a § 21h(3) no. 5 geographical zone: no flight over them or within 100 m of them without one of the listed conditions. The Federal Ministry of Transport and DB InfraGO AG published requirements for \"railway-compatible UAS operation\", assessed through a risk analysis by InfraGO's safety management with DB AG's central UAS department. Written consent to overfly DB InfraGO AG railway facilities can now be obtained under NfL 2026-1-3788, and dipul's legal-basis page lists that route alongside the statutory conditions. It is prior approval under published conditions, not an exemption: the same zone, the same 100 m, a new way through it for inspection and survey work.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.dipul.de/homepage/en/aktuelle-meldungen/entry-into-the-geographical-zone-of-railway-facilities-consent-by-infrago-ag/", "publisher": "dipul (BMV / DB InfraGO AG)", "citation": "NfL 2026-1-3788", "published": "2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "de-2021-04-28-luftvo-21h", "date": "2021-04-28", "kind": "in_force", "title": "§ 21h LuftVO establishes Germany's geographical zones", "summary": "Germany implemented the EU framework's Article 15 discretion through § 21h of the Luftverkehrs-Ordnung, and the federal government launched dipul.de as the official information platform and map, operated with DFS.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.dipul.de/homepage/en/information/geographical-zones/legal-basis/", "publisher": "dipul (DFS / BMDV)", "citation": "§ 21h LuftVO", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" } ] }, { "slug": "japan", "name": "Japan", "iso2": "JP", "url": "https://listdrone.com/drone-laws/japan/", "regulator": { "name": "Civil Aviation Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism", "abbr": "MLIT / JCAB", "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/en/koku/uas.html" }, "inherits": null, "verified_on": "2026-10-27", "rules": { "registration_threshold": { "value": 100, "display": "100 g including the battery — every aircraft flown outdoors is registered individually through DIPS 2.0, must display its registration ID and must carry Remote ID. Registration is valid 3 years. Fees depend on the identity-check method: ¥900 (My Number Card), ¥1,450 (online with a passport or driving licence) or ¥2,400 (paper) for the first aircraft.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/drone/en/", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "pilot_credential": { "value": "tiered", "display": "No licence is needed for flying that avoids the regulated airspace and methods, or for flying under an individual MLIT permission. The national Remote Pilot Certificate (Class 1 / Class 2, 一等・二等無人航空機操縦士) is optional but lets a certified aircraft fly some regulated operations under 25 kg without applying, and Class 1 is mandatory for Level 4 flight. Knowledge test, practical test (waived after a registered training course) and medical check; minimum age 16; valid 3 years.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/level4/license/en/", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": "minimum age from Civil Aeronautics Act Art. 132-45", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "max_altitude": { "value": 150, "display": "150 m above the ground or water surface. Higher flight needs MLIT permission and prior coordination with air traffic control; airspace within 30 m of a structure is excluded from this restriction.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/en/koku/content/001883935.pdf", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": "Guidelines for Safe Flight of Unmanned Aircraft", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "remote_id": { "value": "mandatory", "display": "Mandatory (broadcast) since 20 June 2022, tied to registration. Exemptions: aircraft registered in the pre-registration period (20 December 2021 – 19 June 2022) while the registration is kept renewed, tethered flight, and flights over a specific area with measures such as assistants in place.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/drone/en/", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "bvlos": { "value": "waiver_only", "display": "Needs MLIT approval, applied for through DIPS 2.0 — or no approval if a Class 2 or Class 1 pilot, with the BVLOS limitation lifted, flies a certified aircraft under 25 kg with access to the area below controlled. BVLOS over uncontrolled third parties (Level 4, Category III) needs a Class 1 certificate, a Type 1 aircraft certificate and a specific permission.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/koku_fr10_000042.html", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "visitor_can_fly": { "value": "yes_with_registration", "display": "Yes, with Japanese registration — a foreign registration does not count. MLIT states that foreign visitors can use DIPS 2.0 (available in English) and that overseas residents bringing a drone of 100 g or more must register it and fit Remote ID meeting the Japanese specification before flying. Identity can be checked online with a passport plus a document showing an address (MLIT lists an international driving permit), though MLIT also says the registered address must match the certificate of residence, which visitors do not have. Any flight in regulated airspace or by a regulated method also needs permission; MLIT asks for applications at least 10 working days ahead. Drones under 100 g need no registration, but the Drone Act and local bans still apply to them. Liability insurance is recommended, and mandatory for permitted flights of 25 kg or more.