Is my Spanish operator registration valid in Portugal?

Yes. Operator registration and the certificate of competency are mutually recognised across the European Union. What does not travel with you are the Portuguese zones or the procedures before Portuguese authorities, aerial survey included.

Is the Portuguese ANAC the same as the Brazilian one?

No. They are two distinct civil aviation authorities sharing an acronym. When searching for information, check that the source is Portuguese: the confusion is easy to make and expensive in regulatory matters.

Can I fly near Lisbon or Faro airport?

It depends on the ring. In the Prohibited Area, no. In Areas 1, 2 and 3 the open category reaches 30, 60 and 80 metres above the surface respectively, so a low flight can be viable where another map would paint everything red.

Do I need the aerial survey authorisation for a recreational flight?

The criterion is the capture of imagery of the territory, not whether you are paid for it. If your flight records or photographs, check beforehand rather than assuming.

Can I fly in a Portuguese nature park?

It requires authorisation from the competent environmental body, and which one depends on the region: ICNF on the mainland, IFCN IP-RAM in Madeira and DRAAC in the Azores. The specific authority is stated in the zone itself.

Is the height limit different from the European one?

The 120 metre ceiling above ground in the open category is the European one and applies equally. What differs are the country's own zones, which can lower it considerably, such as the 30, 60 and 80 metres of the airport rings.

Where can I fly a drone in Portugal?

Portugal applies the same European framework, with operator registration held with the Portuguese ANAC, plus three particularities worth knowing before you cross the border. Around the international airports there are rings that do not forbid but cap the height, at 30, 60 and 80 metres depending on the ring. The environmental authority changes depending on whether you are on the mainland, in Madeira or in the Azores. And capturing imagery from the air can require an aerial survey authorisation from the Autoridade Aeronáutica Nacional, which is a separate file from the flight.

Applies to Portugal.Reviewed on September 17, 2026

In short

The civil authority is the Portuguese ANAC, which is not the Brazilian ANAC: two distinct agencies share the acronym.
Operational Protection Areas: around the international airports there is a Prohibited Area, with a 1 kilometre radius where the open category may not operate, and Areas 1, 2 and 3, where it reaches 30, 60 and 80 metres above the surface respectively.
Inside the rings the ceiling is not the only limit: ANAC grants «up to 30 metres above the surface or up to the tallest obstacle within a 75 metre radius», whichever is higher.
Aerial survey is authorised by the Autoridade Aeronáutica Nacional, per operator and site, valid for around 30 days. In the areas of DL 248/91 it drops to a maximum of two consecutive days.
Protected nature depends on each region's environmental body: ICNF on the mainland, IFCN IP-RAM in Madeira and the regional environment directorate in the Azores.
The 150 metres of subcategory A3 are not Portuguese either: they are the European UAS.OPEN.040.

Two authorities and two independent files

The Portuguese ANAC is the civil aviation authority: that is where the operator registers and the pilot's competency is certified, exactly as in any other EU State, and with mutual recognition if you already hold it from another country.

The Autoridade Aeronáutica Nacional handles something else: the capture of imagery from the air, and military areas. They are two independent files, and holding the first does not cover the second. It is the difference most often overlooked when crossing the border with a camera drone.

The rings around airports, which cap height rather than forbid

This is the most useful Portuguese particularity to know and the one explained worst abroad. Around the international airports there is a Prohibited Area, with a one kilometre radius in which the open category may not operate, and three numbered concentric rings. In Area 1 the open category reaches 30 metres above the surface, in Area 2 60 metres and in Area 3 80 metres. Above that ceiling the open category ceases to apply.

In other words, being inside a ring does not cancel the flight: it puts a ceiling on it. Low-altitude work can be perfectly viable in a zone another map would simply paint red.

The 75 metre obstacle exception

The text ANAC publishes on each ring does not give one height, it gives two: «open category up to 30 metres above the surface or up to the obstacle within a 75 metre radius». It is an alternative to the ring's ceiling, not a general aerodrome rule, and that is why it matters so much: with a tower or a tall building nearby, the ceiling stops being the ring's and becomes the obstacle's.

That changes planning in built-up environments, and it is why AXPA applies it where it has the measured height of obstacles and says so rather than assuming it where it does not. Above whichever ceiling you end up with, authorisation comes from the director of the aerodrome, airfield or heliport, or from the AFIS service.

Aerial survey, the procedure that sets the calendar

If your flight involves capturing imagery of the territory, you are likely to need an aerial survey authorisation from the Autoridade Aeronáutica Nacional. What matters for planning is how it binds: it is granted per operator and per site, valid for around thirty days, not per flight.

But there is an important exception: in the areas of Decree-Law 248/91 that authorisation drops to a maximum of two consecutive days. A multi-day campaign that would fit in a single file elsewhere does not fit there. It is worth settling before fixing dates.

Nature, heliports and airspace

Protected nature areas are zones of the National Network of Protected Areas and of Natura 2000 delimited by ANAC. Overflight requires authorisation from the competent environmental body, and this is where the region matters: ICNF on the mainland, IFCN IP-RAM in Madeira and the regional environment directorate in the Azores. The specific authority travels within the zone itself, and it is safer to trust that than an acronym.

Hospital, firefighting and civil heliports have their protection area, and most of them forbid overflight. A hospital heliport can activate without warning, so seeing no traffic is not a check. Aerodromes without an ATZ, civil heliports and ultralight airfields require authorisation from their director to operate within a 2.5 kilometre radius; aerodromes with an ATZ or TMZ, from AFIS or from their director. Several of those zones have activation schedules, so the time slot has to be checked.

The islands are not an extension of the mainland

The Azores and Madeira publish their own zones and have their own environmental authority. They are not inherited from the mainland, and that is a common gap in tools covering only continental territory.

AXPA models all three with the same level of detail. You mark the point, pick the drone, and the verdict comes back with the Portuguese zone that applies and with the authority responsible for the procedure when the zone is conditional.

Frequently asked questions

See all questions

Is my Spanish operator registration valid in Portugal?: Yes. Operator registration and the certificate of competency are mutually recognised across the European Union. What does not travel with you are the Portuguese zones or the procedures before Portuguese authorities, aerial survey included.
Is the Portuguese ANAC the same as the Brazilian one?: No. They are two distinct civil aviation authorities sharing an acronym. When searching for information, check that the source is Portuguese: the confusion is easy to make and expensive in regulatory matters.
Can I fly near Lisbon or Faro airport?: It depends on the ring. In the Prohibited Area, no. In Areas 1, 2 and 3 the open category reaches 30, 60 and 80 metres above the surface respectively, so a low flight can be viable where another map would paint everything red.
Do I need the aerial survey authorisation for a recreational flight?: The criterion is the capture of imagery of the territory, not whether you are paid for it. If your flight records or photographs, check beforehand rather than assuming.
Can I fly in a Portuguese nature park?: It requires authorisation from the competent environmental body, and which one depends on the region: ICNF on the mainland, IFCN IP-RAM in Madeira and DRAAC in the Azores. The specific authority is stated in the zone itself.
Is the height limit different from the European one?: The 120 metre ceiling above ground in the open category is the European one and applies equally. What differs are the country's own zones, which can lower it considerably, such as the 30, 60 and 80 metres of the airport rings.

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.