Is my Spanish operator registration valid in Germany?

Yes. Operator registration and pilot certificates are valid throughout the Union. What does not travel with you are the German zones and the consents they require. In the specific category, your declaration or authorisation must also be submitted to the LBA before you fly.

Where can I check the official zones?

On dipul, the Federal Ministry of Transport's portal, which is also where operator registration is done. And remember that the regulation applies even where a particular zone is not drawn.

Can I fly over a neighbour's house?

You need their consent, unless your drone weighs up to 0.25 kilos and cannot record or transmit images, sound or radio signals, or you fly at 100 metres or more meeting every condition in the regulation.

Can I fly near a German airport?

In the open category, within 1,000 metres of an airport or in its runway centreline strip, no: there the only way out is the specific category. At other aerodromes the zone is 1,500 metres and the aerodrome's consent is enough.

Can I fly in a German national park?

Only with the express consent of the nature conservation authority, at any height. The way out above 100 metres that exists in other protected areas does not apply in national parks.

Do I need insurance for a small drone?

Yes. In Germany third-party liability insurance is mandatory for any drone, with no minimum weight, and proof is carried on every flight. In Spain and Portugal the threshold is different, so do not take it for granted when crossing the border.

Where can I fly a drone in Germany?

Germany applies the same European framework, with operator registration at the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) through dipul, the official zones portal of the Federal Ministry of Transport. What changes is how the zones work. § 21h of the LuftVO hardly prohibits anything: it says under which conditions flying is permissible, and the most common one is the express consent of someone specific, whether the operator of a facility, the owner of a property or the nature conservation authority.

Applies to Germany.Reviewed on September 24, 2026

In short

Operators register with the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) through dipul, which is also the official map of geographical zones.
Around airports the zone is 1,000 metres, plus a strip of 1,000 metres on each side of the runway centreline extended 5 kilometres. There you can only fly in the specific category.
Around other aerodromes the zone is 1,500 metres, and it is lifted by the specific category or by the aerodrome's consent.
Industrial sites, power plants, prisons, military facilities, government buildings, police and hospitals have 100 metres around them, and inside you fly with the express consent of their operator.
Over a residential property you need the owner's consent, unless the drone weighs up to 0.25 kilos and cannot record or transmit, or you fly above 100 metres under strict conditions.
Third-party liability insurance is mandatory with no minimum weight, and proof is carried on every flight.

Here a zone does not prohibit: it sets a condition

§ 21h of the LuftVO opens by saying that flying is permissible under certain conditions, and almost all of them come down to the express consent of someone identifiable: the operator of the facility, the owner of the property, the aerodrome or the nature conservation authority. It is a different logic from a zone that prohibits and a procedure that lifts it, and it changes the question to ask: less whether you can fly than whom you have to ask.

And the regulation adds something worth keeping in mind: § 21j states that § 21h also applies where the zone has not been designated or published as a geographical zone. What binds is the object the law describes. dipul is the official reference and the first place to look.

Airports and aerodromes, and the only zone no consent can lift

Around an airport the zone is 1,000 metres, plus a strip of 1,000 metres on each side of every runway centreline, extended 5 kilometres in both directions. It is the only family that no one's consent lifts: in the open category there is nobody to ask, and the way out is to operate in the specific category.

At other aerodromes, including heliports, glider fields and microlight strips, the zone is 1,500 metres and has two ways out: the specific category or the consent of the aerodrome's supervision, its flight control or its operator. Control zones also require an air traffic control clearance.

Facilities, institutions and hospitals: 100 metres and the operator's consent

Industrial sites, power plants and the electricity transmission grid, prisons, military facilities, maximum biosafety laboratories, constitutional bodies, ministries, diplomatic missions and police premises have a zone of 100 metres around them. You fly inside if the competent authority or the operator expressly consents.

Hospitals also have 100 metres, with a nuance that gets lost in summaries: there only the hospital's operator consents. And for energy what counts is the connection to the transmission grid, not the size of the installation: a wind farm connected to the distribution grid is not included.

Residential properties and the 100-metre threshold

The German equivalent of an urban area is not the built-up town, it is the residential property, one by one. Flying over it requires the consent of its owner or whoever uses it. There are two exceptions. A drone of up to 0.25 kilos that cannot record or transmit images, sound or third-party radio signals. And flying at 100 metres or more, which must also meet all of the following at once: flying over the property is necessary for a legitimate purpose, you cannot use public land or reasonably ask for consent, privacy is protected by informing those affected in advance, it is not between 22:00 and 6:00, and noise limits are not exceeded.

Watch the edge: here the regulation says «at least 100 metres», so exactly 100 metres already counts. For protected areas it says «more than 100 metres», and exactly 100 does not yet.

Nature, transport routes, bathing sites and emergencies

In nature reserves, national parks and Natura 2000 sites you need the express consent of the nature conservation authority. Above 100 metres there is another way out if three more conditions are met at once: the flight is not for sport or leisure, the pilot knows and respects the area's protective purpose, and flying over it is indispensable. In national parks that way out does not exist. And a Land may regulate it differently, so the rules of each area matter.

Federal motorways and roads, federal waterways and railways have 100 metres. Roads and railways can be overflown in the specific category if the risk assessment covers it. All three, also, with their operator's consent or by always keeping a height lower than the lateral distance to the route and more than 10 metres of separation. Waterways can be crossed by the shortest path at 100 metres or more, without flying over ships or locks.

Two zones depend on the moment and not only on the place. Open-air pools and bathing beaches are prohibited during their opening hours, and during them there is no one to ask. And at an accident or emergency services site the person in charge of the operation decides.

Specific category, insurance and how AXPA handles it

In the specific category, the authorisation is granted by the aviation authority of the Land where the operator is resident or has its seat, not the one where the flight takes place, although twelve of the sixteen Länder have already transferred that competence to the LBA. Standard scenario declarations always go to the LBA. Third-party liability insurance is mandatory with no minimum weight, and proof is carried on every flight.

AXPA shows the German zones it has modelled with the condition that lifts them and the height band that changes the answer, below or above 100 metres. You mark the point, choose the drone and the verdict tells you which zone applies and what you need to fly there.

Frequently asked questions

See all questions

Is my Spanish operator registration valid in Germany?: Yes. Operator registration and pilot certificates are valid throughout the Union. What does not travel with you are the German zones and the consents they require. In the specific category, your declaration or authorisation must also be submitted to the LBA before you fly.
Where can I check the official zones?: On dipul, the Federal Ministry of Transport's portal, which is also where operator registration is done. And remember that the regulation applies even where a particular zone is not drawn.
Can I fly over a neighbour's house?: You need their consent, unless your drone weighs up to 0.25 kilos and cannot record or transmit images, sound or radio signals, or you fly at 100 metres or more meeting every condition in the regulation.
Can I fly near a German airport?: In the open category, within 1,000 metres of an airport or in its runway centreline strip, no: there the only way out is the specific category. At other aerodromes the zone is 1,500 metres and the aerodrome's consent is enough.
Can I fly in a German national park?: Only with the express consent of the nature conservation authority, at any height. The way out above 100 metres that exists in other protected areas does not apply in national parks.
Do I need insurance for a small drone?: Yes. In Germany third-party liability insurance is mandatory for any drone, with no minimum weight, and proof is carried on every flight. In Spain and Portugal the threshold is different, so do not take it for granted when crossing the border.

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.