Drone operational authorisation in Spain

What the rules say

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

• Authorisation requiredConditional
• Trigger statedConditional
• Issuing authorityConditional
• Application modelexemptionYes
• Risk assessmentConditional
• Standard scenario routeConditional
• Declaration routeConditional
• Generic or organisational privilegeConditional
• ValidityConditional
• Repeat operationsNot resolved
• Digital applicationConditional

What changes the answer

The published rules distinguish the certified, open and specific categories of operation.

• altitude

  Flight altitude at or below 120 m

• pilot certification

  Pilot age at or above 16 years

The rules behind this answer

• Binding lawNational rule

  Annulment of UAS transfer reporting obligation

  The obligation to report the transfer of registered unmanned aircraft to the registry is null and void following a Supreme Court ruling.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Equipment exemption for open category outside geographical zones

  General airspace equipment requirements are not applicable to UAS operated in the open category outside UAS geographical zones.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Equipment exemption for specific and certified categories up to 120 meters

  General airspace equipment requirements are not applicable to UAS operated in the specific or certified categories outside UAS geographical zones at or below 120 meters, unless required by EU law.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Equipment requirements in UAS geographical zones

  UAS operating within UAS geographical zones must comply with the equipment requirements established for the respective zone.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Exemption for Infrastructure Owners and Managers

  The prohibitions and limitations on operating within essential services geographical zones do not apply to UAS operations conducted directly or indirectly by the owner or responsible manager of the infrastructure.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Exemption from Appendix 3 requirements

  National standard scenarios may exempt from the requirements of Appendix 3 when, due to the low risk levels of the corresponding scenario, compliance is not necessary.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Exemption from coordination procedure for urgent operations near private aerodromes

  UAS operations in non-EASA activities do not require the coordination procedure of Article 43 near private-use aerodromes or heliports if the operation is urgent, unplannable, and covered by an operational risk assessment with equivalent safety mitigations.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Exemption from overflight prohibitions and safety distances by building owners or authorities

  The competent body, owner, or responsible administrator of a building, house, or residence (including recreational areas, patios, and similar areas) may, upon prior request from the UAS operator, exempt them from or reduce the overflight prohibition and the safety distances of 5m and 30m, provided other operational conditions and applicable UAS geographical zone rules are met.

  Open the requirementOfficial source

Official sources

• Real Decreto 517/2024, de 4 de junio, por el que se desarrolla el regimen juridico para la utilizacion civil de sistemas de aeronaves no tripuladas (UAS) — Ministerio del InteriorOpen

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 Spain

• Do I need to register my drone in Spain?Registration in Spain 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.
• What is the maximum drone altitude in Spain?Drone flights in Spain 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.
• Can I fly a drone near an airport in Spain?Drone flights near aerodromes in Spain are governed by airspace and aerodrome restrictions: whether permission is needed depends on the airspace, distance or aerodrome type published below.
• What training do I need to fly a drone in Spain?Remote pilot competency in Spain scales with the operation: which training, examination or proof of competency applies is set by the published conditions below.
• Do I need drone insurance in Spain?Drone insurance in Spain is published with a minimum third-party cover of 0.75 million SDR. Whether cover is required for a given flight depends on the published conditions below.

All drone laws in Spain