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Flying a Drone in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

How to register with ANAC, take the free A1/A3 pilot exam, insure a drone over 900 grams, and get AAN permission to film from the air.

The Portugal Brief 10 min read

Flying a Drone in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You live in Portugal, EU or non-EU, and own or plan to buy a drone for fun, property, or content.
  • You are visiting from another EU country or from outside the EU with a drone.
  • Your drone has a camera and you want to film and publish footage taken in Portugal.

Not for you if: you fly heavier drones, beyond line of sight, or over crowds for a business. That is the Specific category and needs an ANAC operational authorisation this guide does not cover. For beach rules rather than flying rules, read Going to the Beach in Portugal instead.

Flying a drone in Portugal means dealing with two authorities. ANAC, the civil aviation authority, decides whether you may fly. The AAN, the national aeronautical authority, decides whether you may film from the air. Registration, the online pilot exam, and the filming permit are all free. Registration takes minutes once you have a Digital Mobile Key. The exam takes an evening. The filming permit needs ten days' notice. Insurance is compulsory only for drones over 900 grams.

Who has to register as a drone operator

You register as an operator, meaning the person responsible for the flights. You do not register each drone. One registration covers every drone you fly.

You must register with ANAC if any of these is true of your drone:

  • It weighs 250 grams or more at take-off.
  • It can transfer more than 80 joules of energy on impact.
  • It carries a camera, microphone, or other sensor that can capture personal data.

The third rule catches almost everyone. A drone under 250 grams with a camera still needs a registered operator. The only exception is a drone that meets the EU toy safety rules.

Where you register depends on where you live:

  • You live in Portugal: register with ANAC.
  • You live in another EU country: register in your home country. That registration is valid in Portugal, and you cannot register twice.
  • You live outside the EU and are visiting: you register with ANAC using the same process as a resident.
  • Your company is based outside the EU: it must be set up in Portugal first, with a Portuguese address, a tax number (NIF), and an active Digital Mobile Key.

How to register with ANAC

Registration is online. ANAC's guidance mentions no fee.

  1. Get a Digital Mobile Key (Chave Móvel Digital). It is free. If you have no Portuguese citizen card, you activate it in person at a public service counter. You can use your passport or your residence card. With a residence card you also need a NIF.
  2. Log in at uas.anac.pt. ANAC's registration tutorial uses the Digital Mobile Key to sign in.
  3. Complete the operator form. Give your contact details. If your drone is over 900 grams, add your insurance policy details.
  4. Wait for ANAC to validate the application. Your operator number then appears on your dashboard.
  5. Put the number on every drone. Use a sticker where it can be read. If your drone has remote identification, enter the number there too.

Keep the registration alive. ANAC says you must revalidate every three years by logging in and checking your details. If you do not, ANAC revokes the number and you cannot get it back. You then start again.

Which pilot certificate you need

Registration says who is responsible. Pilot competence is separate. The minimum age for the A1/A3 course is 16.

If your drone is under 250 grams or carries a C0 class mark, the EU rules do not require a pilot certificate. You may still need operator registration because of the camera. The EU aviation agency still recommends the free online course.

The A1/A3 certificate (the one most people need). You take the course and the exam online at rp.anac.pt. ANAC is the only body in Portugal that runs this training and exam. No private course is recognised.

  • Log in with your Digital Mobile Key. If you are not Portuguese, ANAC can create an account for you when you send its registration form.
  • Read all the course material. Each page has a minimum reading time and you cannot skip it.
  • Sit the exam: 40 questions, a pass mark of 75%, and only one attempt.
  • Your enrolment lasts one month, so do not leave the exam to the last day.

The A2 certificate (only to fly closer to people). You need a valid A1/A3 certificate first. You upload a signed self-training declaration. The exam is in person at ANAC's exam room, with 30 questions and the same 75% pass mark. Enrolment lasts six months.

Validity. Both certificates last five years. If you do not renew, they lapse.

ANAC currently charges no fees for these courses and exams.

Where and how you may fly

Almost all private flying falls into the Open category, for drones under 25 kilograms. You need no authorisation from ANAC, but these rules apply:

  • Keep the drone in sight at all times.
  • Stay no higher than 120 metres above the ground, or lower if the zone says so.
  • Never fly over crowds or gatherings of people.
  • Never fly near a rescue, firefighting, or other emergency operation without the commander's permission.

The three subcategories set how close to people you may fly:

SubcategoryWhich dronesDistance from uninvolved people
A1Under 250 grams, or class C0 or C1You may briefly overfly people, but never crowds
A2Class C2 only, with the A2 certificate30 metres, or 5 metres in low-speed mode
A3Up to 25 kilograms150 metres from people and from homes, shops, industry, and parks

Drones without a class mark. Under the EU rules, a drone with no class mark may fly in A1 if it weighs under 250 grams. If it weighs more, it may only fly in A3, far from people.

Remote identification. In the Open category, you need remote identification only where a geographic zone requires it, and only for C1, C2, and C3 drones.

