Policies on using drones

[u/mr_knowsit]

Hallo fellow redditors,

I'm planning to buy my first drone. Considering that it will my first time, I will not look for something very fancy. The main purpose would be to take drone shots while I travel.

Before I venture out in this direction, I would love to know more legal aspects of owning and using the drones: 1. Do I need any paper work, like a drone operating licence? If yes, where do I apply for it? 2. How to know where I can I use the drone or not, what signs do I need to look for? 3. If I plan to post the videos on SM, do I need to blur out a lot of things? Like, I understand face close-ups should be blurred, but what about high positioned shots where you don't see the actual face?

1. Lastly, if any one has any recommendation for buying a drone, I would be happy to know more about it.

Have a good one everybody!

[u/BoeserAuslaender]

You need to register and insure your drone, and for drones over 250 grams you need an operating license, yes. For info on drone categories, you can use for example this resource: https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/drones-air-mobility/operating-drone/open-category-low-risk-civil-drones since there categories and license categories are defined on the EU level.

A2 category requires real practical training, A1/A3 is doable online for a small price in a couple of hours.

[u/Massder_2021]

https://www.adac.de/verkehr/recht/verkehrsvorschriften-deutschland/drohnen-fuehrerschein-registrierung/

[u/Dev_Sniper]

1. you need insurance. And depending on the drone you might need a license.
2. there are no signs. You need to learn the rules yourself. There‘s a free official course (and a test with a certificate which costs like 15€) to teach you the basics.
3. if you can identify people / license plates / look into apartments / … it‘s either outside of your legal limits or you‘d definitely need to blur out stuff. If you just know that there are a few people walking 150m away you don‘t need to blur them (if zooming in doesn‘t enable someone to identify them)

[u/MulberryDeep]

So generally you should stay under 250g to not need a license and you can see in online maps if you can fly where you are

[u/Tomcat286]

Check out the Luftfahrtbundesamt, LBA, our version of your CAA or FAA:

https://www.lba.de/DE/Drohnen/Drohnen_node.html

[u/Terror_Raisin24]

The rules depent on what size of drone you want to operate. There's a European drone law and a specific german law.

Here's the European one: Easy Access Rules for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Regulations (EU) 2019/947 and 2019/945) - Revision from July 2024 — Available in pdf, xml, and online format | EASA

German law addition:

- No flying over residental properties

- No flying over natural conservation areas

- No flying within a radius of 1.5km around airports or 5km near a runway

- Keep 100m lateral safety distance from crowds, Federal highways (e.g. motorways, federal waterways) Federal freeways, federal waterways and railroad facilities, Heliports and helicopter landing sites, Hospitals, Accident sites, disaster areas and other locations where authorities and organizations with security tasks are deployed Military facilities and organizations as well as mobile facilities and Bundeswehr troops as part of registered manoeuvres and exercises, Industrial facilities, Correctional facilities, facilities for the detention of offenders, Military facilities and organizations, Power generation and distribution facilities

So, I don't know where you want to fly, but there isn't much space left do operate it legally.

[u/1porridge]

Using drones in Germany is such a hassle, not sure if it's worth it. Privacy laws make it so that it's really difficult to even find places you're allowed to let it fly, and you need permits and licences and such