Obligations
Registering as a drone operator
In Belgium it is the operator that is registered, not the aircraft. The process is free, required from 250 grams, and from the first gram if the drone carries a camera. The insurance policy number is asked for during the procedure.
You do not register the drone, you register the operator. The distinction looks formal; in practice it changes everything: one number covers your whole fleet, and you mark it on each of your aircraft.
The administration puts it plainly: it is not possible to register the drone itself.
Who must register
| Your aircraft | Registration |
|---|---|
| 250 g or more | required |
| under 250 g, with camera or sensor | required |
| under 250 g, no camera or sensor | not required |
| toy within the meaning of the European directive | optional |
The camera brings the threshold down. A 199-gram aircraft fitted with a camera has to be registered, which catches nearly every recreational drone sold under 250 grams. Many owners do not know it, because they have remembered the figure of 250 grams without the condition that comes with it.
Insurance comes first
The order is surprising, and yet it is unambiguous: the insurance policy number is asked for during the registration procedure. So you have to be insured before you can register.
This follows from article 14(6)(d) of the European regulation, which provides that the registration system holds an insurance policy number where national law requires one. That is the case in Belgium.
If you are preparing your registration, start with the policy.
How to do it
Registration is done online on the Drone Portal of the Directorate-General for Air Transport, and it is free. You sign in with an electronic identity card or with itsme. A legal person goes through CSAM.
The number you obtain must then be marked visibly and legibly on each aircraft: indelible marker, label, or QR code. On an aircraft too small for that, the battery compartment is accepted provided it stays easy to reach. If your drone has a remote identification system, the number must be entered into it.
One security point that the official course gives and that you rarely read elsewhere: keep your operator number private, and in particular its last three characters, which serve as a verification key.
Registration and aircraft registration are not the same thing
Aircraft registration is a separate procedure, reserved for certified aircraft, with a number beginning with the letters OO. It costs 100 euros and has nothing to do with the open category.
The remote pilot certificate is something else again
Registration identifies the operator. The certificate attests to your competence. Both are required and independent of one another.
The A1/A3 training and examination are free, online, run by the Directorate-General for Air Transport, available in French, Dutch and German. The certificate is valid for 5 years. The A2 certificate assumes you have obtained the A1/A3 beforehand.
What comes before and after registration
Registering assumes you are insured: see the insurance obligation. The flight rules then depend on your category, open or specific.
A quote request gives you the policy number the procedure needs.