\n", "confidence": "medium", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.dips-reg.mlit.go.jp/contents/drs/question.html", "publisher": "MLIT (DIPS 2.0)", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "no_fly": { "value": null, "display": "Two separate regimes. Under the Civil Aeronautics Act, flight around airports, above 150 m, over Densely Inhabited Districts (DID) and in emergency-response airspace needs MLIT permission, and at eight major airports the airspace under the approach and transitional surfaces is also restricted. Under the Drone Act, flight at any weight is banned over designated facilities — the Diet, the Prime Minister's Office, the Imperial Palace, embassies, defence facilities, designated airports and nuclear plants among them — and over the zone about 1,000 m around them, unless an exemption applies and the police are notified 48 hours ahead. Prefectures and municipalities can add their own bans by ordinance.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.npa.go.jp/english/uas/uas.html", "publisher": "National Police Agency", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "penalties": { "value": null, "display": "Civil Aeronautics Act: flying an unregistered aircraft up to 1 year's imprisonment or ¥500,000; flying in regulated airspace or by a regulated method without permission up to ¥500,000; flying under the influence of alcohol or drugs over a road, park or other public place up to 1 year or ¥300,000; failing to take required measures after an accident up to 2 years or ¥1,000,000. Drone Act: up to 1 year or ¥500,000 over a facility itself, up to 6 months or ¥500,000 over its surrounding zone, and the police may order the aircraft away or disrupt or destroy it.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/327AC0000000231", "publisher": "e-Gov (Digital Agency)", "citation": "航空法 Arts. 157-6 to 157-9; 小型無人機等飛行禁止法 Arts. 13–14", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-27T00:00:00.000Z" } } }, "travel": { "import_status": "unknown", "note": null, "source": null }, "events": [ { "id": "jp-2026-09-29-cat2-bvlos-did-route", "date": "2026-09-29", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Review criteria clarified for observer-less BVLOS routed over a populated area", "summary": "MLIT revised its review criteria for Category II flight to spell out what happens when a beyond-visual-line-of-sight route flown without ground observers unavoidably has to cross a densely inhabited district. The criteria still require such a route to be set over places where third parties are unlikely to be present — mountains, sea areas, rivers and lakes, forest, farmland, golf courses or similar — and allow crossing a trunk road or railway, a quiet non-urban road or railway, or a momentary passage over houses only where there is no alternative. The revision adds that where a route must unavoidably be set above a densely inhabited district, sufficient safety measures must be taken to prevent harm to third parties and property. MLIT also updated its safety guidelines and its collection of Level 3.5 flight cases. This changes how an application is assessed, not which flights need permission.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/content/001866503.pdf", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": "無人航空機の飛行に関する許可・承認の審査要領（カテゴリーⅡ飛行）, last revised 29 September 2026 (国空無機第86784号), § 5-4(3)c)ア）", "published": "2026-09-29T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "jp-2026-09-16-first-usp-ids", "date": "2026-09-16", "kind": "in_force", "title": "First UTM service providers receive MLIT IDs", "summary": "MLIT issued its first IDs to UTM service providers — NTT Data and KDDI Smart Drone — letting them connect to DIPS and help operators coordinate overlapping flight plans. The ID criteria were set on 31 March 2026 and are the first step of a staged rollout of unmanned traffic management; real-time tracking and designated managed airspace are later steps. Nothing changes yet for an individual flyer.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/content/002023082.pdf", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": null, "published": "2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "jp-2026-07-14-drone-act-1000m", "date": "2026-07-14", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Drone Act no-fly zones around important facilities widen to about 1,000 m", "summary": "The amended Small Unmanned Aircraft Flight Prohibition Act (Act No. 47 of 2026) took effect, widening the surrounding zone (the \"yellow zone\") in which flight is banned from about 300 m to about 1,000 m around designated facilities. It also added places where designated protected dignitaries are present and international conference venues as new facility types. The Act applies to drones of any weight, including those under 100 g, and it is enforced by the police, separately from MLIT's rules — a DIPS flight plan does not replace the 48-hour police notice.