Flying a drone at night in New Zealand

What the rules say

Each line is resolved from published facts of New Zealand. "Not resolved" means the corpus does not answer it in a machine-checkable way — never that the law is silent.

• Night flight permittedNo
• Authorisation requiredConditional
• Lighting requirementConditional
• Pilot requirementConditional
• Operational conditionsNo
• ExceptionsNot resolved

The rules behind this answer

• Binding lawNational rule

  Night operations

  A person must not operate a remotely piloted aircraft or free flight model aircraft at night unless they comply with the circumstances and conditions specified in a transport instrument.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Night Operations Equipment and Multi-Aircraft Limits

  A person operating a remotely piloted aircraft or free flight model aircraft at night must ensure the aircraft is equipped with appropriate orientation lighting and must not operate more than one aircraft at a time.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Night operations requirements

  A person must only operate a remotely piloted aircraft or free flight model aircraft at night if they have completed approved night training, completed a 30-minute shielded night flight if they have not flown at night in the last 90 days, equipped the aircraft with orientation lighting, and operate only one aircraft at a time.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Night Operations Restriction

  A person must not operate a remotely piloted aircraft at night unless the operation is conducted indoors or as a shielded operation.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Night operations training and recency requirements

  To operate a remotely piloted aircraft or free flight model aircraft at night, the pilot must complete an approved night training course, perform a 30-minute shielded night flight if they have not flown at night in the last 90 days, equip the aircraft with orientation lighting, and operate only one aircraft at a time.

  Open the requirementOfficial source

Official sources

• Civil Aviation Rules Part 101 — Gyrogliders and Parasails, Unmanned Aircraft (including Balloons), Kites, and Rockets — Operating Rules (consolidation) — Airways New ZealandOpen
• Civil Aviation Transport Instrument (CATI) 101-1 — technical standards for Part 101 operations — Airways New ZealandOpen

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.

Other drone rules in New Zealand

• Do I need to register my drone in New Zealand?Registration in New Zealand depends on the aircraft and the operation: it applies once the published conditions below are met, each cited to the rule that sets it.
• What is the maximum drone altitude in New Zealand?Drone flights in New Zealand are held to a published general height limit of 121.92 m AGL. The limit is not absolute: the published conditions that change it are cited below.
• Can I fly a drone near an airport in New Zealand?Drone flights near aerodromes in New Zealand 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 New Zealand?BVLOS in New Zealand 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 New Zealand?Whether an operation in New Zealand 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 New Zealand?Proof of competency is required. Published rules in New Zealand require the remote pilot to hold the competency described below before operating.

All drone laws in New Zealand