The law in the UK: the 2026 rules, from Flyer ID to Remote ID.

What this page rests on

The main source is the CAA's Drone and Model Aircraft Code, CAP2320, March 2026 edition, read in full, cited below by page. The Code is the CAA's plain-language summary; on page 48 it names the law behind it as the UK versions of Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and Regulation (EU) 2019/947, the Air Navigation Order 2016 with its 2018 and 2019 amendments, and the Data Protection Act 2018, and says the precise legal wording is in those instruments. The Code also says (page 1) that many of its rules are legal requirements and that breaking them is a criminal offence.

This page covers UK law only. The UK law the Code names is the UK's own version of the EU regulations (p.48). EU law and EASA guidance are a separate system, on the law in the EU.

Categories

Flying falls into the Open category (low risk), the Specific category (moderate risk) or the Certified category (high risk) (CAP2320 p.7). The Open category has three subcategories: A1 Over People, A2 Near People and A3 Far from People. A Flyer ID covers A1 and A3; A2 needs the A2 Certificate of Competence. Flying at 25 kg or more, or outside the Code, needs CAA authorisation (pp.8 and 9).

Flyer ID and Operator ID

The CAA's news release of 29 December 2025 says revised rules took effect on 1 January 2026, and that the Flyer ID threshold fell from 250 g to 100 g, a change the CAA estimated could affect up to 500,000 flyers.

Source: CAP2320 March 2026, pp.4 and 5.

• The Flyer ID test is an online theory test with no age limit. Children under 13 must be with a parent or guardian when taking it and registering. A Flyer ID lasts five years; one gained under the previous rules lasts three (p.39).
• The operator must be 18 or over; for an owner under 18, a parent or guardian registers as operator. The Operator ID is renewed every year (pp.6 and 41).
• Labelling: the Operator ID, not the Flyer ID, goes on every aircraft, on the main body, visible or in a compartment opened without tools, in block capitals taller than 3 mm (p.42).
• Under-12s must be supervised while flying by someone aged 16 or over (CAA news release, 29 December 2025).

One source still carries the old threshold: the BMFA's Article 16 page, in a guide marked updated 22 December 2023, says a Flyer ID is needed from 250 g. CAP2320 (March 2026) sets 100 g from 1 January 2026 and is the later, governing text.

Flying by goggles

CAP2320 Code point 2 (p.11) requires the aircraft to be kept in direct sight without electronic viewing equipment, and names video goggles as an example of what does not count. Anyone flying by first-person view must have an observer next to them, the two able to talk at all times, with one keeping the aircraft in direct sight (p.12). The CAA's FPV page adds that FPV equipment does not permit flying beyond visual line of sight in the Open category. Full detail is on flying with goggles and observers.

Where and how high (Open category)

• Height: never more than 120 m (400 ft) from the closest point of the earth's surface (p.14, point 3).
• Uninvolved people: 50 m horizontally from uninvolved people, including people in buildings and vehicles, as a cylinder up to the height limit; people involved in the flying may be closer. Aircraft under 250 g, or of class UK0, UK1 or C0 (and C1 from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027), may fly closer than 50 m and over people (pp.15 and 16, point 4).
• Crowds: never over crowds, whatever the aircraft's size. The Code describes a crowd as a group that cannot move away quickly because of the number of people around them, and gives sports events as an example (p.17, point 5).
• Built-up areas: at least 150 m from residential, recreational, commercial and industrial areas, except for aircraft under 250 g or of class UK0, UK1 or C0 (and C1 until 31 December 2027) (p.18, point 6).
• A3: covers privately built and legacy aircraft under 25 kg; not within 50 m of uninvolved people, never over them, and not within 150 m of those areas (p.8).
• Airports: no flying in an airport, airfield or spaceport flight restriction zone without permission (p.20, point 7).
• Night: the aircraft must show a green flashing light (p.33, point 19).

Class marks and Remote ID

New drones and model aircraft placed on the UK market from 1 January 2026 must carry a UK class mark, UK0 to UK6, with UK4 used for model aircraft (the CAA's Remote ID page). Legacy models can still be sold and flown under the weight-based rules (CAP2320 p.5). A drone with an EU C class mark may be flown as the matching UK class until 31 December 2027, for example C1 as UK1 (p.6).

The CAA's Remote ID pages set two dates for Direct Remote ID, which broadcasts identification and location from the aircraft itself:

• From 1 January 2026: UK1, UK2 and UK3 class drones, and UK5 and UK6 in the Specific category. CAP2320 (p.43, point 32) says the operator must add their Remote ID and switch the function on before flying a UK1, UK2 or UK3 aircraft.
• From 1 January 2028: UK0 drones of 100 g or more with a camera, model aircraft such as UK4 unless exempted, privately built drones of 100 g or more with a camera, and legacy drones of 100 g or more with a camera. The CAA says Remote ID will then be required for all drone and model operations unless the operator holds a CAA exemption.

Every registered operator receives a Remote ID number, similar to but not the same as the Operator ID, with a private part the CAA says must never be written on the aircraft. More on Remote ID and class marks.

Association authorisations

CAP2320 p.24 (point 9) says membership of a recognised club or association may give additional flying authorisation, on its conditions. Two are relevant to FPV:

• BMFA: holds a CAA Article 16 Operational Authorisation for BMFA and British Drone Flyers members flying for sport, recreation, education and demonstration; the current one is Issue 8, dated December 2025. Under it, FPV racing may take place in a cordoned-off sterile area, at up to 50 m (160 ft) above the surface, under the race director's instructions, without individual observers.
• FPV UK: a December 2025 trade report says it received an 8th-issue Article 16 authorisation for 2026, letting members fly FPV without a competent observer in a sterile area such as a closed race venue. The authorisation text was not read.

These permissions exist only on each authorisation's terms and only for the association's members.

Insurance and enforcement

Insurance is optional under 20 kg when flying only for fun, recreation, sport or hobby; third-party liability insurance is required for any other purpose and always at 20 kg or more (CAP2320 p.34, point 20). Police powers over unmanned aircraft are in Part 3 of the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021, Schedules 8 to 10, which include fixed penalties for certain offences. See insurance and enforcement.

Radio rules for video transmitters come from Ofcom, not the CAA; see radio rules by country.