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.npa.go.jp/bureau/security/kogatamujinki/kouhou.html", "publisher": "National Police Agency", "citation": "令和8年法律第47号", "published": "2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "jp-2026-07-01-did-industrial-zones", "date": "2026-07-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Exclusive industrial zones taken out of the populated-area restriction", "summary": "An MLIT notice made under Article 236-72 of the Civil Aeronautics Act Enforcement Regulations excludes areas zoned as exclusive industrial districts under the City Planning Act from the \"densely inhabited\" airspace that needs permission. Flying over such an area inside a DID no longer needs a DID permission; the other rules still apply.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/002009114.pdf", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": "令和8年国土交通省告示第435号", "published": "2026-03-31T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "jp-2025-12-18-category-ii-review-revision", "date": "2025-12-18", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Private drone certifications no longer shorten permission applications", "summary": "MLIT's revised review guidelines for Category II flight abolished the practice under which aircraft listed on the MLIT website and skill certificates issued by listed private training bodies let applicants skip parts of a permission application. Only the national aircraft certificate and Remote Pilot Certificate now do that. Permissions that relied on the old listings cannot be copied, amended or renewed; the first application after this date must be a new one.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/koku_fr10_000042.html", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": null, "published": "2025-12-15T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "jp-2025-10-01-insurance-25kg", "date": "2025-10-01", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Third-party liability insurance required for permitted flights of 25 kg or more", "summary": "For permission or approval applications made from this date, aircraft with a total weight of 25 kg or more must be covered by third-party liability insurance, and the application must state it. For lighter aircraft insurance remains a recommendation in MLIT's safety guidelines, not a requirement.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/koku_fr10_000042.html", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": null, "published": "2025-09-10T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "jp-2022-12-05-licence-and-level-4", "date": "2022-12-05", "kind": "in_force", "title": "National pilot licence, aircraft certification and Level 4 flight begin", "summary": "The 2021 amendment to the Civil Aeronautics Act brought in the Class 1 and Class 2 Remote Pilot Certificates, type and aircraft certification, and new operating rules. Together they made Level 4 flight (Category III) possible: beyond visual line of sight, without observers, over populated areas where third parties are present. Level 4 needs a Class 1 pilot, a Type 1 certified aircraft and MLIT permission.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/level4/", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": null, "published": "2022-12-05T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" }, { "id": "jp-2022-06-20-registration-remote-id", "date": "2022-06-20", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Registration and Remote ID become mandatory from 100 g", "summary": "Every drone or model aircraft of 100 g or more flown outdoors must now be registered, display its registration ID and carry a Remote ID function; unregistered aircraft may not fly. Aircraft registered during the pre-registration period from 20 December 2021 were exempted from Remote ID.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.mlit.go.jp/koku/drone/en/", "publisher": "MLIT", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-27" } ] }, { "slug": "united-states", "name": "United States", "iso2": "US", "url": "https://listdrone.com/drone-laws/united-states/", "regulator": { "name": "Federal Aviation Administration", "abbr": "FAA", "url": "https://www.faa.gov/uas" }, "inherits": null, "verified_on": "2026-10-13", "rules": { "registration_threshold": { "value": 250, "display": "250 g (0.55 lb) — $5, valid 3 years", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/register_drone", "publisher": "FAA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "pilot_credential": { "value": "tiered", "display": "TRUST (free online test) for recreational flight; a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate for everything else — minimum age 16, TSA security vetting, recurrent training every 24 calendar months.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_flyers", "publisher": "FAA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "max_altitude": { "value": 120, "display": "400 ft (120 m) AGL — or, within a 400-foot radius of a structure, up to 400 ft above that structure's immediate uppermost limit\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-F/part-107/subpart-B/section-107.51", "publisher": "eCFR (National Archives)", "citation": "14 CFR 107.51(b)", "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "remote_id": { "value": "mandatory", "display": "Mandatory (broadcast) — 14 CFR Part 89, enforced since 16 March 2024", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/remote_id", "publisher": "FAA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "bvlos": { "value": "waiver_only", "display": "Waiver or exemption only — the Part 108 rule is not final", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": null }, "visitor_can_fly": { "value": "yes_with_registration", "display": "Yes. A foreign visitor registers in FAADroneZone the same way ($5, 3 years); the FAA treats the certificate as a recognition of ownership rather than a US registration. Recreational visitors must also complete TRUST and carry proof. Drones under 250 g need no registration.