UK Drone Licence and Registration

Drone Licence

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Drone Licence Guide

Find out what you need to become a drone pilot with the heliguy™ drone licence calculator.

Do you need a licence to fly a drone?

Not every drone pilot needs a drone licence. Under new UK drone laws, this now depends on the drone you have and where you plan to fly it.

A drone licence can be applicable for both commercial and recreational pilots. However, there are cases where a licence is not required, for instance, if you are flying far away from people.

Use our drone calculator below to find out whether you need a drone licence and, if so, which licence is best suited to your DJI drone.

Drone Training & Pilot Registration

A drone licence is different to drone pilot registration. The majority of drone pilots will need to register with the CAA, regardless of whether or not they have/need a drone licence.

Drone training and CAA registration requirements change depending on:

Drone licence considerations

  • Weight/class of drone
  • Class rating of drone
  • Where you plan to fly

Drone registration considerations

  • Weight/class rating of drone
  • Does the drone have a camera?
  • Is it a toy?


Drone Training Calculator CAA Drone Pilot Registration

Choose your drone

Click a drone below to show the available training and licence options.

DJI Mavic 3

DJI Matrice 300 RTK

DJI Phantom 4 RTK

Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced

DJI FPV

DJI Mini 2

DJI Mini SE

DJI Air 2S

Mavic Air 2

DJI Mavic Mini

DJI Mavic Air

DJI Mavic 2 Pro

DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

DJI Spark

DJI Inspire 2

DJI Matrice 200 V2

DJI Matrice 600 Pro

No Licence Required

Just register with the CAA and fly anywhere, commercially or for fun

  • You do not need a drone licence if your drone has a sub 250g flying weight.
  • You can fly over uninvolved people, but not crowds.
  • You can operate commercially or recreationally.

A2 CofC Drone Licence

Required if aircraft weight exceeds 250g at take-off

  • An A2 CofC drone licence is recommended if the flying weight of your drone exceeds 250g.
  • With this licence, for this drone, the rules state that there must be no intentional flights over uninvolved people.
  • You can operate commercially or recreationally with the A2 CofC.
  • If your drone is over 250g, and you don't have an A2 CofC licence, you will have to fly far away from people. In this instance, you can still operate commercially or recreationally.
Sale
A2 CofC Training Course with heliguy™
A2 CofC Drone Training Course
£149.50 £299.00 Save £149.50

A2 CofC Drone Training Courses

A2 CofC Drone Licence

Open Category A2 - fly close to people

  • An A2 CofC drone licence will allow you to fly up to 50m horizontally of uninvolved people.
  • You can use this drone licence to fly recreationally or commercially.
Sale
A2 CofC Training Course with heliguy™
A2 CofC Drone Training Course
£149.50 £299.00 Save £149.50

A2 CofC Drone Training Course

GVC Drone Licence

Specific Category

  • Obtain a GVC to be able to apply for Operational Authorisation from the CAA, which is required to fly in the Specific Category.
  • Aimed at commercial drone operators, this is for operations that fall outside the boundaries of the Open Category.
  • Benefits include operations within 150 metres of any recreational, commercial, industrial, or recreational areas, plus take-off and landing up to 30m from uninvolved people.
Sale
GVC Drone Training Course
£699.50 £999.00 Save £299.50

GVC Drone Training Course

No Drone Licence

Open Category A3 - fly far from people

  • If you do not have a drone licence, you can still fly this drone, but you must operate far from people.
  • The rules state that there must be no uninvolved people present within the area of flight, and no flight within 150m horizontally of residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas.
  • You can operate commercially or recreationally.

Drone Registration

Register to fly with the CAA (UK Civil Aviation Authority).

Drone Pilot Registration

The majority of drone pilots will need to register with the CAA (UK Civil Aviation Authority) and get an operator ID and/or flyer ID.

Operator ID

If you’re responsible for a drone or model aircraft, you are required to register as a drone operator to get an operator ID. This costs £9.

Flyer ID

If your drone weighs over 250g, the drone pilot must register and get a flyer ID. There is a 40 question multiple choice exam. This is completely free.

Register with CAA

Click the button below to open the CAA website in a new window and complete your drone registration.

You will be able to choose further options and pay for your operator ID registration on the CAA website.

CAA Drone Registration

Registration Exemptions

You do not need to register if your drone is a toy below 250g, or your drone is below 250g and does not have a camera.

Drone Licence FAQs

Frequently asked questions about drone licensing and training.

Training by Drone
heliguy™ Training Tools

Drone training requirements can be confusing, cut through the regulations with our simple drone license calculator tool.

  1. Click the button to access the drone licence calculator
  2. Select your drone
  3. Reveal which training is relevant for your drone

Drone Training Calculator

Many customers ask us questions around how to start a drone business, which drones are best for different operations, and which training is required to pilot those drones.

  1. Click the button to access the interactive drone business guide.
  2. Learn about operating Mini drones in the open category without training.
  3. Find out which drones work best for different missions.

Start Your Drone Business

Real-time drone safety map, powered by Altitude Angel's GuardianUTM for advanced flight planning and airspace management.