CAAP Regulation Primer

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) regulates every drone in the country. This is the plain-language version — what registration you need, where you can fly, what altitude limits apply, and what changes when you start charging clients for surveys.

Version 1.4 · Updated April 2026 · Author: Lumipad Operations · License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 · Available in English, Tagalog and Cebuano.

Drone regulation in the Philippines is not friendly to read. Philippine Civil Aviation Regulations Part 11.11, CAAP Memorandum Circular 21-21, MC 026-2025, Advisory Circular 02-2025 — most pilots never read these documents and don't have to. They just need to know what's required, where to find the form, and which inspector to call.

This page is that: the rules in plain language, organised around what a Lumipad pilot actually does. Whether you're flying training laps over a barangay field, billing a cooperative for a 50-hectare cacao survey, or running a partner-org program from outside the Philippines — this is the regulation you need to know. This document is not legal advice; for definitive rules, the CAAP website and your local CAAP office are authoritative.

Different rules apply to different kinds of flights. A weekend training hop over your own farm is treated very differently from a paid commercial survey, which is in turn very different from agricultural spraying. There are five tiers: Universal (every flight), Recreational, Commercial, Agricultural, and Special permits.

Every Lumipad graduate running a microenterprise sits in the Commercial — surveys and mapping — tier. If you're flying for fun, training a new student, or demonstrating equipment, the Recreational rules apply. If you scale into chemical-spraying work, you'll need the AC 02-2025 special permit. Each tier adds requirements on top of the universal rules; nothing removes them.

These apply whether you're flying a 200 g toy in your backyard or a 10 kg agricultural sprayer over a 50-hectare cacao plantation. They're the baseline — every other tier adds requirements; nothing removes these.

Every flight requires:

• Maximum altitude 122 metres (400 ft) AGL — above ground level, not sea level. Higher requires a Special Flight Permit.
• Visual line of sight (VLOS) at all times — the pilot or a designated observer must see the drone with unaided vision throughout the flight.
• Daylight only — sunrise to sunset. Night flights require a special permit regardless of operation type.
• 10 km airport buffer — no flights within 10 km of any airport, airfield, or military airbase without CAAP coordination.
• 30 m clearance from non-participating people.
• No flights over crowds, gatherings, or densely populated areas without specific authorisation.
• Good weather only — no rain, no strong winds (typically <15 knots), good visibility.
• Pilot is sober — no alcohol or drugs. Aviation rules apply.

The detailed rules, with the reason each one exists:

• Registration over 250 g — any drone over 250 g must be registered with CAAP through the UA Registry portal (PCAR Part 4, ₱1,000 fee). The Lumipad Quad v1 weighs 450 g, so registration is required. It ties every drone to a known operator.
• Visible registration mark — the CAAP-issued number must be marked legibly on the drone's body (5 mm minimum text height). Sharpie on the underside is acceptable; engraving is better.
• 122 m / 400 ft maximum — above ground level. Surveying a hilltop farm at 200 m elevation, you may fly up to 322 m absolute. Above 400 ft is where general-aviation traffic operates.
• Visual line of sight — practical limit for the Quad v1 is ~400–500 m. FPV goggles alone don't satisfy VLOS; a spotter looking up at the drone does. Beyond VLOS needs a special permit.
• 10 km airport buffer — Davao International, Cebu Mactan, NAIA, and regional airfields all carry a 10 km radius (MC 026-2025). Check the CAAP no-fly map before every flight.
• 30 m from non-participants — cordon off your survey area or fly when nobody's around. A 1.5 kg drone falling from 30 m can seriously injure someone. Brief workers before a survey.

What “every flight” really means: the universal rules apply even when you're authorised under a higher tier. A commercial pilot with a Remote Pilot Licence still cannot fly above 122 m without an additional special permit. An agricultural spraying operator still cannot fly within 10 km of an airport without coordination.

• Universal rules are the floor. Other tiers stack on top.
• They protect everyone — pilots, the public, and manned aviation.
• If you can't follow the universal rules, no certification fixes it.

If a CAAP inspector or PNP officer asks: be calm, be polite, show your registration. Most enforcement is educational on first contact for minor violations.