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/register_drone", "publisher": "FAA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "no_fly": { "value": null, "display": "Controlled airspace requires authorisation via LAANC (about 726 airports, 12 service suppliers) or FAA DroneZone. Temporary Flight Restrictions, stadiums, wildfires and security perimeters are hard exclusions.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/laanc", "publisher": "FAA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } }, "penalties": { "value": null, "display": "Civil penalties up to $27,500 for registration offences; criminal fines up to $250,000 and/or up to 3 years. Enforcement hardened in 2026 — the FAA now requires legal action rather than education for airspace and endangerment violations.\n", "confidence": "high", "inherited_from": null, "source": { "url": "https://www.faa.gov/faq/there-penalty-failing-register", "publisher": "FAA", "citation": null, "published": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z" } } }, "travel": { "import_status": "permitted", "note": null, "source": null }, "events": [ { "id": "us-2026-10-13-fcc-marketplace-in-force", "date": "2026-10-13", "kind": "in_force", "title": "FCC equipment-authorisation security rule takes effect — marketplace FCC-ID display still to come", "summary": "The FCC's Third Report and Order in ET Docket 21-232 (FCC 26-50) is in force: the Federal Register text states \"This final rule is effective October 13, 2026\", and no correction, delay or stay has been published. What binds today is the rest of the order — the component-part prohibition on authorising devices containing logic-bearing hardware from a Covered List entity, the requirement that any modification or permissive change by a Covered List entity undergo full certification, and the clarified § 2.803(a)(1) marketing rule, under which listing equipment on an online marketplace counts as \"marketing\" when combined with consignment, warehousing, inventory management, order processing, labelling, packaging, billing or fulfilment — even for a third-party seller's goods. The FCC-ID display duty is not yet live: § 2.803(c)(1) (marketplaces with physical access to or title over the device) is not required until 1 March 2027 and § 2.803(c)(2) (marketplaces relying on seller certification) not until 1 June 2027. Neither applies to a listing published before today unless it is later amended, updated or republished. Nothing here grounds a drone you already own.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/11/2026-18535/protecting-against-national-security-threats-to-the-communications-supply-chain-through-the", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "91 FR 57798", "published": "2026-09-11T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "us-2026-09-11-fcc-marketplace-fcc-id", "date": "2026-09-11", "kind": "superseded", "title": "FCC order makes online marketplaces show FCC IDs — rule effective 13 October 2026, display required from 2027", "summary": "The FCC's Third Report and Order in its equipment-authorisation security proceeding (FCC 26-50, adopted 22 July 2026) takes effect on 13 October 2026. It applies to radio devices generally, drones included. It confirms that an online marketplace which lists and also warehouses, fulfils or bills for a third-party product is \"marketing\" it, and it requires marketplaces to show a device's FCC ID at the online point of sale. The display duty has its own later compliance dates — 1 March 2027 for marketplaces that sell their own stock or take possession of or title to the device, 1 June 2027 for marketplaces relying on seller certification — and excludes used devices, listings by sellers below the INFORM Consumers Act high-volume threshold, and listings published before 13 October and not later updated. The order's new ban on devices containing logic-bearing components from Covered List entities does not apply to the country-of-production drone entry unless the producer is itself named on the Covered List.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/11/2026-18535/protecting-against-national-security-threats-to-the-communications-supply-chain-through-the", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "91 FR 57798", "published": "2026-09-11T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "us-2026-09-03-section-232-tariffs", "date": "2026-09-03", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Section 232 tariffs take effect — 25% on consumer drones", "summary": "Proclamation 11055 imposes a 100% ad valorem duty on UAS over 25 kg, thermal-imaging UAS, docking stations and listed critical components, and 25% on UAS at or below 25 kg — which covers essentially every consumer drone. Reduced caps apply to the EU, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland and the UK, conditional on certifying that substantially all critical components originate there or in the US. This is the most consumer-visible change of 2026 and it has nothing to do with aviation safety.