Drone law for beginners: licence, registration, geo zones.

These rules apply to Germany, as of September 2026. We are a software provider, not a legal adviser. The binding source is dipul.de, the drone portal of the Federal Aviation Office (LBA) and German air navigation services (DFS).

First the terms: operator and remote pilot

Drone law distinguishes two roles, which are often the same person. The operator is whoever owns or deploys the drone, so you or your company. The operator registers and takes out the insurance. The remote pilot is whoever flies it and needs the proof of competence, the “drone licence”. If you fly for your own one-person business, you do both. If three employees fly for a company, the company registers once and every pilot gets their own licence.

Almost everything you do with a camera drone around buildings falls into the open category. The same basic rules apply to everyone there: no higher than 120 m above ground, the drone always within your own sight, no dangerous goods, and never over assemblies of people. The open category has three subcategories, A1, A2 and A3. They set how close you may get to uninvolved people. Which one applies to you depends on your drone’s C class.

Uninvolved means anyone who has nothing to do with the flight, such as passers-by or neighbours in their garden. A client you have briefed and who agrees counts as involved. An assembly of people is so dense that nobody could move away quickly: a market, a street festival, a crowded pedestrian zone.

The C class: the label on your drone

Drones sold new since 2024 carry a class identification label from C0 to C6, a small sticker on the body or the packaging. It depends mainly on weight. For capturing buildings the first three matter.

And if your drone has no C label at all? That applies to older models that came on the market before 2024, such as a Phantom 4 RTK or a Mavic 2. Under 250 g they fly like C0. From 250 g they may only fly in A3: at least 150 m from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas, and nobody uninvolved nearby. You can no longer legally photograph a house in a village with one, but a field far out of town is fine.

Which drone licence do you need?

There are three levels, each building on the one before. Carry your proof on every flight, on your phone is enough.

Do you need STS? For roofs, facades and plots almost never. STS is meant for operations beyond the open category, for example a heavier drone over a cordoned-off area in town (STS-01) or beyond visual line of sight over sparsely populated land (STS-02). Both require a drone with a C5 or C6 label. A larger enterprise drone such as the Matrice 350 RTK is C3. In the open category you may only fly it in A3, well away from buildings; in town you need an operational authorisation from the LBA in the specific category.

In practice: with a DJI Mini you can take off without a licence. From a DJI Air upwards you need A1/A3. And with a Mavic 4 Pro or an enterprise drone there is no way around A2 once the building stands in a town.

Operator registration and e-ID

You must register as soon as your drone weighs 250 g or more or has a camera. That covers practically every drone you can build a 3D model with, including the DJI Mini.

• Register online with the LBA, in the country where you live or your company is based. It costs €20 for private individuals and €50 for companies.
• You receive an e-ID, the operator number. It is valid in all EU countries and for all your drones, so you do not register each drone separately.
• Stick the e-ID on every drone, clearly legible. A small label is enough.
• For C1 and C2 drones, also enter it in the app. The drone then broadcasts it in flight (Remote ID) so authorities can identify it.

Geo zones: where you can’t simply fly

In Germany the airspace is open in principle, but there are geographical zones, geo zones for short, where you may only fly under conditions. Which ones apply at your site you check before every flight in one of two maps.

The dipul map at maptool-dipul.dfs.de is the official source from the LBA and DFS. It runs in the browser, costs nothing and shows every zone as a layer you can switch on and off. For preparing at your desk it is the first choice.

Droniq TraX is the app for the field, the successor to the Droniq app. It checks your location, shows the geo zones and tells you what applies there. The basic features are free. With “Fly now” you make your flight area visible to other airspace users, a rescue helicopter for instance. The paid tiers also show manned air traffic live. TraX does not replace an approval, it only shows you whether you need one.

The zones you will meet most often when capturing buildings:

So a warehouse roof in a commercial area can easily lie in three zones at once. Get consents in writing if you can, an email is enough, and have them with you when you fly.

Insurance

Liability insurance is mandatory in Germany for every drone, regardless of weight and whether you fly privately or professionally. It pays if your drone injures someone or damages something, such as a car or a skylight.

Private liability policies often exclude drones or only cover them for private use and up to a certain weight. As soon as you fly for a job, even once and even with a DJI Mini, you need dedicated drone liability insurance for commercial use. Ask your insurer specifically about the model and the purpose. Carry the proof when you fly. Hull insurance for the drone itself is optional, but quickly pays for itself on an enterprise drone with RTK.

Examples from the field

Four jobs of the kind our customers fly every day, and what they need. Registration, e-ID and insurance are not listed each time: you always need them.

How to plan the flights themselves is covered in flight planning, which drone can do what in Which drone can do what?.

As of September 2026, for Germany, without warranty. The binding sources are dipul.de and the Federal Aviation Office.