Do I need the specific category to work with my drone?

Not necessarily. Many professional operations fit within the open category. What takes you out of it is height, loss of visual line of sight, overflight of people or the weight of the aircraft.

What is the difference between a declaration and an authorisation?

A standard scenario is declared: you state that your operation meets its conditions. A PDRA or a SORA are authorised: the aviation authority reviews and grants. The declared route is noticeably faster, which is why it is worth checking first whether you fit.

Can I fly higher than 120 metres in the specific category?

Under an operational authorisation the vertical limit is whatever your approved ConOps states, so it may be higher. What you cannot do is assume it: you have to verify the specific limit you were authorised.

A risk assessment already written for a common type of operation. If your flight falls within its limits, you are spared the most expensive part of the study and it is settled with an operational authorisation.

Does a SORA cover several flights?

The study describes a concept of operations, not a single flight. As long as your flights stay within what it describes it remains valid; stepping outside it forces a review.

What are the specific category and SORA?

The specific category is where an operation lands when it does not meet every condition of the open one: flying beyond visual line of sight, over people, above the open category ceiling, or with a bigger aircraft. There are three routes to operate there, from least to most work: adopting a standard scenario with an operational declaration, adopting a predefined risk assessment (a PDRA), or applying for an operational authorisation with a full SORA study. SORA is the methodology, not the procedure.

Common European Union framework. Your country may add its own conditions.Reviewed on September 17, 2026

In short

The category is decided by the risk of the operation, not by whether you are paid for it.
STS-01 is flown with a class C5 drone, within visual line of sight and over a controlled ground area.
STS-02 is flown with class C6 and allows flight beyond visual line of sight up to 2 km from the pilot, with airspace observers and in a sparsely populated environment.
SORA assesses ground risk and air risk, and from both comes a robustness level (SAIL) with concrete requirements.
In the specific category, overflight of buildings is governed by the approved ConOps and its mitigations, not by the owner's permission required in the open category.

When you leave the open category

The open category has a concrete boundary: up to 120 metres above the ground, always within visual line of sight, without overflying assemblies of people, with an aircraft under 25 kilos and respecting the distances of your subcategory. As soon as one of those conditions is not met, the operation is specific.

The common mistake is thinking the boundary is about being paid. It is not: there are professional jobs that fit comfortably within open and recreational flights that do not. What decides is the risk.

The standard scenarios: the shortest route

They are typical operations already analysed, which you adopt by submitting an operational declaration instead of a study. There are two.

STS-01 is flown with a class C5 drone, within visual line of sight and over a controlled ground area, that is, an area under the operator's control. STS-02 is flown with class C6 and allows flight beyond visual line of sight up to 2 kilometres from the pilot, with airspace observers, in a sparsely populated environment and up to 120 metres. Both require standard scenario theory training plus the scenario's own practical training, and the right drone class: without a C5 there is no STS-01.

PDRAs and the operational authorisation

If your operation does not fit a standard scenario, the next step up are the predefined risk assessments. They are analyses already written for common operation types, with their requirements fixed, which save the most expensive part of the study and are settled with an operational authorisation. Spain additionally has its own PDRA for the application of plant protection products.

And if you do not fit those either, the full SORA remains: the risk study that underpins an operational authorisation tailored to your concept of operations.

What SORA looks at

The study separates two risks. Ground risk, meaning who you could hurt if the drone falls, which depends on the population under the track and on the size of the aircraft. And air risk, meaning who you could meet, which depends on the airspace you fly in.

Crossing the two yields a required robustness level, the SAIL, and from there a list of concrete requirements: which mitigations you need, which procedures, which equipment and which training the personnel must hold. It is not a piece of paper: it is the design of the operation.

What changes compared with the open category

This is what surprises people most and what is almost never said. Under an operational authorisation, several of the open category limits stop applying as such and become whatever your approved ConOps states: the vertical limit, flight beyond visual line of sight and the time window.

And overflight of buildings changes logic: in open it is settled with the permission of the building's owner; in specific it is governed by the approved ConOps and its mitigations. If your operation also needs a controlled ground area over urban public land, municipal occupation permits will be required, which are a separate procedure from the aviation authorisation.

What comes after the authorisation

The authorisation does not close the matter, it opens it. The requirements produced by the study have to be sustained: maintaining the equipment, logging flights, evidencing personnel training, reviewing procedures and documenting occurrences.

That traceability is what gets shown when the authority asks, and the reason a specific category operation and orderly fleet management are the same conversation, not two.

Frequently asked questions

See all questions

Do I need the specific category to work with my drone?: Not necessarily. Many professional operations fit within the open category. What takes you out of it is height, loss of visual line of sight, overflight of people or the weight of the aircraft.
What is the difference between a declaration and an authorisation?: A standard scenario is declared: you state that your operation meets its conditions. A PDRA or a SORA are authorised: the aviation authority reviews and grants. The declared route is noticeably faster, which is why it is worth checking first whether you fit.
Can I fly higher than 120 metres in the specific category?: Under an operational authorisation the vertical limit is whatever your approved ConOps states, so it may be higher. What you cannot do is assume it: you have to verify the specific limit you were authorised.
What is a PDRA?: A risk assessment already written for a common type of operation. If your flight falls within its limits, you are spared the most expensive part of the study and it is settled with an operational authorisation.
Does a SORA cover several flights?: The study describes a concept of operations, not a single flight. As long as your flights stay within what it describes it remains valid; stepping outside it forces a review.

This guide is general information and planning support, not legal advice and not a flight authorisation. Regulations change and every country adds its own conditions. Before taking off, always check the official sources for your jurisdiction and current aeronautical information. The remote pilot in command is solely responsible for the flight.