# Drone laws in Netherlands > Structured, citation-backed drone regulation information for Netherlands, published by Drone Assistant from official sources. Every claim below links to the official material it came from. This is not legal advice, coverage is not exhaustive, and the linked official source governs. > Limited guide. Drone Assistant's coverage of Netherlands 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 Netherlands's drone law; check the linked sources or ask the assistant about your own flight. Canonical page: [https://droneassistant.com/drone-laws/netherlands](https://droneassistant.com/drone-laws/netherlands) This Markdown file is a machine-readable representation of that page. It is generated from the same published data; it is not a separate content source. ## Regulatory framework - Jurisdiction: Netherlands - Responsible aviation authority: [Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate) (ILT)](https://www.ilent.nl) - Framework type: national rules within an inherited framework - Inherited from: EU/EASA framework — [https://droneassistant.com/drone-laws/europe](https://droneassistant.com/drone-laws/europe) - Published rules held for this jurisdiction: 30 Netherlands applies the inherited EU/EASA framework. Rules below marked as framework rules are inherited rather than uniquely national, and a national rule may add to, restrict or clarify them. Legal status is stated for every rule below: binding law, AMC/GM (acceptable means of compliance and guidance material), authority guidance or other non-binding material. Guidance is never a statutory maximum in itself. ## Registration and pilot requirements ### Remote pilot competency - Question: What training do I need to fly a drone in Netherlands? - Answer state: Conditional - Scope: What training, examination or proof of competency a remote pilot must hold. Remote pilot competency in Netherlands scales with the operation: which training, examination or proof of competency applies is set by the published conditions below. Published figures: - Minimum age: 16 years (binding law) - Weight-based trigger: 0.25 kg (binding law) Operating categories distinguished by the published rules: a1, a2, a3, open. What changes the answer: - Flight altitude at or below 120 m (altitude) - Examination questions at or above 30 questions (other) Rules behind this answer: - **Flight and day distribution requirements for special rating experience** (Artikel 4) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. The experience required for renewing special ratings must be obtained during at least six flights on six different days, with the last three flights occurring within 90 days before the application. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) - **Flight Instructor RPA Rating Eligibility Requirements** (Regeling op afstand bestuurde luchtvaartuigen, artikel 3, lid 2) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. To obtain the Flight Instructor (RPA) rating, an applicant must hold an RPA-L with the ratings they intend to instruct and have at least eight hours of pilot-in-command experience within the two years preceding the application. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) - **Renewal requirements for Flight Instructor RPA general rating** (Artikel 4) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. To renew the general Flight Instructor RPA rating, the applicant must hold an RPA-L with the relevant ratings and have at least 12 hours of pilot-in-command experience within the preceding two years. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) - **Requirements for Issuance of RPA Class Ratings** (Regeling op afstand bestuurde luchtvaartuigen, artikel 3, lid 4) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. To obtain the class ratings referred to in Article 2, parts b and c, the applicant must demonstrate compliance with the knowledge, skill, and experience requirements set out in Annex 1 of this regulation. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) - **Requirements for Issuance of Special Rating** (Regeling op afstand bestuurde luchtvaartuigen, artikel 3, lid 3) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. The applicant must demonstrate compliance with the knowledge, skill, and experience requirements in Annex 1 to obtain the special rating referred to in Article 2, part a. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) - **Requirements for RPA-L with VLOS or EVLOS Rating** (Regeling op afstand bestuurde luchtvaartuigen, artikel 3, lid 1) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. An applicant must demonstrate compliance with the knowledge, skill, and experience requirements in Annex 1 to be issued an RPA-L with a VLOS or EVLOS rating. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) - **Validity and renewal of Article 2(a) special rating** (Artikel 4) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. The special rating referred to in Article 2(a) is valid for a maximum of two years and can be renewed for two-year periods if the applicant has at least two hours of experience per year with the relevant activities in the preceding two years. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) - **Validity and renewal of Article 2(b) and (c) special ratings** (Artikel 4) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. The special ratings referred to in Article 2(b) and (c) are valid for a maximum of two years and can be renewed for two-year periods if the applicant has at least two hours of experience per year with RPA operations in the relevant class in the preceding two years. