Guide
UK drone rules in 2026: registration, class marks, what changed
Updated
Two things have moved since the early rules: registration now starts at 100g, not 250g, and UK class marks became mandatory for new models from 1 January 2026.
The registration thresholds
- Under 100g: no Flyer ID required (the CAA strongly recommends taking the free test anyway) and the Operator ID is optional.
- 100g to under 250g: the Flyer ID is required. The Operator ID is required if the drone has a camera, and optional if it does not.
- 250g to under 25kg: both the Flyer ID and the Operator ID are required.
- Costs and validity: the Operator ID is £12.34 a year and you must be 18 to hold one; the Flyer ID test is free, lasts five years, and you must be 13 to take it by yourself (caa.co.uk).
What has not changed
- No hobby/commercial divide: since 2020, being paid changes nothing about registration or category. Commercial flying does require third party insurance, recreational flying does not.
- Universal limits: direct visual line of sight, 120m (400ft) maximum height, never over crowds, never in restricted airspace, and no carrying dangerous goods or dropping articles (CAA).
- Night flying: a drone flown at night must show a green flashing light.
- One Operator ID covers all your drones, and it must be labelled on each aircraft.
Class marks: what changed on 1 January 2026
Any new model of drone or model aircraft placed on the UK market from 1 January 2026 must carry a UK class mark (UK0 to UK6). The class mark, not the weight, then decides which Open subcategory you may fly in. A drone made before that date is unlikely to have one, and is flown on its European C class mark or, failing that, on its weight. Two dates matter: until 31 December 2027 a European C class aircraft may be flown as the corresponding UK class (a C0 as a UK0, and so on), and a C1 may additionally be flown in A1; from 1 January 2028 C marks stop counting and those aircraft become legacy, flown by weight (caa.co.uk: class marks).
What to do in practice
- Register once, correctly: one Operator ID covers all your drones; the Flyer ID is per person and free.
- Weigh the drone as you fly it, with battery and accessories, and check it against the 100g and 250g thresholds.
- Check your drone's class mark (or lack of one) in the maker's spec, then read what that class may do today, not what an older article said.
- Before every flight, check for restricted airspace with an app such as NATS Drone Assist.
- Flying near people or for clients regularly? The A2 CofC or GVC courses are the recognised routes up, see our categories guide.
Rules read from the CAA's own pages on the updated date above and corrected in place when the CAA moves. This page is a guide, not legal advice; the CAA's pages are the authority.