Do you need a licence to fly a drone in Estonia?
No licence — but registration and a certificate, yes. A drone in the open category need not be registered — but the operator must be, meaning the flyer themselves or their company. Where the drone weighs 250 grams or more, the remote pilot needs an A1/A3 basic competency certificate, obtained by working through the Transport Administration's materials and passing a test in the LOIS system. The maximum flight height is 120 metres, but lower limits apply in some areas and they are marked on the drone map. A3 means flying at least 150 metres away from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas.
📋 The rules
- The operator must register
- From 250 g — A1/A3 certificate
- The test runs in the LOIS system
- Ceiling: 120 metres
- A3: 150 m from built-up areas
🔓 Exceptions
- Some areas have lower height limits — check the drone map
- Category A2 allows flying near people but requires a separate certificate
- No category permits flying over assemblies of people
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Two rules get broken more than any others. First, registration: what must be registered is not the drone but the operator — and people constantly confuse the two, assuming a small drone exempts them from everything. 250 grams is the threshold for the competency certificate, not for registration. Second, distance: A3 means flying away from people — at least 150 metres horizontally from uninvolved persons and from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas. That rules out most urban flying. And a third point nobody thinks through: filming brings data protection into play — recording a neighbour's garden is not “just flying”. Check the drone map before take-off.
📎 Official sources
- Transport Administration · Drones →
- Transport Administration · Operator registration →
- Transport Administration · Remote pilot certificates →
❓ Frequently asked
Must the drone be registered?
A drone in the open category need not be registered, but the operator must be — meaning the flyer themselves or their company. These two are constantly confused.
When is a certificate needed?
The A1/A3 basic certificate is mandatory where the drone weighs 250 grams or more. It is obtained by studying the Transport Administration's materials and passing a test in the LOIS system.
How high may I fly?
The maximum permitted height is 120 metres. Lower limits apply in some areas and are marked on the drone map, which is worth checking before every flight.
What does category A3 mean?
Flying away from people: at least 150 metres horizontally from uninvolved persons and from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas. It rules out most flying inside towns.
May I film with a drone?
Filming brings data protection rules into play. Systematically recording a neighbour's garden or identifiable people is not merely flying and can carry separate liability.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “drone registration estonia”
- “drone a1 a3 certificate estonia”
- “drone flight height 120 metres estonia”
- “does a small drone need registering estonia”
- “drone map estonia”
- “filming with a drone rules estonia”