Can you fly your drone in Norway?

Two separate things are easily confused here. Registration as a drone operator is required as soon as your drone weighs 250 g or more, or has a camera or sensor able to capture personal data — so it covers many sub-250 g drones too, unless they qualify for the toy exemption. The remote pilot's certificate of competency (Drone pilot certificate) is something else: you need it once your drone weighs 250 g or more, or carries a C1 or higher class mark. A camera drone under 250 g therefore needs registration, but no exam. You get the certificate by passing an online theory test with Luftfartstilsynet, and it is then valid across the whole EASA area, not just here.

Yes — EU drone rules apply to visitors too. If you are already registered as a drone operator in another EASA country, that registration and your A1/A3 certificate (also A2) are valid in Norway as well. Coming from outside the EASA area, you register once — in the first EASA country where you plan to fly, here with Luftfartstilsynet. Before flying with a camera, foreign pilots must register their sensor use with Norway's National Security Authority (NSM); liability insurance is mandatory for drones 250 g and over; and drone flights by Russian nationals are banned without an exemption.

The short version: In the open category, the maximum height is 120 m, measured as the distance to the closest point on the earth’s surface — not just straight down, so near a slope the ground beside you may also count. Within 50 m of a tall artificial obstacle (over 105 m), the maximum height may be increased up to 15 m above the height of the obstacle at the request of the entity responsible for the obstacle. On top of that: You must register as a drone operator if your drone weighs 250 g or more (or can transfer more than 80 J of kinetic energy in a collision) — this applies even to toys. Under 250 g, registration is still required if the drone has a sensor able to capture personal data, unless it counts as a toy under the EU Toy Safety Directive. Pilot training/certificate requirements are separate and depend on the drone’s class and subcategory. Also: In Norway, the age limit for flying on your own is 16. Exceptions apply to C0 drones classified as toys and to privately built drones under 250 g with a maximum speed below 19 m/s. If you are under 16, you may fly under the direct supervision of a remote pilot who is at least 16 and holds a valid certificate of competency. These are central aviation rules — location-specific airspace, land, nature, privacy and photography requirements can also apply in Norway, so always check the official sources.

The no-go areas are the restricted zones — typically around airports, prisons, military sites and protected nature areas. In Norway you can see every zone on the interactive map on this page, and in the DroneKoll app wherever you are standing.

Drone flying in Norway is regulated by Luftfartstilsynet. The airspace itself is managed by Avinor. You will find both organisations' official pages under Sources below — those are the links worth bookmarking.