The law in the EU: one regulation, applied by each member state.

What this page rests on

The regulation is read here in its 2019 as-adopted text, from the copy published on legislation.gov.uk. It has been amended since: EUR-Lex lists consolidated versions dated 2020, 2021 and 1 May 2025, but the 2025 consolidated text returned no content when this site's research tried it. So article wording below is the 2019 text unless an EASA page is cited, and some of it may have changed. National variations were not researched. The UK is not covered here; see the law in the UK.

Categories

Under Article 4(1) as adopted, a flight is in the Open category only if:

1. the drone has a class mark under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945, is privately built, or meets Article 20;
2. its maximum take-off mass is under 25 kg;
3. it is kept a safe distance from people and is not flown over assemblies of people;
4. it is kept in visual line of sight at all times, except in follow-me mode or when an unmanned aircraft observer is used;
5. it stays within 120 m of the closest point of the earth's surface, except when overflying an obstacle;
6. it carries no dangerous goods and drops nothing.

Anything outside those limits falls into the Specific category, which needs an authorisation from the National Aviation Authority or a declaration under a standard scenario, or the Certified category (EASA FAQ 140038).

Open subcategories and class marks

EASA's Open category page gives three subcategories, A1 (over people but not over assemblies of people), A2 (close to people) and A3 (far from people), and these class marks:

All must stay below 120 m. Privately built drones, and drones placed on the market before 1 January 2024 without a class mark, may fly in A1 if under 250 g, or in A3 if under 25 kg (with registration, online training and a minimum age of 16). EASA says "privately built" means built for one's own use and excludes ready-to-assemble kits. The transitional limits of 500 g (A1), 2 kg (A2) and 25 kg (A3) ended on 31 December 2023 (EASA, 20 December 2023).

Distances

• A1, UAS.OPEN.020 (as adopted): never overfly assemblies of people; follow-me flight within 50 m of the pilot.
• A2, UAS.OPEN.030 (as adopted): no overflying uninvolved persons; at least 30 m horizontally from them, reducible to 5 m with an active low-speed mode.
• A3, UAS.OPEN.040 (as adopted): only where no uninvolved person is reasonably expected to be endangered, and at least 150 m horizontally from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas.

Published summaries do not agree on these distances. EASA's FAQ 116452 says A2 needs a safe distance at least equal to the flight height and never under 5 m; search summaries of pages by Spain's AESA and Norway's CAA give 30 m for A2, reducible to 5 m; and Germany's federal dipul page attaches a 30 m minimum to A3. The regulation as amended, which could not be read, is what governs.

Flying by goggles

Article 2 defines visual line of sight as the pilot's continuous, unaided visual contact with the aircraft. EASA's FAQ 116511 (updated 14 October 2020) says goggle flying is allowed in the Open category if an observer is present alongside the pilot, keeps the drone in sight, scans the airspace and can direct the pilot, citing Article 4(d). EASA's FAQ 140038 (25 June 2024) says goggles do not give visual line of sight because of their narrow field of view. Full detail, including standard scenarios STS-01 and STS-02, is on flying with goggles and observers.

Where drone races sit

EASA has answered this directly, in its FAQ for people into drone racing or FPV and in FAQ 140038:

• Spectators are not allowed in the Open category, because flying over uninvolved people is not permitted there.
• A race with spectators must be run in the Specific category (standard scenarios included) or under a club's Article 16 authorisation.
• A race not run by a club or association, with no spectators, falls in Open subcategory A3.
• Drones able to fly faster than 19 m/s may only be operated in A3.

EASA's FPV topic page (updated 26 September 2022) adds that pilots must be at least 16 to fly an FPV racing drone, subject to national exemptions; that solo FPV freestyle falls in A3; that races take place on purpose-built tracks; and that pilots from non-EASA states need prior authorisation from the National Aviation Authority to take part.

Article 16: club and association authorisations

Under Article 16 as adopted, the competent authority may, on request, authorise flying within a model aircraft club or association under national rules or the club's own procedures. The authorisation is valid only in the member state that issued it, and member states may let clubs register members on their behalf.

Age

Article 9 sets a minimum age of 16 for remote pilots in the Open and Specific categories. No minimum applies to A1 flights with a C0 toy, privately built drones under 250 g, or flights under direct supervision. A search summary of the consolidated text says member states may lower the age by up to four years in the Open category or two in the Specific category, valid only in that state, and that an Article 16 authorisation may set a different age for club members. EASA's Open category page says a member state may lower the age to 12.

Registration and training

Under Article 14 as adopted, Open-category operators must register if their drone weighs 250 g or more, could transfer more than 80 joules of kinetic energy to a person on impact, or carries a sensor able to capture personal data (unless it is a toy under Directive 2009/48/EC). The registration number must be shown on the drone. EASA's own pages differ on C0 and C1: its Open category page marks C1 as needing registration, while a search summary of its drones FAQ says C0 and C1 need none unless they carry a camera or sensor and are not toys. The Article 14 thresholds govern.

EASA's page says C1, C3 and C4 pilots complete online training and an online theory exam, and that A2 flying with a C2 adds practical self-training and a further exam. EASA's FAQ on other requirements cites Article 14(2)(d) on insurance and says most member states also require third-party insurance for lighter drones.

Remote ID

EASA's publication of 20 December 2023 says that from 1 January 2024, drones marked C1, C2 and C3, and drones flown in the Specific category below 120 m, must fly with active, updated remote identification broadcasting their position and the operator registration number. It recommends remote ID for legacy drones unless they weigh under 250 g.

Which classes carry direct remote identification is reported differently: Germany's federal ministry lists C1, C2 and C3, while a search summary attributes to EASA a list that adds C5 and C6. The regulation text that would settle it could not be read. More on Remote ID.

Where else limits apply

EASA's FPV page says member states can set geographical zones restricting flight, for example around airports, hospitals, nature reserves, prisons, industrial sites and important buildings, and points pilots to their National Aviation Authority. Radio rules for transmitters are separate; see radio rules by country.