Demonstration system: this is not the live Authority site.
Skip to the page
Authority logo placeholder Demonstration UAS Registry Civil Aviation Authority

Register your drone

The Civil Aviation Authority keeps the register of drones and the people who fly them. Choose what fits you.

Where you may fly

Permission is required within 5 km of an aerodrome and in the marked areas. Check the map before you fly.

Open the airspace map Weather, radar, satellite, flight rules and live traffic, full screen.

  • No flight
  • Coordinator required
  • Notify
  • Overflight
  • Arriving
  • Departing
  • Low
  • On the ground

Live positions: adsb.lol contributors (ODbL). Positions can lag or be missing; not for navigation.

Approximate positions, for the demonstration only.

I'm visiting with a drone Get a visitor permit, valid for 30 days. Apply through a registered agent. I live here Register your drone. A registration is valid for 365 days. I'm a registered agent Log in to see your clients, what needs doing and what is due. Verify a certificate Check that a drone or pilot certificate is valid.

Register as a pilot

Plan your flight

A clear way in for the drone you bring, and for the work drones do here.

Visiting with a drone

Welcome. A visitor permit takes a few minutes online and is valid for 30 days. Bring your passport and your home registration; the form reads the passport for you. Check the map above for the 5 km rule around aerodromes.

Start a visitor permit

Commercial and advanced operations

The Authority welcomes drones at work: inspection of towers, roofs and resorts; mapping and surveying; film and tourism marketing; agriculture; delivery trials; and public-safety operations such as drone as first responder and drone-in-a-box stations that launch on a call.

Commercial work needs a Remote Operator Certificate, and each operation needs a flight authorization. The certificate is in the Authority's proposed fee schedule and the flight authorization is a program proposal; neither is in force yet.

Commercial operations

Security protocols

Every drone is registered and carries Remote ID. Detection sensors from our Remote ID partner, Pierce Aerospace, match what is in the air against the register. An unknown drone gets a notice with a link to register: education first, fines only as a backstop.

Registry data is formatted for sharing with Immigration, Customs and the security agencies, and every agency export is logged. Detection is also available to any facility that wants its own picture of the drones overhead, such as resorts, ports, prisons, stadiums and events, as an option alongside registration, with the same educate-first notice flow.

How verification works
  • Towers
  • Roofs and resorts
  • Mapping
  • Film and tourism
  • Agriculture
  • Delivery trials
  • First response

Before you fly

Registering does not authorize any particular flight. These rules apply to every flight.

  • Fly no higher than 400 feet above the ground.
  • Keep the drone within 500 metres of you and in your unaided line of sight.
  • Stay at least 500 feet away from open-air gatherings.
  • Stay at least 50 metres away from people (30 metres when taking off and landing).
  • Do not fly over private or public property without permission.
  • Stay at least 5,000 metres away from an aerodrome or helicopter landing zone.
  • Do not fly at night or in low visibility.
  • Do not fly in restricted or prohibited airspace.
  • Geofencing must be enabled on your drone.
  • At any time you may be subject to drone surveillance.
What it costs

Fees in force today. Applications are reviewed within 5 business days, or 2 if you ask for faster review.

  • Recreational drone permit for an international guest (valid 30 days)$30
  • Recreational drone registration for a local resident$30
  • Expedited processing (2 business days instead of 5)$20

Source: Notice to Stakeholders, effective 15 January 2024. A registered agent charges its own fee on top.

Proposed fees (not yet in force)

The Authority published these in November 2025 for comment. They are not in force, and the agent and pilot amounts below are placeholders for the demonstration.

  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 1, first issueProposed, not yet in force$3,000
  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 1, renewalProposed, not yet in force$1,500
  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 1, amendmentProposed, not yet in force$50
  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 2, first issueProposed, not yet in force$1,500
  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 2, renewalProposed, not yet in force$1,000
  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 2, amendmentProposed, not yet in force$50
  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 3, first issueProposed, not yet in force$300
  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 3, renewalProposed, not yet in force$150
  • Remote Operator Certificate Tier 3, amendmentProposed, not yet in force$50
  • Commercial Drone Permit, 0 to 9 drones (minimum)Proposed, not yet in force$240
  • Commercial Drone Permit, each additional drone, day or locationProposed, not yet in force, per drone, day or location$40
  • Commercial Drone Permit, amendmentProposed, not yet in force$50
  • Mass drone permit, 10 to 50 drones (up to)Proposed, not yet in force, maximum per location per day$1,500
  • Mass drone permit, 51 to 100 drones (up to)Proposed, not yet in force, maximum per location per day$3,000
  • Mass drone permit, 101 to 200 drones (up to)Proposed, not yet in force, maximum per location per day$6,000
  • Mass drone permit, 201 to 300 dronesProposed, not yet in force, maximum per location per day$9,000
  • Mass drone permit, 301 to 400 dronesProposed, not yet in force, maximum per location per day$12,000
  • Mass drone permit, 401 to 500 dronesProposed, not yet in force, maximum per location per day$15,000
  • Mass drone permit, over 500 dronesProposed, not yet in force, maximum per location per day$20,000
  • Expedited processing, 0 to 9 drones (within 5 business days)Proposed, not yet in force$50
  • Expedited processing, 10 to 100 dronesProposed, not yet in force$100
  • Expedited processing, 101 or more drones (within 10 business days)Proposed, not yet in force$500
  • Recreational International applicationProposed, not yet in force$30
  • Recreational International application, expeditedProposed, not yet in force$50
  • Recreational International replacement certificateProposed, not yet in force$15
  • Recreational Domestic registrationProposed, not yet in force$30
  • Recreational Domestic replacement certificateProposed, not yet in force$15
  • Registered agent approvalProgram proposal, not yet in force$250
  • Pilot registrationProgram proposal, not yet in force$25