Drone Laws in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Verfasst von Francis Markert | Last update on 07.08.2026 | 1 Kommentare

In this article, we explain the legal situation for the use of drones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Drones are allowed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The competent authority is the Autorité de l’Aviation Civile (AAC/RDC). The legal basis is Decision 026/19 of 1 July 2019, which sets out the conditions for the use and operation of drones. The details are governed by the RACD 06 rulebook, in force since 2 March 2020 and listed in the authority’s official document index.

Every drone flown in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has to be entered in an identification register held by the AAC/RDC. The register records the name and address of the keeper, the serial number, manufacturer, type, year of construction and home base (Article 7). If the drone is lost, stolen or destroyed, you have to report this to the authority immediately (Article 8).

Whether and how travellers can have themselves entered in this register does not follow from the publicly available texts. Ask the AAC/RDC directly before your trip.

The key rules at a glance

The following points are stated word for word in the 2019 decision:

• Daytime only. Night flights are permitted only with an explicit exemption from the AAC/RDC (Article 16).
• Not over inhabited areas. An area counts as inhabited as soon as it is less than 50 meters from a settlement or less than 150 meters from a gathering of people (Articles 3 and 19).
• Do not fly over events, such as festivals, community celebrations or trade fairs (Article 20).
• No aerial images of state facilities. This covers installations, offices and properties of the army, the police, customs and other state services (Article 17).
• Do not drop anything. Releasing objects from the drone is prohibited (Article 14).
• Do not pilot from a moving vehicle, unless the authority grants an exemption (Article 13).
• Report accidents within 72 hours. This applies to accidents and incidents alike (Article 15).

In prohibited, danger and restricted areas under Ordonnance 12/031 of 21 September 2012, you need an exemption from the AAC/RDC. It is granted only if the minister responsible for security, the national security services and the competent military authority have given their prior consent (Articles 21 and 22).

Take this seriously: anyone who deliberately flies into a prohibited or restricted zone faces five to ten years in prison and a fine of 15 to 20 million Congolese francs under Article 175 of Aviation Act 10/014 (Article 47).

Altitude and distance to aerodromes

Within visual line of sight the rule is: you have to stay below the minimum flight altitudes that the air traffic rules prescribe for the area you are flying over, and make sure that no recognisable risk of harm arises for third parties (Article 24). For flights in the vicinity of an aerodrome, you need to coordinate with air traffic control or the operator of the facility in advance (Article 23).

For flights beyond visual line of sight, the decision names fixed values: at least 15 kilometers from aerodromes with instrument approach procedures, 3.5 kilometers from any approach or departure surface, 2.5 kilometers from landing sites for ultralights and 5 kilometers from all other aerodromes. The altitude is capped at 50 meters above ground and rises to 150 meters only with an explicit exemption from the AAC/RDC, and only if the drone stays below 2 kilograms take-off weight (Article 25).

Aerial photography counts as a special activity

This is the point that surprises travellers most: aerial photography, surveying, observation and surveillance flights are explicitly listed among the “special activities” under Article 26. For those you need a permis d’exploitation, an operating certificate issued by the AAC/RDC. It is valid for 12 months and can be renewed (Articles 27 and 28). Purely recreational flights without a camera fall under model flying instead.

For individual projects, the authority can grant a one-off special permit instead. It requires a safety study submitted in advance and is valid for 30 days (Articles 30 to 32).

If you want to take such images on private land, at a beach, over industrial facilities, a pipeline, a power line or a railway line, you also need the consent of the owners. Simply flying over without recording is not affected by this (Article 18). For advertising footage, you have to obtain the consent of the people shown beforehand (Article 41). For breaches of privacy, the keeper and the pilot are jointly liable (Articles 39 and 40).

What the AAC/RDC does not publish

The full text of the RACD 06 is currently not available on any official page: the authority’s PDF index returns an error for every RACD document, and the copy preserved in the Internet Archive breaks off after one megabyte. The table of contents shows that the rulebook covers a classification of drones, admission requirements for operators and the conditions for the operating certificate. We have information on these points for which we do not yet have official confirmation: a division into categories and weight classes, a restriction of registration to nationals of full age, residents of the country and companies registered there, plus requirements for commercial operators such as a commercial register entry, safety management, a medical certificate and proof of language proficiency. We name them here deliberately as a pointer, not as established law. Clarify your specific case with the AAC/RDC in advance.

Overview: Drone rules in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Have you already travelled in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with your drone? Leave us a comment below this post. As long as the rulebook is not publicly available, reports from practice are especially valuable.

We have researched the listed drone regulations for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the best of our knowledge. We cannot guarantee the correctness of the information. If you want to be on the safe side, contact the competent aviation authority. Alternatively, you can also ask the embassy in your home country for further information about the regulations. Please leave us a comment when you receive news and/or gain experience with your drone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo!