Can you fly your drone in Portugal?

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 (A1/A3 Proof of Completion) 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 ANAC Portugal, 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 Portugal as well. Coming from outside the EASA area, you register once — in the first EASA country where you plan to fly, here with ANAC Portugal. Portugal requires prior, free authorisation from the military aviation authority AAN for any aerial image capture — apply via the e-AAN portal, ideally 10 days before flying — and liability insurance is mandatory for drones over 900 g.

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 simply straight down, so near a slope the terrain beside you can 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 impact energy)—this applies even to toys. Below 250 g, registration is still required if the drone has a sensor able to capture personal data, unless it is considered a toy under the European Toy Safety Directive. Pilot training/certificate requirements are separate and depend on the drone’s class and subcategory. Also: In Portugal, the minimum age to fly independently in the open category is 16. The A1/A3 training and exam are free, taken online, and valid for 5 years. These are central aviation rules — location-specific airspace, land, nature, privacy and photography requirements can also apply in Portugal, 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 Portugal you can see every zone on the interactive map on this page, and in the DroneKoll app wherever you are standing.

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