UK Drone Laws 2026: Registration, Flyer ID and Flying Categories

Flying a drone or model aircraft in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and the rulebook changed substantially on 1 January 2026. The old flat "250g and up needs registration" shorthand no longer describes the law. Registration now turns on weight, on whether the aircraft carries a camera, and on a new class-marking system that is already live, not proposed.

Do You Need to Register?

Registration in the UK is split between two separate IDs, and since 1 January 2026 which ones you need depends on both the weight of the aircraft and whether it carries a camera.

The middle band is the one most people get wrong. A 150g camera drone needs both a Flyer ID and an Operator ID. A 150g camera-free model aircraft, such as a traditional foam glider or a fixed-wing trainer with no onboard camera, only needs a Flyer ID; the Operator ID becomes optional. Once an aircraft reaches 250g, the camera question stops mattering and both IDs are required regardless.

There is one exemption worth knowing about: you do not need a Flyer ID or an Operator ID at all if you will only ever fly indoors, or somewhere there is no possibility of the aircraft escaping into open airspace. The older toy-specific carve-out no longer operates as a separate, narrower rule alongside this; the 2026 reform folded it into the objective under-100g threshold set out in the table above.

Flyer ID and Operator ID, Explained

These are two different registrations that serve different purposes, and a single person can hold both.

Flyer ID proves you understand the rules for flying safely and legally. It is free, obtained by passing a short online theory test through the CAA's registration service, and stays valid for five years before it needs renewing. Critically, there is a minimum age: you must be at least 13 to get a Flyer ID yourself. Younger children can still fly, but a parent or guardian needs to be involved in getting the ID and, in practice, in supervising the flight.

Operator ID identifies whoever is legally responsible for the aircraft, which is not always the same person as the pilot. It costs £12.34 a year, must be renewed annually, and the holder must be at least 18. The Operator ID number has to be displayed on every aircraft that operator is responsible for, usually as a small label or engraving. One Operator ID covers every aircraft that person owns or operates, so a household with several drones does not need a separate Operator ID for each one.

UK Class Marks: UK0 to UK6

Since 1 January 2026, the UK has its own system of class marks, UK0 through UK6, which manufacturers apply to new aircraft to show which operational category and set of distance rules it is designed for. Any new drone model placed on the UK market from that date is expected to carry one of these marks.

Aircraft bought before the new system, or built without a UK mark, are not left in limbo. EU C-class marks (C0 through C6) are currently recognised as equivalent to their UK counterparts, so a C0-marked drone is treated the same way a UK0-marked drone is treated. That equivalence has an end date, though: it runs only until 31 December 2027. From 1 January 2028, EU C-class marks lose their UK equivalence and become "legacy" marks.

Aircraft with no UK mark and no EU mark at all are already "legacy" aircraft today. They are not banned, but they fly under the older weight-based rules rather than the newer class-based rules, and because a class mark is applied by the manufacturer during production, a legacy aircraft can never be retrofitted with one later.

Flying Categories: Open, Specific and Certified

Most hobbyist and low-risk commercial flying happens in the Open category, which is split into three subcategories based on how close you can get to people. Two further categories, Specific and Certified, cover higher-risk operations and sit outside the scope of this guide beyond a brief mention below.

A1: Flying Over People

A1 is the subcategory for the lightest aircraft. A sub-250g drone, or one marked UK0, UK1 or C0, can be flown over uninvolved people and closer than the standard distances that apply to heavier aircraft. That said, this exception has a hard limit that applies to every drone regardless of class or weight: no aircraft may ever be flown over a crowd or an organised assembly of people. A1 privileges apply to individuals going about their business nearby, not to gatherings.

A2: Flying Close to People

A2 lets a pilot fly closer to uninvolved people than the general rule allows, but only with an A2 Certificate of Competency (A2 CofC). For a UK2-class aircraft, the standard minimum distance from uninvolved people is 30 metres horizontally, which can be reduced to 5 metres if the aircraft is switched into an active low-speed mode. Heavier aircraft without that low-speed feature need to stay 50 metres away. The A2 CofC itself has no minimum age, but it does require the pilot to fly with direct visual line of sight and to already hold a Flyer ID, and the certificate lasts five years before it needs renewing.

A3: Flying Far from People

A3 is for aircraft, or pilots, who cannot meet the A1 or A2 conditions. The rule here is distance from areas rather than distance from individuals: at least 150 metres horizontally from residential, recreational, commercial and industrial areas. Sub-250g aircraft, and those marked UK0, UK1 or C0, are exempt from this 150-metre rule, consistent with their lighter treatment under A1.

Specific and Certified Categories

Operations that do not fit within Open category limits, such as flying beyond visual line of sight or genuinely close to people with a heavier aircraft, need an Operational Authorisation from the CAA, commonly obtained under a Pre-Defined Risk Assessment such as PDRA01. The Certified category, reserved for aircraft and operations comparable to crewed aviation in risk, sits above that again. Both are specialist territory generally used by commercial operators rather than hobbyists.

This guide covers the general framework the CAA applies across the UK. It does not cover where you are allowed to fly relative to airports, homes and other people in day-to-day terms, or how drone footage interacts with privacy law; those are covered in our companion guide on flying near people and property. It is not a substitute for checking the CAA's own registration service before you fly, and rules can change; always confirm the current position for your specific aircraft before relying on any of the figures above.