Whether you need insurance

If your drone's maximum operational mass is over 900 grams, third-party liability insurance is compulsory in Portugal. Many mid-range camera drones are over this line. Below 900 grams no policy is required. If you already have liability cover through sport (for example, a model aircraft club), you do not need a separate policy.

The law sets a minimum insured amount per year, whatever the number of claims. It is fixed in Special Drawing Rights (SDR), a currency unit of the International Monetary Fund:

Drone weightMinimum cover
Over 900 grams to 1.5 kilograms260,000 SDR
Over 1.5 kilograms to 4 kilograms380,000 SDR
Over 4 kilograms to 20 kilograms560,000 SDR
Over 20 kilograms750,000 SDR

The euro value moves with the exchange rate. Ask the insurer to confirm the SDR band in writing.

What the policy must do:

  • Cover accidents in flight and on the ground anywhere in Portugal.
  • Cover claims made up to one year after the policy ends, unless a later policy covers them.
  • Pay the injured person in full. If your policy has an excess, the insurer recovers it from you afterwards.

The policy may exclude damage to you and your household. It always excludes fines and legal costs.

Getting permission to film from the air

This is the step most people miss. Capturing images or other data from the air over Portugal needs authorisation from the AAN. ANAC's own guide sends camera-drone owners to the AAN.

  1. Register on the e-AAN platform at imagensaereas.aan.pt. Sign and upload the declaration of commitment on honour.
  2. Enter your drone, pilot, and insurance details.
  3. Submit a request for each filming period, with the place and dates. The AAN no longer accepts email, post, or fax.
  4. Wait for the decision. Where the airspace is under military control, the AAN asks the Air Force for an opinion itself. You do not contact the Air Force.

Plan around ten days. Only requests received ten days in advance are guaranteed an answer in time. A request sent after 17:00 for the next day cannot be processed automatically.

Each permit lasts up to 30 days in a row. Since 24 March 2025 the AAN does not issue longer permits. Registration and permits are free.

Where you cannot fly

Check the geographic zones before every flight. ANAC publishes them at uas.anac.pt/explore and in the VOANABOA app. Zones change, and some are temporary.

The main limits in the Open category:

  • International airports: flying is banned in the inner zone. Around it, the height limit is 30 metres in Area 1, 60 metres in Area 2, and 80 metres in Area 3. Lisbon's airport sits inside the city, so much of central Lisbon is affected.
  • Emergency medical helipads: no flying within 1 kilometre.
  • Civil aerodromes and heliports: within 2.5 kilometres you need the director's permission.
  • Military areas: you need AAN permission.
  • Protected natural areas: you need permission from the nature conservation body. That is the ICNF on the mainland, the IFCN in Madeira, and the regional environment directorate in the Azores.

Much of Portugal's coast and countryside is protected, so check before you travel.

Filming people and privacy

Aviation permission is only half of it. A camera over a beach, a street, or a garden also raises data protection issues. Filming people you can identify, or private property, without a lawful reason can breach the GDPR. Complaints go to the CNPD, Portugal's data protection authority. Keep the camera away from crowds, gardens, and windows.

If you are visiting from outside the EU

The main hurdle is the Digital Mobile Key.

  • If you already hold an operator registration from an EU country, use it here and skip ANAC registration.
  • If Portugal is your first EU stop, you register with ANAC. That needs a Digital Mobile Key, activated in person with your passport.
  • Under 250 grams, you need no pilot certificate. Under 900 grams, you need no insurance.
  • You still need the AAN filming permit. Apply from home at least ten days before you fly.

What the fines are

Breaking the drone rules is an aviation offence. The fine depends on how serious the offence is and whether it was careless or deliberate. For an individual, the ranges are:

LevelExamplesFine if carelessFine if deliberate
Very seriousFlying unregistered, breaking a geographic zone, flying too high, flying near an emergency€1,000 to €2,500€2,000 to €4,000
SeriousLosing sight of the drone, breaking the A1, A2, or A3 distance rules, flying without the right training€250 to €500€500 to €1,500
MinorFlying with an expired pilot certificate€150 to €300€300 to €1,000

Companies pay more. ANAC can also suspend your certificates for up to two years. Flying without compulsory insurance, filming without AAN permission, and breaching privacy law are dealt with separately.

Pre-flight checklist

  1. Activate a Digital Mobile Key.
  2. Register at uas.anac.pt and put the operator number on every drone. Revalidate every three years.
  3. Take the free A1/A3 course and exam at rp.anac.pt: 40 questions, 75%, one attempt, valid five years.
  4. If the drone is over 900 grams, buy liability insurance in the right SDR band.
  5. If the drone has a camera, register on e-AAN and apply at least ten days before you fly.
  6. Check uas.anac.pt/explore or VOANABOA before every flight, and get any permission the map calls for.
  7. Fly in sight, under 120 metres, never over crowds, and never near an emergency.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the ANAC and AAN pages before you fly, because zones and procedures change.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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