Do all employees need a drone pilot certificate?

Anyone who operates the drone needs the relevant certificate – but not everyone in the company has to hold one. The decisive factor is the role, not the employment contract.

Remote pilot: yes

Anyone who actually operates the drone needs the certificate appropriate to the drone class and subcategory – from a take-off mass of 250 g, at least the A1/A3 certificate of competency; for many professional operations, the A2 remote pilot certificate. This applies to each individual and cannot be shared within a team: A certificate issued in the managing director’s name does not cover the employee who operates the drone.

Operator: no, but responsible

The operator – in your case, usually the company – is registered, not examined. The operator does not need a pilot certificate, but is responsible for ensuring that only qualified remote pilots operate the drone, that insurance and registration are in order, and that the certificates are valid. Find out more at Operator and remote pilot.

Support personnel: no

Anyone who secures the area, operates the camera or monitors the airspace as an observer does not need their own certificate. Nevertheless, this person should be properly briefed – in EVLOS operations, the observer is safety-critical, which requires them to know what to look out for.

Practical tip for companies

Keep a simple list: who holds which certificate, when it was issued and when it expires. Both certificates expire after five years, and an expired certificate is usually noticed precisely when an assignment is pending. It is also better to train one more person than necessary – otherwise the project will come to a standstill as soon as the only pilot is ill or leaves the company.

You can obtain the advanced drone pilot certificate from us as an examination centre recognised by the German Federal Aviation Office – see the training courses.