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/19/2026-16979/adjusting-imports-of-unmanned-aircraft-systems-and-unmanned-aircraft-systems-components-into-the", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "91 FR 53699", "published": "2026-08-19T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "us-2026-08-24-fcc-anzu-26-184", "date": "2026-08-24", "kind": "proposed", "title": "FCC proposes ending imports and sales of Anzu Robotics drones already authorised", "summary": "A public notice from the same two FCC bureaus (DA 26-832, PS Docket 26-184) proposes to prohibit the continued importation and marketing of equipment already authorised but covered by the December 2025 Covered List action — naming Anzu Robotics, LLC and its affiliates and partners, and two authorisations in particular (FCC IDs 2BBYS-RAPTOR and 2BBYS-RRC01). The basis is section 1709 of the FY2025 NDAA: equipment produced under a technology-sharing or licensing agreement with a named entity, manufactured abroad. Federal government use, and commercial testing and product development, would be excluded, and equipment already bought could still be operated; importing and marketing would have to stop 30 days after any prohibition is published. Comments closed on 23 September 2026. This is the narrower, company-specific companion to the \"military-grade\" proposal in PS Docket 26-189.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/24/2026-17193/comment-sought-on-prohibiting-the-importation-and-marketing-of-certain-covered-uas-and-uas-critical", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "91 FR 54713", "published": "2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-24" }, { "id": "us-2026-08-03-fcc-military-grade-uas", "date": "2026-08-03", "kind": "proposed", "title": "FCC proposes ending imports and sales of \"military-grade\" foreign drones already on the market", "summary": "Two FCC bureaus (Public Safety and Homeland Security, and Engineering and Technology) propose to stop the continued importation and marketing of foreign-produced drones and drone components on the Covered List that fall into seven \"military-grade\" categories, even where the model was authorised before December 2025: aircraft of 55 lb (25 kg) or more at take-off; aircraft able to dispense pesticides (\"economic poison\"); aircraft with thermal-imaging or LiDAR sensors; docking stations; aircraft designed to incorporate a defence article; and swarming systems, a category the notice says includes aircraft built for multi-drone light shows. Excluded: domestically produced equipment, Blue UAS Cleared List items, domestic end products, Conditional Approvals, sales for federal government use, and commercial testing. Drones already bought could still be used and operated. The proposed cut-off is 180 days after the prohibition, if adopted, is published in the Federal Register. Comments (PS Docket 26-189, DA 26-758) closed 2 September 2026; no decision had appeared in the Federal Register as of 13 October 2026.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/03/2026-15659/seeking-comment-on-prohibiting-the-importation-and-marketing-of-certain-foreign-produced", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "91 FR 48870", "published": "2026-08-03T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "us-2026-07-10-part-108-oira", "date": "2026-07-10", "kind": "pending", "title": "Part 108 BVLOS final rule sent to OIRA — still unpublished", "summary": "The FAA's beyond-visual-line-of-sight final rule entered EO 12866 review on 10 July 2026 and is still listed as Pending Review, with no concluded date — three months in. Nothing has published: a Federal Register search on 13 October 2026 returns no Part 108 rule, and the FAA's own drone pages still offer only the Part 107 routes. There is no effective date and no compliance deadline. Several commercial sites report the rule as finalised; they are wrong. Until it publishes, BVLOS remains available only through a Part 107 waiver, a Part 11 exemption, or the Section 927 process.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoAdvancedSearch?rin=2120-AL82", "publisher": "OIRA (reginfo.gov)", "citation": "RIN 2120-AL82", "published": "2026-07-10T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-10-13" }, { "id": "us-2026-07-06-counter-uas", "date": "2026-07-06", "kind": "in_force", "title": "State and local police gain counter-drone authority", "summary": "A joint DHS/DOJ interim final rule, implementing the SAFER SKIES Act of 18 December 2025, extends detect-identify-track-warn authority — and at a higher certified tier, authority to disrupt, disable or destroy — to state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement and correctional agencies. Mitigation requires in-person training at the FBI's National Counter-UAS Training Center, pre-approved equipment, and reporting within 48 hours. In practice: your drone can now lawfully be tracked, and in defined circumstances brought down, by local agencies.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/06/2026-13609/counter-uas-authority-for-state-local-tribal-and-territorial-law-enforcement-and-correctional", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "91 FR 41466", "published": "2026-07-06T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "us-2026-05-06-section-2209", "date": "2026-05-06", "kind": "proposed", "title": "Proposed flight restrictions around critical infrastructure (new Part 74)", "summary": "An FAA notice of proposed rulemaking would create 14 CFR Part 74, letting operators of qualifying fixed-site facilities request Standard or Special UAS Flight Restrictions over their sites. Comments closed 5 August 2026 after an extension. No final rule — nine years after the statutory mandate in Section 2209 of the 2016 FAA Extension Act.