Flying for personal practice, taking photos for yourself, or training a cohort student before they're certified — anything where no money is involved. The lightest tier: if your drone is under 7 kg and you stay within the universal rules, you don't need any additional certification.

Recreational requirements:

• Under 7 kilograms — the Lumipad Quad v1 (450 g) easily qualifies.
• Registered with CAAP if over 250 g (universal rule).
• All universal rules are followed.
• Not paid for the flight.
• Footage not sold or used to promote a paid service.

Recreational covers practice flights at your own farm, personal photography for social media (no sponsorship), and demonstrating to a friend or family member. It becomes commercial — even with no payment — the moment there is a deliverable for someone else (a free NDVI map or tree count for a neighbour), sponsored or influencer content, or training a paying student. Commercial work needs an RPL plus a UAS Operator Certificate.

The rule of thumb: if you cannot honestly say “I am flying this for my own pleasure with no expectation of value to myself or anyone else,” assume it's commercial. Money changing hands in any direction, a deliverable produced for someone else, brand compensation even non-cash, or affiliate links — all make it commercial. Don't try to game the line; the certifications aren't as expensive or difficult as the regulations sound.

The certifications every Lumipad graduate needs before flying a paid client mission. Three documents, two CAAP examinations, and an operations manual. The process takes 2–4 months and roughly ₱30,000–60,000 in training and fees. The cohort program covers the Week 6 fundamentals; graduates complete the actual certification with a CAAP-approved training school after graduation.

Three documents are required:

• Certificate of Registration (UCR) — for the drone itself, via the UA Registry portal. Required for any drone over 250 g.
• Remote Pilot Licence (RPL) — also called the Controller Certificate. For the pilot: theory exam + 5 hours practical + flight test. Valid 5 years.
• UAS Operator Certificate — for the business or organisation: operations manual, risk assessment, insurance proof, equipment list. Valid 3 years.

For the bigger picture of what these surveys do on Philippine farms, see our guide to agricultural drones in the Philippines; to build a livelihood from it, see starting a drone services business.

Here is each document — what it is, how to get it, and what it costs:

• UCR — Certificate of Registration: identifies the specific drone; each drone needs its own. Online via the CAAP UA Registry portal (make/model, serial, photos, proof of ownership). ₱1,000, valid for the life of the drone, 5–7 business days.
• RPL — Remote Pilot Licence: CAAP-approved training school course (40+ hours), 60-question knowledge exam, practical flight test with a CAAP examiner. ₱30,000–60,000 training + ₱3,000 exam fees, valid 5 years.
• OC — UAS Operator Certificate: documents that the operation as a whole is safe. Submit an operations manual (Lumipad provides a template), risk assessment, insurance certificate, and a list of all drones and pilots. ₱5,000–10,000 filing, valid 3 years.
• DA clearance: required for surveys whose deliverable informs agricultural decisions (most cacao/coffee/rice work). A simple endorsement via your local DA regional office. Free, annual renewal, 2–4 weeks.
• Third-party liability insurance: not technically required by CAAP under 7 kg, but virtually all serious clients require it. ₱5–10M coverage is standard, around ₱8,000–15,000/year.
• Flight logging: commercial pilots must keep logs (date, location, duration, drone ID, observations) available to inspectors. The Lumipad platform logs this automatically and exports a CAAP-compliant format. 2-year retention minimum.

Commercial start-up budget. For a Lumipad graduate starting their first microenterprise, expect total certification spend of ₱45,000–75,000 in the first year:

• UCR registration — ₱1,000
• RPL training school — ₱30,000–60,000 (the most expensive single item)
• RPL exam fees — ₱3,000
• UAS Operator Certificate filing — ₱5,000–10,000
• Insurance, year 1 — ₱8,000–15,000
• DA clearance, business registration, BIR — ₱2,000–5,000 (covered in Week 6)

Lumipad maintains a partial scholarship fund for graduates' RPL training — applications open after cohort graduation, and roughly half of recent graduates have received at least partial coverage.

