Obligations
The specific category: declaration, authorisation or LUC
As soon as one requirement of the open category is no longer met, the operation moves into the specific category. The insurance regime then changes in kind: the European regulation applies with no weight threshold at all, including for a 3-kilo aircraft.
As soon as a single requirement of the open category is no longer met, the operation moves over. Flying beyond 120 metres, beyond visual line of sight, over a gathering, dropping an object, spraying, going past 25 kilos: you are in the specific category.
The insurance regime changes in kind
The move is usually prepared on the operational side, with the risk assessment and the authorisation. The insurance policy, meanwhile, is often left as it stands.
In the open category, the insurance exemption exists under 900 grams for private use. In the specific category, article 17 of the Royal Decree refers to the European regulation without setting any weight threshold at all: every UAS operator carrying out operations in the specific category is insured in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 785/2004.
Take a 3-kilo aircraft. In the open category no European minimum is set against it. The same aircraft, in the specific category, falls under Regulation (EC) 785/2004. Nothing has changed in the machine; everything has changed in the policy.
In practice, the minimum cover rises to 0.75 million special drawing rights per accident, roughly 885,000 euros at the rate of 4 September 2026.
Three routes in
The declaration commits you to following a European standard scenario. There are only two. STS-01 covers flight within visual line of sight above a controlled ground area in a populated environment, with a class C5 aircraft. STS-02 covers flight beyond visual line of sight with observers, in a sparsely populated environment, with a class C6 aircraft. It is the quickest route, provided you have the right equipment.
The operational authorisation is issued by the Directorate-General for Air Transport after a specific operations risk assessment. It is the route for operations that fit no scenario.
The light UAS operator certificate, or LUC, is reserved for legal persons. It lets you authorise your own operations without going through the DGAT each time. It is an investment that pays off from a certain volume of activity.
What it costs at the administration
| Act | Fee |
|---|---|
| Declaration for a standard scenario, and oversight | 150 EUR a year |
| Issue of an operational authorisation | 500 EUR |
| Oversight under authorisation, from the second year | 150 EUR a year |
| Amendment or extension of an authorisation | 150 EUR |
| Issue of a LUC | 1,500 EUR |
| Oversight of a LUC holder, from the second year | 750 EUR a year |
| Amendment of a LUC | 500 EUR |
| Registration of a certified aircraft | 100 EUR |
Registering an operator in the open category, by contrast, remains free.
A deadline passed on 1 January 2026
It is the most important regulatory change of the year, and the quietest.
Article 23(4) of the European regulation provided that declarations based on national standard scenarios would cease to be valid on 1 January 2026. The Belgian national standard scenario has therefore had no effect since that date.
Operators working under that regime had to move to one of the three European routes. Many changed equipment for a C5 or C6 aircraft, or filed an application for authorisation.
A change of operational regime brings a change of risk. A policy taken out for an activity declared under the old scenario no longer describes what you actually do. The gap goes unnoticed until the day a claim has to be opened.
If this concerns you, have your policy read again. Checking is free and takes one message.
The certified category, for the record
It concerns carrying people, carrying dangerous goods presenting a high risk, and flying over gatherings. The aircraft is certified, the operator too, and the remote pilot is licensed. The regime comes close to that of manned aviation.
Today it concerns only a small number of operators in Belgium.
If you end up staying in the open category
If your operation stays within visual line of sight and below 120 metres, it is the open category that applies, with a different insurance regime, described in the insurance obligation.
A change of operational regime changes the risk insured: the comparison of covers shows what moves, and the professional page what gets priced.
Where you may fly
The Belgian geographical restrictions are published on the official zone map. This diagram gives the principle.