Drone Regulations in Europe

Last update on 28.06.2019 | 10 Kommentare

In this article, I present the current rules for drone pilots in Europe.

For a better overview, we have summarized the provisions vividly in two European maps: The first map is for the private use of drones and the second map represents the provisions for commercial drones.

Europe map for private drone pilots

Europe map private Placeholder
Europe map private
Europe map for commercial drone pilots

Europe map commercial Placeholder
Europe map commercial
Legend
  • Green indicates that you can use your copter without prior authorization under the applicable regulations. In many cases, you can get a special permit for operations beyond the rules. In some countries, you may fly without authorization, but only without a mounted camera. These countries are not green – but yellow – marked; as most pilots certainly want to create films and photographs.
  • Yellow indicates that you need to register your drone or yourself, you must apply for a permit or you need to pass a test. You will learn the details below.
  • Red indicates that the commissioning of drones is generally prohibited. In these countries, you should be especially careful, because even at the airport your drone can be confiscated partially under the laws or you can be arrested only because of the possession of the drone.
  • Grey means that I have not found reliable information or I do not sufficiently understand the drone laws. If you can help here, I appreciate your comment below the article!

Before you start here, you should also read my article on the international drone laws view. There I list general safety precautions that you should always be aware and call tips for dealing with no-fly areas.

The research for this article took several weeks and the ongoing update process of the current legal situation is extremely time-consuming. Please consider to support us with a donation. Your help makes it possible that we can update and improve this article permanently! Thank you so much in advance! 🙂

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European Drone Rules:

Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

What experiences have you gathered in European countries? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

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About the author

Since January 2015, we travel around the world. In our backpack we carry a camera drone which we use to capture the best places from a bird’s perspective. First we travelled with a DJI Phantom 2. But now we use a Yuneec Typhoon H. On our blog we share the best tips for you about travelling with a copter. If you have questions about this article or new information, don’t hesitate to leave us a comment!

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Discussions

  • Christian | 01.05.2017

    Fantastic guide !!! Congratulations and thank you for the information!
    That was what I was looking for! At the end of November I will be in Thailand but from what I have seen it is very difficult to use drones. I wanted to buy a drone waiting for the arrival of DJI Spark for its low weight but from what I read in your article this track has to be recorded. I’ve seen your fantastic guide to drone regulation in Thailand but unfortunately at the Thai aviation site the modules and information regarding the drones are only in Thai. I wanted to follow the whole procedure by sending the application forms but I know it is an almost impossible business ….
    Christian

    Reply
  • Noel | 07.08.2017

    Awesome blog! I see that this was last updated March 2017. Do you happen to know of anything that has changed with regard to Hungary, Romania, and Poland? Thank you in advance.

    Reply
  • Grace | 03.11.2017

    Hi Guys,

    I’m going to visit Spain, France and Italy on 22Nov to 1Dec 2017, I am planning to make a vocation video with my friends with Mavic Pro.

    It will be grateful if I could know the latest news about flying a drone in those countries, e.g : is it legal to fly a drone in the countries which was mentioned, or do I have to get any registration for that?

    That would be awesome if you guys knows and have the online registration link share. – (I’ve been searching the details about flying a drone in Europe through https://www.easa.europa.eu/easa-and-you/civil-drones-rpas , but seems there is not the register link).

    Thank you so much.

    Reply
  • Johan Neirinck | 16.01.2018

    Maximum altitude: 10 meters (recreatieve) / licence class 2 : altitude 45m(commercial) / licence class 1a and 1b : altitude 90 meters (commercial)

    Reply
  • Ricardo Sousa | 19.04.2018

    Hello, I go to Krakow and I’d like to know I can fly there?

    Reply
  • M. Hagglund | 14.05.2018

    The maps do not work. Nothing visible.

    Reply

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