Maximum drone altitude in Canada
What is the maximum drone altitude in Canada?
Limited guide. Drone Assistant's coverage of Canada is still under review, so this page summarises only the published rules we can cite to an official source. It is not a complete statement of Canada's drone law; check the linked sources or ask the assistant about your own flight.
Drone flights in Canada are held to a published general height limit of 30.48 m AGL. The limit is not absolute: the published conditions that change it are cited below.
- General height limit
- 30.48 m
- Reference datum
- AGL
The general height limit that applies to drone flights, and what changes it.
What the rules say
Each line is resolved from published facts of Canada. "Not resolved" means the corpus does not answer it in a machine-checkable way — never that the law is silent.
- General height limit30.48 mConditional
- Reference datumAGLYes
- Aerodrome-related limitConditional
- Structure exceptionConditional
- Authorised exceedanceConditional
- Conditional limitsConditional
- ExceptionsConditional
What changes the answer
- altitude
Flight altitude at or below 100 ft
- location
Horizontal distance below 200 ft
- altitude
Flight altitude at or below 400 ft
- location
Distance at or above 100 ft
- location
Distance at or above 30 m
- location
Horizontal distance at or above 100 ft
The rules behind this answer
- Binding lawNational rule
Altitude Exception in Controlled Airspace
A pilot may operate a remotely piloted aircraft in controlled airspace at an altitude above the limits specified in section 901.25 if authorized by the air traffic services provider.
- Binding lawNational rule
Altitude Exception Near Buildings or Structures
No pilot may operate a remotely piloted aircraft at an altitude greater than 400 feet (122 m) AGL, except that the aircraft may be operated at up to 100 feet (30 m) above a building or structure while it is being operated at a horizontal distance of less than 200 feet (61 m) from that building or structure.
- Binding lawNational rule
Altitude Limit Waiver via Special Flight Operations Certificate
A pilot may operate a remotely piloted aircraft at an altitude greater than the limits in subsection (1) if conducted in accordance with a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) issued under section 903.03.
- Binding lawNational rule
ATC Authorization for Non-Equipped RPA in Transponder Airspace
An air traffic control unit may authorize a pilot to operate a remotely piloted aircraft that is not equipped with a transponder and automatic pressure-altitude reporting equipment within transponder airspace under specified conditions.
- Binding lawNational rule
Maximum Altitude Limit (400 feet AGL)
No pilot shall operate a remotely piloted aircraft at an altitude greater than 400 feet (122 m) AGL.
- Binding lawNational rule
Minimum Distance from Uninvolved Persons
The operation must be conducted at least 100 feet (30 m) horizontally, at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation.
- Binding lawNational rule
Minimum Horizontal Distance for Medium RPA from Uninvolved Persons
No pilot shall operate a medium remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation at a distance of less than 500 feet (152.4 m), measured horizontally and at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation, unless the operation is conducted under Division V.
- Binding lawNational rule
Minimum Horizontal Distance for Small RPA from Uninvolved Persons
No pilot shall operate a small remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation at a distance of less than 100 feet (30 m), measured horizontally and at any altitude, from any person not involved in the operation, unless the operation is conducted under Division V.
Official sources
- Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433), Part IX - Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems — Transport Canada Civil AviationOpen
Known limitations
- 1 dimension(s) of this topic are not expressed in a machine-resolvable way by the published corpus and are reported UNKNOWN, never FALSE.
How this works across countries: Maximum altitude
Other drone rules in Canada
- Do I need to register my drone in Canada?Registration in Canada depends on the aircraft and the operation: it applies once the published conditions below are met, each cited to the rule that sets it.
- Can I fly a drone near an airport in Canada?Drone flights near aerodromes in Canada are governed by airspace and aerodrome restrictions: whether permission is needed depends on the airspace, distance or aerodrome type published below.
- Is BVLOS drone flight allowed in Canada?BVLOS in Canada runs through a defined authorisation pathway rather than an open permission: the published conditions below set out what that pathway requires.
- When does a drone operation need authorisation in Canada?Whether an operation in Canada needs prior authorisation depends on the operational category, risk class or location: the published triggers below decide it.
- What training do I need to fly a drone in Canada?Remote pilot competency in Canada is triggered by the operation and by a published mass threshold of 0.25 kg. Which training, examination or proof of competency applies is set by the conditions below.
Built around official regulatory sources
- Official sources
- Regulation-level citations
- Coverage and freshness checks
- Location-aware data where available
Built from 7 published facts (7 binding), each resting only on the 12 citable published rules for Canada (8 shown above). Sources last verified 2026-08-23. Page built 2026-10-07 (dataset ds_4w2tpw7xmph8a92vstdt6prfbm).
Ask Drone Assistant about altitude limits in Canada
This page answers "What is the maximum drone altitude in Canada?" for the general case. Ask about your own aircraft, weight and location to see which of the 8 rules above actually apply to you.
This page gives general regulatory information. It is not flight clearance, operational authorisation or legal advice, and it does not guarantee that a flight is legal. See sources and methodology and terms.