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) Last verified: 2026-09-12. ## Operating rules ### Operations over people - Question: Can I fly a drone over people in Netherlands? - Answer state: Conditional - Scope: Whether flights over uninvolved people are allowed, and under which safeguards. Flight over uninvolved people is treated as a higher-risk operation in Netherlands: it is available only where the published conditions below — class, mass, separation or authorisation — are satisfied. Published figures: - Separation distance: 30 m (binding law) - Weight condition: 0.25 kg (guidance) Operating categories distinguished by the published rules: a1, a2, open. What changes the answer: - Speed limit of 80 km/h (other) - Horizontal distance at or above 30 m (location) - Horizontal distance at or above 150 m (location) Rules behind this answer: - **Special Rating for RPA Operations in Unpopulated Areas** (Regeling op afstand bestuurde luchtvaartuigen, artikel 2) — binding law; national rule; Secondary legislation — binding law. The Minister may issue a special rating for operating an RPA with a maximum take-off mass of up to 150 kg in unpopulated areas, excluding operations over crowds, built-up areas, structures, industrial/harbor areas, railways, active motorways, highways, or roads with an 80 km/h speed limit. [Official source](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) - **Article 6 - section overview** (Article 6) — binding law; EU/EASA framework rule; EU regulation — binding law. This section defines the criteria for classifying UAS operations in the 'certified' category, which is based either on specific high-risk operational conditions (such as transporting people or flying over assemblies) or on a risk assessment by the competent authority. [Official source](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02019R0945-20250624) - **Minimum horizontal distance from populated areas in subcategory A3** (UAS.OPEN.040(2)) — binding law; EU/EASA framework rule; National binding rule — binding law. UAS operations in subcategory A3 must be conducted at a safe horizontal distance of at least 150 metres from residential, commercial, industrial, or recreational areas. [Official source](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02019R0945-20250624) - **No endangerment of uninvolved persons in subcategory A3** (UAS.OPEN.040(1)) — binding law; EU/EASA framework rule; National binding rule — binding law. UAS operations in subcategory A3 must be conducted in an area where the remote pilot reasonably expects that no uninvolved person will be endangered within the range where the unmanned aircraft is flown during the entire time of the UAS operation. [Official source](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02019R0945-20250624) - **No overflight and minimum horizontal distance from uninvolved persons in subcategory A2** (UAS.OPEN.030(1)) — binding law; EU/EASA framework rule; National binding rule — binding law. UAS operations in subcategory A2 shall be conducted in such a way that the unmanned aircraft does not overfly uninvolved persons, and shall take place at a safe horizontal distance of at least 30 metres from them. [Official source](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02019R0945-20250624) - **Overflight of uninvolved persons with class C0, privately built and legacy UAS in subcategory A1** (UAS.OPEN.020(2)) — binding law; EU/EASA framework rule; National binding rule — binding law. In subcategory A1, operations with an unmanned aircraft referred to in points (5)(a), (5)(b) and (5)(c) of UAS.OPEN.020 may overfly uninvolved persons, but shall never overfly assemblies of people. [Official source](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02019R0945-20250624) - **Overflight restrictions for Class C1 UAS in subcategory A1** (UAS.OPEN.020(1)) — binding law; EU/EASA framework rule; National binding rule — binding law. Operations with Class C1 unmanned aircraft must be conducted so that the remote pilot does not overfly assemblies of people, reasonably expects no uninvolved persons will be overflown, and minimizes overflight time if unexpected overflight occurs. [Official source](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02019R0945-20250624) - **Pre-flight Environment and Obstacle Assessment** (UAS.OPEN.060(1)(c)) — binding law; EU/EASA framework rule; National binding rule — binding law. Before starting a UAS operation, the remote pilot must observe the operating environment, check for obstacles, and check for the presence of uninvolved persons. [Official source](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02019R0945-20250624) Limitations of this coverage: - 1 dimension(s) of this topic are not expressed in a machine-resolvable way by the published corpus and are reported UNKNOWN, never FALSE. Last verified: 2026-09-12. ## Airspace and geographical zones ### Aerodromes and controlled airspace - Question: Can I fly a drone near an airport in Netherlands? - Answer state: No - Scope: What permission or distance applies around aerodromes and in controlled airspace. This summary is withheld because a rule it relied on is no longer published. Ask the assistant for a current, cited answer. Last verified: 2026-10-04. ## Visual line of sight (VLOS) Requirement (acceptable means of compliance / guidance material, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)): VLOS