Commercial use of drones

If you use a drone (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System, RPAS) commercially, for instance for drone journalism or any other commercial purpose, several rules for commercial drone use apply. A licence is mandatory for:

• the operator (remote pilot) of the drone
• the aircraft itself and its ground equipment
• the company that offers RPAS services
• the flight instruction company
• the organisation that performs individual technical inspections

Which permits you need, depends on the actual service you provide. If you would like to carry out paid RPA flights, you will need an RPA-L licence (in Dutch). You apply for this remote pilot licence to the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT, in Dutch). You will also need to apply for an RPAS operator certificate (ROC) (in Dutch) or an ROC-light licence to fly drones weighing less than 4Kg (in Dutch). But the exact type of ROC, depends on the weight of the drone and the height and distance of its flight. You apply for the permits to the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT). The following conditions apply:

• the remote pilot of the drone has a flying certificate
• the aircraft complies with the airworthiness requirements
• you have an approved operations manual

There are restrictions on where you can fly drones safely. The remote control of most drones use a permit-free frequency and do not require a permit. If you intend to operate outside the permit-free bandwidth, you will need to apply for a permit for the frequency of your drone's remote control (in Dutch).