Canada
Which drone pilot certificate do I need in Canada?
Basic operations covers most photography. The exam runs online, it costs $10.17, and the certificate is issued the moment you pass.
Read the rule before you fly
We check every number on this page against Transport Canada, and we print the date we checked it. This page is still a summary, and it is not legal advice. The final word belongs to Transport Canada, and a rule can change between our date and your flight.
Do you need it?
- Your drone weighs 250 g to 25 kg. You need a certificate and a registration, whether you fly for fun or for money.
- You stay 30 m from people, in uncontrolled airspace, well away from an airport. Basic operations is enough.
- You want to fly closer to a person, or in controlled airspace. That is advanced operations, and it adds a flight review.
- Your drone weighs under 250 g. You need neither, and the microdrone rules still bind you.
The cost and the exam
- Certificate
- Pilot Certificate – Basic Operations
- Exam
- The Small Basic Exam, taken online
- Questions
- 35 multiple choice questions, in 90 minutes
- Pass mark
- 65%
- Cost
- $10.17, and the certificate is included in the exam fee
- Age
- 14 for basic, 16 for advanced, and 18 for level 1 complex
- After a fail
- Wait 24 hours, then sit it again, as many times as you need
- Renewal
- A recurrent training activity every 24 months. The certificate itself does not expire.
- Registration
- $10.17 for each drone, and you mark the number on the outside
Checked on 2026-09-10, against tc.canada.ca, the Transport Canada fee schedule and the Canadian Aviation Regulations, part IX.
How to get it
01
Register the drone
Register it in the Drone Management Portal, and mark the registration number on the outside where a person can read it.
02
Read the study material
Transport Canada publishes the study resources the exam draws on. The exam is open book, and 90 minutes goes quickly without them.
03
Pass the Small Basic Exam
Sit it online, in the same portal. A score of 65% or higher is a pass.
04
Download the certificate
The portal issues the Pilot Certificate – Basic Operations at once. Carry it, printed or on the phone, every time you fly.
05
Book a flight review, if you need advanced
Advanced operations adds the Small Advanced Exam, a flight review with a reviewer, and a $25.43 certificate. The drone also needs an RPAS safety assurance declaration for that operation.
Where you can fly
The licence is the start. These limits bind every flight you make under it.
- Height
- 400 feet above the ground, or 100 feet above a building while you fly within 200 feet of it
- Weight
- Up to 25 kg, including the camera and anything else it carries
- Sight
- You keep the drone where you can always see it
- People
- More than 30 metres, measured horizontally, from any person
- Airspace
- Uncontrolled airspace only
- Airports
- More than 5.6 km from the centre of a certified airport
- Heliports
- More than 1.9 km from the centre of a heliport
- Papers
- Carry the certificate and the proof of registration on every flight
If your drone weighs under 250 grams
A microdrone weighs under 250 g. It needs no registration and no certificate. Every safety rule still binds it.
- The camera counts. Transport Canada weighs the aircraft with everything attached or carried, and it leaves out only the controller.
- You must never fly in a way that endangers aviation safety or a person. That rule covers a microdrone too.
- An advertised event needs a Special Flight Operations Certificate, even for a drone under 250 g.
- The fine for flying a microdrone at an advertised event reaches $1,000. Flying where you are not allowed reaches $3,000.
What this guide does not cover
Flying beyond your sight
Since 4 November 2025 there is a route: the Pilot Certificate – Level 1 Complex Operations. It asks for the advanced exam, 20 hours of ground school, a $50.85 exam, a flight review, and a $127.13 certificate.
A drone over 25 kg
A medium drone, from 25 kg to 150 kg, needs an advanced certificate and a declaration. Anything over 150 kg is a special operation.
Trespass and privacy
Transport Canada writes the aviation rules only. Trespass law and privacy law still apply on the ground, and it says so.
Prepare for the exam
This page carries affiliate links. A purchase pays this account a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Course
A Canadian RPAS exam preparation course
The exam covers air law, weather, and airspace. A course is optional for basic operations, and it becomes worth the money before the advanced flight review.
Flying somewhere else?
Licensed, and flying?
Send the frame you are proud of. A person reads every one, and your handle goes in the caption.