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Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography (GUGiK)

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European Union regulations for unmanned aerial vehicles

06.11.2025

screenshot from the website drony.gov.pl

The growing use, potential of technology, and number of drone users have prompted the European Commission to undertake work to harmonize regulations and procedures for unmanned operations in all European Union member states.

As a result, on December 31, 2020, the national regulations and procedures of EU member states for civil users of unmanned aircraft ceased to apply.

Since December 31, 2020, common drone regulations have been in force in the European Union countries as well as in Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, and their final date of entry into force is January 1, 2026:

  • COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2019/947 of May 24, 2019 on rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft
  • COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2019/945 of March 12, 2019, on unmanned aircraft systems and operators of unmanned aircraft systems from third countries

The basic principles of the new regulations govern:

  1. Flights based on risk analysis,
  2. Registration of drone users,
  3. Training of all users,
  4. Standardization of drones (CE).

In addition, the new regulations define new flight categories:

  1. Open - low risk, no ULC approval required, limits: UAS up to 25 kg, VLOS only, max. distance from operator 120 m,
  2. Specific - medium risk, ULC approval or notification required, flight conditions determined based on risk analysis; an e-SORA module is available at https://drony.gov.pl/e-sora to prepare an operational risk analysis and develop documentation content,
  3. Certified – high risk, certified equipment and personnel.

It should be emphasized that the vast majority of flights carried out for surveying purposes fall into the open and specific categories.

EU regulations require operators of unmanned aircraft whose operations may pose a threat, including a threat to public safety, privacy, personal data, or the environment, to register with the National Drone Information System (KSID), which is maintained electronically by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Detailed information on the KSID is available at https://drony.gov.pl/.

Below are the main requirements for the registration of operators performing flights using unmanned aircraft:

  • with a weight of 250 g or more (applies to the “open” category),
  • equipped with a sensor capable of collecting personal data (applies to the “open” category),
  • operating in the “specific” or “certified” category, regardless of their weight or equipment.

We encourage you to follow the websites of:

We encourage you in particular to subscribe to the mailing list and participate in ULC drone briefings https://ulc.gov.pl/drony/briefing-dronowy .

In the near future, we will also organize a dedicated open online training course for surveyors on performing UAV flights from January 1, 2026. We will inform you about the details through our information channels.

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