Remote pilot competency in Switzerland

What the rules say

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

• Competency requiredYes
• Training requiredYes
• Examination requiredYes
• Proof of competency issuedConditional
• Operation-specific qualificationConditional
• Validity periodConditional
• Renewal or recurrent trainingConditional
• Minimum ageNot resolved
• Weight-based triggerNot resolved

What changes the answer

The published rules distinguish the a1, a2 and a3 category of operation.

The rules behind this answer

• Binding lawNational rule

  Minimum age for Specific category

  The minimum age for remote pilots of unmanned aircraft in the "specific" category is 14 years.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Model aircraft pilot association membership or guideline compliance

  To operate a model aircraft as part of a club or association, the pilot must be a member of an approved model aircraft association or club, or undertake to comply with the Swiss Model Aircraft Association's (SMV) publicly available guidelines.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Sobriety and Substance Testing for Crew Members

  Crew members showing signs of intoxication or the influence of narcotics or psychotropic substances must undergo appropriate testing, and the FOCA or police may order alcohol or blood tests.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• GuidanceNational rule

  dLIS Prerequisite for A2 and STS Applications

  Candidates must complete the A1/A3 certificate in the dLIS platform before they can apply for an A2 or STS certificate.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• GuidanceNational rule

  Minimum Age for Drone Pilots

  The minimum age for operating a drone in Switzerland is 12 years in the Open category and 14 years in the Specific category, unless a child under 12 is directly supervised by a person who is at least 16 years old and holds the required competencies.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• GuidanceNational rule

  Minimum age for remote pilots in the Open category

  Remote pilots operating in the Open category must be at least 12 years old, unless they are supervised by a person who is at least 16 years old and holds the necessary certificates.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• GuidanceNational rule

  Minimum age for remote pilots in the Specific category

  Remote pilots operating in the Specific category must be at least 14 years old and hold the required certificates.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• GuidanceNational rule

  Renewal of Expired Certificates

  If a remote pilot certificate has already expired, the pilot must complete the entire training and examination process again from the beginning, starting from the A1/A3 level, to renew it.

  Open the requirementOfficial source

Official sources

• SR 748.941 — DETEC Ordinance on Special Category Aircraft (OSCA), consolidated text (EN) — Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation UVEK / DETECOpen
• SR 748.0 — Bundesgesetz über die Luftfahrt (Luftfahrtgesetz, LFG), consolidated text — Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation UVEK / DETECOpen
• FOCA — Remote pilots: training and competency (official guidance, EN) — Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation UVEK / DETECOpen
• FOCA — Drohnen: Fragen und Antworten (official FAQ, DE) — Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation UVEK / DETECOpen

Known limitations

• Binding law and official guidance disagree on pilot_competency.competency_required; the binding position is published.
• Binding law and official guidance disagree on pilot_competency.exam_required; the binding position is published.
• Binding law and official guidance disagree on pilot_competency.training_required; the binding position is published.
• 2 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 Switzerland

• Do I need to register my drone in Switzerland?Registration in Switzerland depends on the aircraft and the operation: it applies once the published conditions below are met, each cited to the rule that sets it.
• When does a drone operation need authorisation in Switzerland?Whether an operation in Switzerland needs prior authorisation depends on the operational category, risk class or location: the published triggers below decide it.
• Do I need drone insurance in Switzerland?Whether drone insurance is required in Switzerland depends on the aircraft and the operation, as published in the conditions below.

All drone laws in Switzerland