Surveying crops is one thing. Spraying chemicals on them is another. The Lumipad Quad v1 is a survey drone — it does not spray — but some partner organisations scale into spraying using larger purpose-built drones. Advisory Circular AC 02-2025 covers this category specifically. It requires everything in Tier 3, plus:

• AC 02-2025 special permit — issued per operation type, covering your drones, operators, and geographic scope. Annual renewal, filed with the operations manual.
• Pesticide handler certification — from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), not CAAP. ~₱3,000 course, valid 3 years.
• Spray-system calibration log — calibration records, nozzle replacements, flow-rate audits (typically every 50 flight hours).
• Buffer zones — 30 m from non-target crops, 100 m from streams/rivers/wells, 200 m from houses, schools and places of worship. Spray drift is the major complaint; buffers contain it.
• Barangay coordination — notify the barangay 48–72 hours before any spraying operation; some require formal clearance.
• Application records — chemical, dilution, volume, area, weather, operator name; keep for 5 years (FPA).

For a practical look at spraying on Philippine farms — how it works, where it makes sense, and what it costs — see drone crop spraying in the Philippines.

Lumipad's position on spraying: the cohort program does not train pilots for spraying operations. Our v1 drone is a survey platform — it doesn't carry liquid payloads, and the curriculum focuses on imagery and data, not chemical application.

• Some graduates have scaled into spraying after graduation, working with larger commercial drones (T40, P100 class) and partner-org operators.
• Spraying is its own profession. We refer graduates to FPA-accredited spraying courses.
• Survey work pairs naturally with spraying — a Lumipad survey identifies hotspots; a spraying partner addresses them.

If a partner organisation wants to run a Lumipad-style program for spraying pilots, contact hello@lumipaddrones.com. The framework adapts, but the curriculum content is substantially different.

Sometimes the universal rules don't fit the operation. Surveying a 200-hectare cacao plantation in a single mission needs Beyond Visual Line of Sight permission; mapping a remote watershed at dawn needs a night-flight permit. Each is a separate CAAP authorisation, filed in advance.

• BVLOS — Beyond Visual Line of Sight: for surveys beyond ~500 m radius from the operator. Needs a detailed risk assessment, equipment list (FPV, GPS redundancy, RTH config), area maps, and radio-loss contingencies. CAAP, 4–8 weeks.
• Night operations: flights outside sunrise–sunset — useful for pre-dawn thermal NDVI imagery. Equipment/lighting list, site survey, ground-crew briefing, abort procedures. CAAP, 3–6 weeks.
• Above 122 m: for ridge-line surveys and mountain agriculture. Specific altitude requested, terrain analysis, separation plan, NOTAM filing. CAAP, 4–8 weeks, often paired with BVLOS.
• Controlled airspace: within 10 km of an airport. Lumipad's Davao base is ~12 km from Davao International — most flights are clear, but some partner farms aren't. CAAP + ATC coordination, 2–4 weeks.
• Over populated areas: when the survey area unavoidably includes inhabited zones. Public-safety briefing, ground observers, lower altitude limit (~60 m), insurance proof. CAAP, 4–8 weeks, case-by-case.

How graduates approach special permits: for most agricultural survey work the universal rules cover everything. Approach special permits when you've identified a recurring need, have a clear business case (paying client, multi-flight contract), can absorb the 4–8 week filing time, and have a documented safety record (12+ months incident-free).

Don't apply speculatively — CAAP reviews each application, and repeated unused permits can affect future ones. Apply when you have a concrete operation in front of you.

Even with full certification, every flight starts with a location check. The CAAP no-fly map covers the obvious cases (airports, military bases) but not the operational ones (a Sunday market in the next barangay, a school recess hour). Before any survey, work through these:

1. Airport buffer — 10 km, via the CAAP map.
2. Military and government restrictions — no-fly zones on the CAAP map.
3. Local population — the 30 m clearance and crowd rule.
4. Weather window — daylight, <15 knot wind.
5. Property access — owner permission.
6. Barangay notification — recommended, 24 hours ahead.

The questions Lumipad graduates and trainers actually get from regulators, clients, and inspectors — with plain-language answers.

A police officer asks about my drone.

Be calm and polite. Show your CAAP registration and Remote Pilot Licence if you have them. Most municipal police only know that drones need to be registered; once you show them, the conversation usually ends. Carry both physical and digital copies.

A barangay captain says I can't fly.

