{"id":12118,"date":"2026-05-09T09:43:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/drone-categories-according-to-easa-regulations\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T09:43:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:43:12","slug":"drone-categories-according-to-easa-regulations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/drone-categories-according-to-easa-regulations\/","title":{"rendered":"Drone categories according to EASA regulations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>European drone regulations have been established by the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) and are applied uniformly across all member states. This framework is based on the level of risk associated with the flight, rather than simply on the weight or type of the drone. <\/p>\n<p><strong>The philosophy of the EASA regulatory framework<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>EASA categorises flights into:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Open (Open)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Specific (Specific)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Certified (Certified)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The first two concern the largest proportion of private and professional operators, while the third had not yet been activated<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u0391. Open Category (Open Category) <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Open Category<\/strong> is for <strong>low risk<\/strong> flights, without the need for a prior operating licence, subject to certain restrictions, serving for :<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amateur use<\/li>\n<li>Basic business flights<\/li>\n<li>Low complexity downloads and missions<\/li>\n<li>Flights away from crowds of people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Obtaining the Open Class is <strong>the simplest procedure<\/strong> within EASA and includes:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li> <strong> Register at<\/strong><strong> as<\/strong><strong> operator<\/strong><strong> (Operator Registration)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The person concerned registers with the <strong>National Civil Aviation Authority<\/strong> of his\/her State as an <strong>SFE operator<\/strong> and receives a unique registration number (Operator ID).<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>  Theoretical training<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Requires basic theory from a school for knowledge covered:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>air traffic rules<\/li>\n<li>flight safety<\/li>\n<li>airspace restrictions<\/li>\n<li>personal data protection<\/li>\n<li>human factor<\/li>\n<li>GPDR<\/li>\n<li>Secure<\/li>\n<li>Protection against unlawful acts<\/li>\n<li>General Drone Knowledge<\/li>\n<li>Air Traffic<\/li>\n<li>Meteorology<\/li>\n<li>Flight Performance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>  Theoretical examinations<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The operator shall be successfully tested:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A1\/A3<\/strong> for basic flights<\/li>\n<li><strong>A2<\/strong> for flying closer to people, through Proctor Exam or by physical presence on the school premises<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>  Declaration of compliance<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The operator declares that he\/she is aware of and complies with the restrictions of the Open Class.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u0392. Specific Category (Specific Category) <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Special Category<\/strong> is for <strong>medium to high risk<\/strong> flights, which are not allowed in the Open Category<\/p>\n<p>&amp; I usually need it in:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flights in an urban environment<\/li>\n<li>Flights near or over people<\/li>\n<li>Flying out of visual contact (BVLOS)<\/li>\n<li>Professional businesses with increased requirements<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>All it takes is ONE negative answer<\/strong> to the basic restrictions of the Open Tier to be automatically transferred to the <strong>Special Tier<\/strong>.<br \/>\nThe <strong>Open Tier<\/strong> is based on compliance with certain limits.<br \/>\nThe <strong>Special Tier<\/strong> is based on <strong>risk management<\/strong>, not absolute restrictions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>With a quick interpretation:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u2714\ufe0f Simple flight, low risk \u2192 <strong>Open<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>\u274c Urban environment, people, BVLOS \u2192 <strong>Special<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>\u274c Exceeding even one threshold \u2192 <strong>Special<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How I get the Specific Category<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The process of obtaining the Special Category is <strong>more complex and demanding<\/strong>, as it focuses on risk analysis and management.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>  Choice of flight authorisation mode<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>There are two main routes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Standard Scenarios (STS)<\/strong><br \/>\nEASA predefined operational scenarios, with specific conditions and technical requirements.<\/li>\n<li><strong>SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment)<\/strong><br \/>\nDetailed risk assessment tailored to the specific operational scenario.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>  Theoretical and flight training<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The operator must complete:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>advanced theoretical training in live courses, on-line<\/li>\n<li>flight training in operational scenarios:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol>\n<li>Pre-flight planning (Pre-flight planning)<\/li>\n<li>Operation of flights with operational restrictions<\/li>\n<li>Flying in a high-risk environment<\/li>\n<li>Training in emergency procedures<\/li>\n<li>Emergency management (Emergency procedures)<\/li>\n<li>Implementing STS or SORA in practice<\/li>\n<li>Operator evaluation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The It is <strong>training with airline logic<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>  Operator assessment and certification<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The competent authority or approved body:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>assesses knowledge<\/li>\n<li>examine the flight capability<\/li>\n<li>confirms compliance with the approved scenario<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>  Approval of an operating licence<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The licence is issued by the <strong>National Civil Aviation Authority &amp; EASA<\/strong> and covers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>specific type of flights<\/li>\n<li>specific conditions and restrictions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Which category is right for me?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Open Category<\/strong>: for simple, limited and low-risk flights<\/li>\n<li><strong>Specific category<\/strong>: for professional activity, urban environment and complex businesses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In practice, the Special Category is an <strong>evolution of<\/strong> the Open Category, not a replacement for it.<\/p>\n<p>The Special Category is based on logic:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;I allow you to fly because you can prove that you control the risk&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can I get certified?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The certification is carried out through:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>National Civil Aviation Authorities<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Approved examination and educational institutions<\/strong>, under state supervision<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pilot certificates issued under EASA <strong>are valid in all EU Member States.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A proper understanding of drone categories and certification procedures is essential for every operator.<br \/>\nEASA legislation offers <strong>clear pathways<\/strong> to legal, safe and professional activity, depending on the level of risk and operational needs.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European drone regulations have been established by the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) and are applied uniformly across all member states. This framework is based on the level of risk associated with the flight, rather than simply on the weight or type of the drone. The philosophy of the EASA regulatory framework EASA categorises [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12116,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}