What do you need to know to fly a drone in Poland?

What you need to know to fly a drone in Poland. Operator registration, A1/A3 and A2, zones and notifications, flight rules and mandatory third party liability insurance from 2025. It is worth starting your flying adventure with this text.

Drone in Poland 2026: what is mandatory and what depends on the flight scenario

Flying a drone in Poland today is governed by quite simple rules, but the devil is in the details: the weight and the camera determine registration, zones can block the flight despite the authorizations, and from the end of 2025, third-party liability insurance for many vehicles is mandatory. Below you will find the most important legal and practical issues – without “obvious things”, but with the points on which people most often lecture.

First question: what category do you want to fly in?

The CAA divides drone operations into three main risk categories: open, special and certified. For most users, the first two are crucial.

• Open category – without declarations and permits, but with hard restrictions (including VLOS (flight within visual range), ceiling, ban on flying over gatherings of people). Drone up to 25 kg and flights up to 120 m above the ground.
• A special category – when the flight does not fit into the open category rules and requires additional formalities: declaration STS (standard operation scenario) or NSTS (national standard scenario) or obtaining a ULC permit; in the case of more complex activities, it may also be needed LUC (drone operator certificate, giving broader rights – a procedure for more advanced business operators).
• Certified category – high level of risk (e.g. over gatherings, transport of people or hazardous materials).

If you want to fly “like most” – you’re aiming for open category. If you want to fly the variant BVLOS (out of visual range), in difficult zones, in more “productive” mission profiles or in conditions that do not fit the open limits – you start to encounter special category.

IMPORTANT: The minimum age for a drone pilot in Poland is 14 years (with exceptions for drones <250 g, toys, operations under supervision).

Operator registration: when it is mandatory

In Poland you register as operator in the ULC system (drony.gov.pl). Registration is free.

The registration obligation applies to operators who fly a drone in the open category:

• about maximum take-off weight (with battery, propellers, camera and possible payload) from 250 g;
• one that can transmit > 80 J of energy upon impact;
• equipped with a sensor collecting personal data, e.g. camera (except toys within the meaning of the toy regulations).

Additionally: if you perform operations in special categoryoperator registration is required regardless of the weight of the drone.

IMPORTANT: Many lightweight, popular drones < 250g have a camera, so operator registration is usually necessary anyway.

Open Category Pilot Ratings: What’s Really Mandatory

In the open category, the CAA indicates that any person wishing to fly a drone with a mass over 250 g must pass online training and online test – free of charge in the system (drony.gov.pl). Qualifications are important 5 yearsthe test has 40 questions and passing threshold 75%.

• A1/A3 – online training and test (one certificate covers both A1 and A3),
• A2 – additionally, practical self-education and an additional theoretical examination conducted by the examining entity.

Most common mistake: “I have permissions, so I can fly anywhere”

You can’t. Eligibility and registration do not “unlock” airspace. In Poland they are crucial zones and local restrictionswhich you check before your flight in the planning/reporting tools.

The National Air Navigation Agency has launched the application DroneTower to report drone flights (requires a PansaUTM account). The instructions and rules for conducting UAV flights are published by PANSA.

IMPORTANT: before starting, always check the zone and any requirements (application/consent/conditions). Otherwise, you may be breaking the regulations even though you are formally registered and A1/A3.

Third party liability insurance: from when and for whom is it mandatory

CAA informs that in accordance with the amendment to the Aviation Law, the provision regarding insurance has been in force since November 13, 2025 and includes drone operators of mass from 250 g to 20 kg.

Additionally, the Financial Ombudsman indicates that from this date, users of drones weighing 250 g-20 kg are obliged to take out third party liability insurance, and the lack of insurance may result in a fine of up to PLN 4,000; it also provides information about the minimum guarantee amount.

In practice: if you fly a drone heavier than 250 g, third party liability insurance is not an “option”, but an obligation that must be treated in the same way as in the case of cars.

Flight rules to remember

From the point of view of everyday flights, three rules from the CAA materials will be crucial for someone who is looking for basic information on this subject:

• VLOS – the drone must remain within visual visibility (with exceptions, e.g. with an observer),
• 120 m – in the open category, flights up to 120 m from the nearest point of the earth’s surface,
• ban on flying over gatherings of people – this limitation does not disappear “because you are recording a wedding” or “because it is only for a moment”.

If you create content (YouTube, videos, orders), these three points most often determine whether the flight will be legal and will not require additional formalities.

Privacy, image and GDPR

Unfortunately, GDPR is not a topic “for lawyers”, but for anyone who flies over places where there are people. A camera in a drone is a potential one collecting personal data (which the CAA directly links to the obligation to register the operator).

A practical conclusion: when recording in a public space, think not only about aviation regulations, but also about whether the material does not violate someone’s privacy – especially if you do it for profit or in “sensitive” places (e.g. around homes, schools, hotels, resorts, medical facilities and places where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy).

What do you need to know before flying?

1. Set a category (usually open).
2. Check if you need to be registered as an operator.
3. If the drone weighs ≥250 g, obtain A1/A3 authorization in the ULC system (free of charge).
4. Check the zone and operational requirements in a tool like DroneTower/PansaUTM.
5. Verify whether you need third party liability insurance.