CAAP regulates Philippine airspace, but local LGUs can restrict drone use over their own jurisdictions for public-safety reasons. Respect the request, then file your CAAP and DA paperwork visibly with the LGU office. Most disputes resolve once they see you're operating legally.

A drone falls onto someone's property.

First, confirm no one is hurt — if there are injuries, call for medical help immediately. Document the location and condition, and notify your insurer within 24 hours. If there's property damage, offer to repair and pay, and document the resolution. Report to CAAP within 7 days for incidents involving injury or property damage.

A client wants me to fly above 122 m.

Don't — the altitude limit applies regardless of who's paying. If the operation genuinely requires it, file an above-altitude special permit (Tier 5), but only after the contract is signed and the client understands the 4–8 week lead time. Most “we need 200 m” requests are solvable at 122 m with better mission planning.

What happens if I get caught flying without certification?

For a first-time minor violation (an unregistered drone, recreational, no harm), CAAP typically issues a warning and helps you register. For serious cases — flying within an airport buffer, commercial work without an RPL, an incident causing injury or damage — penalties escalate quickly. Confiscation is common, and fines range from ₱5,000 to ₱500,000 depending on severity. Repeated violations or harm can lead to criminal charges. CAAP is generally fair to operators acting in good faith and harsh on those who knew the rules and ignored them.

Do I need to register every drone, or just the one I fly most?

Every drone over 250 g, individually. Each gets its own UCR tied to its serial number — build five Quads for a cohort and you file five UCRs (₱1,000 each, valid for the life of the drone). If you sell or transfer a drone, the new owner must update the registration.

Does the Lumipad program cover any of these certifications?

The current cohort covers the foundational knowledge in Week 6 — what each certificate is, how to apply, and what the operations manual should contain. We don't run the actual RPL course (CAAP-approved schools do). We do provide UCR registration completed during the program, RPL study materials, a partial RPL scholarship, an operations-manual template, and insurance referrals. The pipeline from graduation to first paid commercial flight typically takes 3–4 months.

What about international partners running Lumipad-style programs?

Each country has its own civil-aviation regulator, so the regulatory section must be replaced for any deployment outside the Philippines. We've worked with partners adapting the playbook to Vietnam (CAAV), Indonesia (DGCA), and Malaysia (CAAM). To adapt for a country we haven't covered, email hello@lumipaddrones.com.

Is third-party liability insurance actually required?

Not by CAAP for drones under 7 kg — the 450 g Quad v1 doesn't legally require it. But virtually every commercial client (cooperatives, NGOs, agribusiness, government) wants proof of cover before signing. We treat insurance as functionally required for commercial work: budget ₱8,000–15,000 per year.

What's changing in CAAP regulation in 2026?

Watch for Remote ID / electronic identification (likely >2 kg, expected within 12–18 months), GPS logging requirements (already introduced for some categories — the Lumipad platform is compliant), and possible AC 02-2025 expansion to other specialised categories. The version number in this primer is the source of truth for what's current.

What if my drone goes over 7 kg with payload?

Once total flying weight (drone + battery + payload) exceeds 7 kg, you cross into “large RPA” territory regardless of operation type: an RPL is required even for recreational flight, the operations-manual review is more intensive, and a model-specific flight test may be required. The Quad v1 (450 g) with NDVI rig and battery is well under 7 kg; the 10-inch variant (~1.3 kg) still is. Larger industrial drones like the DJI Agras T40 (50+ kg loaded) absolutely trigger it.

Build legally, fly safely, earn properly. For the rest of the pipeline, see the 6-week training playbook (including Week 6's regulation and business modules), the Lumipad Quad v1 bill of materials (the 450 g survey drone built in the cohort), and the next cohort application.

This primer is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. For definitive rules, the CAAP RPAS regulations portal and your local CAAP office are authoritative. Licensed CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Knowing the rules is one half of flying well; the other is stick time. You can build that safely in our free drone simulator — built for agriculture and the Philippines.

Lumipad Drones is a non-profit that trains rural Filipinos to build, fly, and maintain low-cost agricultural drones, and to launch the microenterprises that serve local farmers. To learn more about our work, see our about page, or apply to join a program. You can also try our free drone flight simulator — built for agriculture and the Philippines, and runnable right in your browser.