Maximum drone altitude in Finland
What is the maximum drone altitude in Finland?
Limited guide. Drone Assistant's coverage of Finland 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 Finland's drone law; check the linked sources or ask the assistant about your own flight.
Drone flights in Finland are held to a published general height limit of 120 m above_nearest_obstacle. The limit is not absolute: the published conditions that change it are cited below.
- General height limit
- 120 m
- Reference datum
- above_nearest_obstacle
The general height limit that applies to drone flights, and what changes it.
Finland applies the European Union / EASA framework. Rules marked as framework rules below are inherited, not uniquely national — see the European Union / EASA answer.
What the rules say
Each line is resolved from published facts of Finland. "Not resolved" means the corpus does not answer it in a machine-checkable way — never that the law is silent.
- General height limit120 mConditional
- Reference datumabove_nearest_obstacleYes
- Category-specific limitsConditional
- Aerodrome-related limitConditional
- Structure exceptionConditional
- Authorised exceedanceConditional
- Conditional limitsConditional
- ExceptionsConditional
What changes the answer
The published rules distinguish the open category of operation.
- altitude
Flight altitude at or below 120 m
- altitude
Flight altitude below 120 m
- altitude
Flight altitude at or above 1000 ft
- altitude
Flight altitude at or above 150 m
The rules behind this answer
- Binding lawNational rule
Minimum flight altitude for night VFR flights
Night VFR flights must be flown at an altitude of at least 300 meters (1,000 feet) above the highest obstacle within an 8-kilometer radius of the aircraft's estimated position.
- Binding lawNational rule
Minimum VFR flight altitude in other areas
In areas other than congested areas or crowds, VFR flights must not be conducted at an altitude of less than 150 meters (500 feet) above the ground or water, or 150 meters (500 feet) above the highest obstacle within a 150-meter (500 feet) radius of the aircraft.
- Binding lawNational rule
Minimum VFR flight altitude over congested areas and crowds
VFR flights must not be conducted over congested areas of cities, towns, or settlements, or over an open-air assembly of persons, at an altitude of less than 300 meters (1,000 feet) above the highest obstacle within a 600-meter radius of the aircraft.
- Binding lawNational rule
Night lighting requirement for heavy unmanned free balloons
Heavy unmanned free balloons must not be operated below a pressure altitude of 18,000 meters (60,000 feet) at night unless the balloon, its auxiliary parts, and its payload are illuminated.
- Binding lawNational rule
OPS M1-1 kohta 2.13.3 - section overview
This section establishes the minimum flight altitude for night VFR flights in Finland, requiring aircraft to fly at least 300 meters (1,000 feet) above the highest obstacle within an 8 km radius, except during takeoff, landing, or when operating under aviation regulation OPS M1-15.
- Binding lawNational rule
OPS M1-1 kohta 2.13.5 - section overview
This section defines the minimum flight altitudes for VFR flights in Finland, implementing national rules under SERA.5005(f). It establishes a minimum altitude of 300 meters (1,000 feet) over congested areas or crowds, and 150 meters (500 feet) elsewhere, with exceptions for take-off, landing, and operations under OPS M1-15.
- Binding lawEU/EASA framework rule
Article 4 - section overview
This section establishes the classification requirements for UAS operations in the 'open' category, defining limits on aircraft class, maximum take-off mass, operational distance from people, visual line of sight, maximum altitude, and cargo restrictions, as well as dividing the category into three sub-categories.
Official sources
How this works across countries: Maximum altitude
Other drone rules in Finland
- Do I need to register my drone in Finland?Registration in Finland is governed by a published mass threshold of 0.25 kg, alongside the further conditions cited below. Whether it applies to a given flight depends on those conditions, each cited to its rule.
- Can I fly a drone near an airport in Finland?Drone flights near aerodromes in Finland are governed by airspace and aerodrome restrictions: whether permission is needed depends on the airspace, distance or aerodrome type published below.
- Can I fly a drone at night in Finland?No. A published rule in Finland prohibits night operations for the operations covered here.
- When does a drone operation need authorisation in Finland?Whether an operation in Finland 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 Finland?Remote pilot competency in Finland scales with the operation: which training, examination or proof of competency applies is set by the published conditions below.
Built around official regulatory sources
- Official sources
- Regulation-level citations
- Coverage and freshness checks
- Location-aware data where available
Built from 8 published facts (8 binding), each resting only on the 27 citable published rules for Finland (8 shown above). Sources last verified 2026-08-22. Page built 2026-10-07 (dataset ds_4w2tpw7xmph8a92vstdt6prfbm).
Ask Drone Assistant about altitude limits in Finland
This page answers "What is the maximum drone altitude in Finland?" 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.