Competent authority
Transport Canada is the federal authority for remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS). The rules live in Part IX of the Canadian Aviation Regulations, and NAV CANADA handles authorisations in controlled airspace.
⚠️ There is no equivalence with Europe or with the United States. A European certificate or an American Part 107 is worth nothing here. Canada has its own architecture, and it resembles neither.
What changed on 4 November 2025
This is the thing to know before any search: a new framework came into force on 4 November 2025. Any document older than that date describes a regime that no longer applies.
Two main openings:
- Level 1 complex operations, allowing certain beyond visual line of sight flights in lower-risk environments without a Special Flight Operations Certificate;
- the framework extended to medium RPAS, up to 150 kg, where it previously stopped at 25 kg.
Registration
Every aircraft from 250 g to 25 kg must be registered with Transport Canada before its first flight, with the registration number displayed legibly on the airframe. Registration is done in the Drone Management Portal.
Below 250 g, the aircraft needs no registration and its pilot no certificate. That is the same boundary as in Europe, but it does not carry the same obligations on each side: Canada does not make the threshold depend on whether a camera is fitted.
Remote pilot certification
Two certificates, and the choice depends on where and how close to people you fly, not on whether the flight is commercial.
Pilot Certificate - Basic Operations. It covers flight in uncontrolled airspace, more than 30 m horizontally from bystanders and more than 5.6 km from an airport. Online exam: 10 Canadian dollars, 35 questions, 65 % pass mark, 90 minutes.
Pilot Certificate - Advanced Operations. Required as soon as you fly in controlled airspace, within 30 m of bystanders, within 5.6 km of an airport or 1.9 km of a heliport. Exam: 10 Canadian dollars, 50 questions, 80 % pass mark, followed by a flight review with a reviewer recognised by Transport Canada, typically costing between 200 and 400 Canadian dollars.
⚠️ Advanced operations require the aircraft too, not only the pilot. They assume an aircraft covered by a manufacturer safety declaration matching the intended operation. A certified pilot with an undeclared aircraft cannot fly advanced.
Operating categories
Again, no Open, no Specific, no Certified: the Canadian split is basic / advanced, extended since November 2025 by level 1 complex operations.
- Basic operations: uncontrolled airspace, away from bystanders and aerodromes.
- Advanced operations: controlled airspace, close to bystanders, near aerodromes, with NAV CANADA approval where the airspace requires it.
- Level 1 complex operations: certain beyond visual line of sight flights in lower-risk environments, without a Special Flight Operations Certificate.
- Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC): the application route for anything outside the frameworks above.
The ordinary ceiling remains 400 feet above ground, about 122 m, within visual line of sight.
Airspace and official resources
Transport Canada's Drone Management Portal carries aircraft registration and certificates. NAV CANADA's site selection maps and planning tools cover airspace, control zones and aerodromes, including the many hospital heliports whose 1.9 km radius catches people out in urban areas.
National specifics
The country is vast and uncontrolled airspace dominates. A quick read suggests basic operations are enough almost everywhere. That is true by area and false in practice: useful flights happen where people live, which is exactly where airspace is controlled and bystanders are close.
Recreational flying is not exempt. Unlike the United States, there is no leisure regime here with a simple online test: above 250 g, certificate and registration apply whatever the reason for the flight.