is determined by whether the remote pilot can keep the unmanned aircraft in unaided visual contact. EASA guidance treats the maximum possible VLOS distance as the smaller of the attitude line of sight (ALOS) and the detection line of sight (DLOS); anything beyond that is BVLOS. - Distance: Depends on aircraft size and visibility - What that means: European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) publishes a method for working this out. The requirement to fly within visual line of sight is itself binding; it is this way of calculating a practical distance that comes from acceptable means of compliance / guidance material, so the result is not a statutory maximum in itself. - Legal status of the governing material: acceptable means of compliance / guidance material (not a statutory maximum in itself) - Governing layer: inherited framework (eu-easa) - Depends on: the aircraft's characteristic dimension - Depends on: the ground visibility at the site - Published expression: ALOSmax = 327 x CD + 20 m - Published expression: ALOSmax = 490 x CD + 30 m - Published expression: DLOSmax = 0.3 x ground visibility - Worked example published by the authority: 1 m (rotary wing) — 347 m - Worked example published by the authority: 1 m (fixed wing) — 520 m - Worked example published by the authority: 2 m (rotary wing) — 674 m - Worked example published by the authority: 2 m (fixed wing) — 1010 m - Worked example published by the authority: 3 m (rotary wing) — 1000 m - Worked example published by the authority: 3 m (fixed wing) — 1500 m - Worked example published by the authority: 3.5 m (rotary wing) — 1164.5 m - Worked example published by the authority: 3.5 m (fixed wing) — 1500 m - Worked example published by the authority: 4 m (rotary wing) — 1328 m - Worked example published by the authority: 4 m (fixed wing) — 1500 m - Worked example published by the authority: 4.53 m (rotary wing) — 1500 m - Worked example published by the authority: 4.53 m (fixed wing) — 1500 m - Visual observer: An observer may assist the remote pilot, but the remote pilot remains responsible for maintaining visual line of sight and the operating range is not extended. - Legal status: acceptable means of compliance / guidance material (inherited framework) - First-person view (FPV): UA observers may also be used when the remote pilot conducts UAS operations in first-person view (FPV). In any case, including during FPV operations, the remote pilot is still responsible for the safety of the flight. (acceptable means of compliance / guidance material) - The remote pilot remains responsible for the safety of the flight at all times. - A UA observer may be used and must be situated alongside the remote pilot. - Visibility: Visibility is part of the published method: DLOSmax = 0.3 x ground visibility Layers that apply: - Inherited (eu-easa), acceptable means of compliance / guidance material, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA): VLOS is determined by whether the remote pilot can keep the unmanned aircraft in unaided visual contact. EASA guidance treats the maximum possible VLOS distance as the smaller of the attitude line of sight (ALOS) and the detection line of sight (DLOS); anything beyond that is BVLOS. - Method: The maximum possible distance results from the smaller value of ALOS and DLOS. Anything beyond that is considered BVLOS. VLOS sources: - [Easy Access Rules for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Revision from June 2026 - Annex to AMC3 UAS.SPEC.030(3)(e), A.5.2.5-A.5.2.6; GM1 UAS.OPEN.060(4)](https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/easy-access-rules/easy-access-rules-unmanned-aircraft-systems) — European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); acceptable means of compliance / guidance material, last verified 2026-09-07 ## Official sources - [Regeling zonering onbemande luchtvaartuigen (BWBR0044597, consolidated)](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0044597) — Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate); Secondary legislation — binding law; last verified 2026-08-28 - [Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02019R0945-20250624) — National binding rule — binding law; last verified 2026-08-21 - [Rijksoverheid — Waar mag ik vliegen met een drone](https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/vraag-en-antwoord/drone/waar-mag-ik-vliegen-met-een-drone) — Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate); Authority guidance — not binding law; last verified 2026-09-29 - [LVNL — Drone services](https://en.lvnl.nl/services/drones) — Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate); Authority guidance — not binding law; last verified 2026-09-29 - [Regeling op afstand bestuurde luchtvaartuigen (BWBR0036568)](https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0036568) — Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate); Secondary legislation — binding law; last verified 2026-08-27 ## Verification - Sources last verified: 2026-10-04 - Page built: 2026-10-07 - Regulations change. Where a statement says a value is unverified or not published, that describes the official material reviewed so far, not a finding that no such rule exists; please reproduce such caveats as caveats. - A rule shown here applies to this jurisdiction and to the operation described. Do not generalise it to other countries or to other categories of operation. - Site map for agents: [https://droneassistant.com/llms.txt](https://droneassistant.com/llms.txt)