Maximum drone altitude in United Kingdom
What is the maximum drone altitude in United Kingdom?
Drone flights in United Kingdom are held to a published general height limit of 120 m above_nearest_obstacle.
- General height limit
- 120 m
- Reference datum
- above_nearest_obstacle
The general height limit that applies to drone flights, and what changes it.
What the rules say
Each line is resolved from published facts of United Kingdom. "Not resolved" means the corpus does not answer it in a machine-checkable way — never that the law is silent.
- General height limit120 mYes
- Reference datumabove_nearest_obstacleYes
- Category-specific limitsConditional
- Aerodrome-related limitNot resolved
- 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
Altitude above obstacle at or below 15 m
- altitude
Obstacle height above 105 m
- location
Horizontal distance at or below 50 m
- weight threshold
Take-off mass at or above 250 g
The rules behind this answer
- Binding lawNational rule
Altitude Exception for Unmanned Sailplanes under 10 kg
Unmanned sailplanes with a MTOM, including payload, of less than 10 kg, may be flown at a distance in excess of 120 metres from the closest point of the surface of the earth, provided that the unmanned sailplane is not flown at a height greater than 120 metres above the remote pilot at any time.
- Binding lawNational rule
Altitude Exception Near Tall Artificial Obstacles
When flying an unmanned aircraft within a horizontal distance of 50 metres from an artificial obstacle taller than 105 metres, the maximum height of the UAS operation may be increased up to 15 metres above the height of the obstacle at the request of the entity responsible for the obstacle.
- Binding lawNational rule
CAA Permission for Non-Compliance with Specific Tethered SUA Requirements
A remote pilot may fly a tethered small unmanned aircraft in non-compliance with specified height, overflight, distance, and VLOS requirements if the flight is in accordance with a permission issued by the CAA to the UAS operator.
- Binding lawNational rule
Maximum Altitude Limit
During flight, the unmanned aircraft must be maintained within 120 metres from the closest point of the surface of the earth, except when overflying an obstacle.
- Binding lawNational rule
Maximum Altitude Limit from Surface of the Earth
The unmanned aircraft shall be maintained within 120 metres from the closest point of the surface of the earth.
- Binding lawNational rule
Remote Pilot Compliance Requirements for Tethered Small Unmanned Aircraft of 250g or More
A remote pilot must not fly a tethered small unmanned aircraft with an MTOM of 250g or more unless they comply with specified provisions of Part A of the Annex to the Unmanned Aircraft Implementing Regulation.
- Binding lawNational rule
Remote Pilot Compliance Requirements for Tethered Small Unmanned Aircraft under 250g
A remote pilot must not fly a tethered small unmanned aircraft with an MTOM of less than 250g unless they comply with specified provisions of Part A of the Annex to the Unmanned Aircraft Implementing Regulation.
- Binding lawNational rule
Requirement for Operational Authorisation in Specific Category
A UAS operator must obtain an operational authorisation from the CAA if any requirement of the Open category (Article 4 or Part A of the Annex) is not met.
Official sources
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 United Kingdom
- Do I need to register my drone in United Kingdom?Registration in United Kingdom is governed by a published mass threshold of 0.1 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 United Kingdom?Drone flights near aerodromes in United Kingdom are governed by airspace and aerodrome restrictions: whether permission is needed depends on the airspace, distance or aerodrome type published below.
- When does a drone operation need authorisation in United Kingdom?Whether an operation in United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom?Remote pilot competency in United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom?Whether drone insurance is required in United Kingdom depends on the aircraft and the operation, as published in the conditions below.
Built around official regulatory sources
- Official sources
- Regulation-level citations
- Coverage and freshness checks
- Location-aware data where available
Built from 12 published facts (8 binding) held for United Kingdom. Dataset ds_55k3jghy8xqzcekzeepwdmanya · generated 2026-09-02 · sources last verified 2026-08-21.
Ask Drone Assistant about altitude limits in United Kingdom
This page answers "What is the maximum drone altitude in United Kingdom?" 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.