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/06/2026-08943/designation-restrict-the-operation-of-unmanned-aircraft-in-close-proximity-to-a-fixed-site-facility", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": null, "published": "2026-05-06T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "us-2026-04-17-deter", "date": "2026-04-17", "kind": "in_force", "title": "DETER settlement programme for first-time violators", "summary": "The FAA's Drone Expedited and Targeted Enforcement Response gives a first-time violator 10 days to settle for a significantly reduced civil penalty. It is usable once, waives all rights to appeal or judicial review, and excludes TFR violations, weaponised drones, alcohol or drug offences and violations committed in furtherance of another crime.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/17/2026-07585/settlement-policy-for-small-unmanned-aircraft-system-uas-cases", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "91 FR 20578", "published": "2026-04-17T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "us-2026-02-06-enforcement", "date": "2026-02-06", "kind": "enforcement", "title": "FAA shifts from education-first to mandatory legal enforcement", "summary": "The FAA announced it will require legal action where drone operations endanger the public, violate airspace restrictions, or are conducted in furtherance of another crime. It published 18 violations from 2023–2025 with fines from $1,771 to $36,770 — the largest for interfering with wildfire emergency response — and 8 certificate suspensions or revocations in 2025.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-steps-drone-enforcement-2025", "publisher": "FAA", "citation": null, "published": "2026-02-06T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "us-2025-12-22-fcc-covered-list", "date": "2025-12-22", "kind": "in_force", "title": "FCC adds all foreign-produced drones and critical components to the Covered List", "summary": "In a first-of-its-kind blanket action under the Secure Networks Act and Section 1709 of the FY2025 NDAA, the FCC added all foreign-produced UAS and UAS critical components — flight controllers, batteries, motors, communications and navigation systems — to the Covered List. The effect is prospective: covered equipment cannot receive new FCC equipment authorisations, so it cannot lawfully be imported or marketed. It does not ground, confiscate or prohibit drones already owned and authorised. DJI's petition for reconsideration and Autel's application for review are pending with no merits decision.\n", "source": { "url": "https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-25-1086A1.pdf", "publisher": "Federal Communications Commission", "citation": "DA 25-1086", "published": "2025-12-22T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "us-2025-08-07-part-108-nprm", "date": "2025-08-07", "kind": "superseded", "title": "Part 108 BVLOS proposed rule published", "summary": "A joint FAA/TSA notice of proposed rulemaking to normalise beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, with a permit-and-certificate structure, a 1,320 lb weight ceiling, mandatory detect-and-avoid, and a new Part 146 for automated data service providers. Comments closed 6 October 2025 and reopened briefly in early 2026.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/07/2025-14992/normalizing-unmanned-aircraft-systems-beyond-visual-line-of-sight-operations", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "90 FR 38212", "published": "2025-08-07T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "us-2024-03-16-remote-id-enforced", "date": "2024-03-16", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Remote ID becomes fully enforceable", "summary": "The FAA's enforcement discretion, granted because of broadcast-module supply shortages, expired. Every registered drone must now broadcast Remote ID — as a standard Remote ID aircraft, with a broadcast module, or by flying inside an FAA-Recognized Identification Area.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/15/2023-20074/enforcement-policy-regarding-operator-compliance-deadline-for-remote-identification-of-unmanned", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": null, "published": "2023-09-15T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" }, { "id": "us-2021-04-21-remote-id", "date": "2021-04-21", "kind": "in_force", "title": "Remote ID and Operations Over People rules take effect", "summary": "14 CFR Part 89 (Remote Identification) and the Operations Over People rule became effective. The latter created the four over-people categories and permitted night operations without a waiver, provided the pilot has completed the updated training and the aircraft carries anti-collision lighting visible for 3 statute miles.\n", "source": { "url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/15/2020-28948/remote-identification-of-unmanned-aircraft", "publisher": "Federal Register", "citation": "86 FR 4390", "published": "2021-01-15T00:00:00.000Z", "retrieved": null }, "verified_on": "2026-09-13" } ] } ] }