🇭🇷 Country guide · updated 2026-09
Drone laws in Croatia
Croatia's drone rules are split across two authorities that visitors regularly mistake for one.
At a glance
- Registration
- Not published
- Registration portal
- FAUST (CCAA)
- Maximum height
- 120 m above ground level in the Open category.
- Insurance
- Not required by national law
- Authority
- CCAA (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency)
We could not confirm the exact current fee for Croatia against an official published tariff. The figure above is our best reading — check CCAA (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency) before you rely on it.
Croatia's drone rules are split across two authorities that visitors regularly mistake for one. The civil aviation agency registers you as an operator at drone.ccaa.hr. Croatia Control, a different body, runs the airspace system at amc.crocontrol.hr, where reservations are made and zones are shown — and it needs its own separate registration. Add a third: aerial photography of Croatian territory can require approval from the State Geodetic Administration under a defence-derived regulation that has nothing to do with aviation. The national parks are simpler, and worse news: Plitvice, Krka and Northern Velebit prohibit drones outright rather than licensing them.
Country-specific decision path
Before you choose a launch point in Croatia
- Confirm your operator paperwork Registration required — Not published. In the EU. One EU/EEA operator registration covers this country. Open FAUST (CCAA)
- Check the exact route on the official map AMC Portal is the national starting point; read every condition covering the complete route, not only the launch pin. Open AMC Portal
- Apply the local layer An EU or EEA registration is valid in Croatia — the CCAA says so in as many words, and a pilot certificate from any member state is accepted too. Review the Croatia zone and nature checks
Registration in Croatia
Croatia applies Regulations 2019/947 and 2019/945; its own national drone regulation was repealed outright in February 2021, so the Croatian categories A, B1, B2, C1 and C2 that still appear in places — including the AMC Portal's own FAQ — have no legal force. Geographical zones became a formal AIP product in December 2023, published as ENR 6.14 for control zones and ENR 6.15 for uncontrolled airspace. A new flight-rules regulation took effect on 1 September 2026 and adds temporary reserved areas for unmanned aircraft and U-space provisions, which no earlier guide will mention.
We previously said a registration fee applies. We cannot support that. No fee, charge or payment step appears anywhere on the CCAA's registration pages, on the FAUST platform itself, on gov.hr, or in the CCAA's own fee regulation, which contains no unmanned-aircraft item at all. No validity period or renewal requirement is published either. Both may simply not exist; we would rather say the authority does not publish them than invent an answer. Ask uas@ccaa.hr if it matters to you.
What it costs: Not published — Not published.
In the EU. One EU/EEA operator registration covers this country.
How to register
- Register as an operator in your own country if you live in the EU or EEA — CCAA states plainly that this is valid in Croatia and that no Croatian registration is needed
- If Croatia is the first EU state you will fly in: register on FAUST at drone.ccaa.hr
- For anything beyond uncontrolled airspace below 120 m, register separately with Croatia Control to use the AMC Portal
- Reserve airspace where required: seven working days ahead by the standard route, or five minutes ahead through the AMC Portal Mobile app where that shortcut applies
- For photography or filming, check whether you need State Geodetic Administration approval — this is a separate Croatian requirement
You register as an operator — not the drone. Registration is required from 250 g, or below 250 g if the drone can transfer more than 80 J of energy, or if it carries a sensor able to capture personal data. CE-marked toys are exempt. Put your operator number on every drone you fly and set it in Remote ID.
Flight rules
- Maximum height
- 120 m above ground level in the Open category.
- Line of sight
- Visual line of sight required. Over-water operations require extra safety planning.
- Weight classes
- Standard EU weight categories apply. Sea conditions may require water-resistant equipment.
- Night flying
- Night flying is allowed in the Open category. A drone with a class mark must show a flashing green light so it stays visible. You still have to keep it in sight, which is harder after dark, and national geographical zones apply exactly as they do in daylight.
- Weather
- Good weather required. Bora and Jugo winds can be extremely strong and sudden - check marine forecasts.
Class marks C0–C6 have been mandatory since 1 January 2024. The transition period is over: a drone without a class mark may only be flown in A1 (under 250 g) or A3 (under 25 kg).
Where you may not fly
There is no single EU-wide distance from airports. Each country publishes its own UAS geographical zones, so check the national map or app before every flight.
Airports and controlled airspace
Croatia works from airspace rather than from a distance to a terminal. Inside a control zone within 5 km of the aerodrome reference point, any drone flight needs an airspace reservation through the standard seven-working-day procedure. Beyond 5 km but still inside the control zone, the AMC Portal Mobile app can clear you up to 50 m above ground, and above that you are back to the standard route. Outside control zones, controlled airspace above 300 m needs a reservation, and at an uncontrolled aerodrome you need the operator's approval within 3 km of the runway. Above 120 m in uncontrolled airspace requires CCAA approval.
Towns and cities
Dubrovnik Old Town has strict restrictions (UNESCO World Heritage). Split Diocletian's Palace area restricted. Zagreb center has airport-related restrictions.
Protected nature
The national parks do not require a permit so much as prohibit drones outright, and each does it through its own regulation published in the official gazette. Plitvice Lakes prohibits aerial filming by drone except in exceptional cases with the institution's approval, and the park's own filming protocol puts it more bluntly still: remotely controlled aircraft for filming from the air are banned. Krka lists drones among forbidden acts. Northern Velebit prohibits the use of unmanned aircraft outright. Permits, where they exist at all, come from each park's own public institution — not from CCAA and not from a single national parks body.
Government and military sites
Military installations on islands create significant restricted zones. Naval bases at Split and Pula have large no-fly areas.
Other restrictions in Croatia
- Aerial imaging of Croatian territory needs approval from the State Geodetic Administration under a 2020 regulation, with an exemption for targeted filming of isolated locations for the owner's own needs
- The Croatian AIP went behind a login on 31 December 2025 — the public eAIP link was deleted and access now requires an AIM Portal account
- Event-driven no-fly zones appear over Zagreb, Rijeka, Split and Vukovar and are published on the AMC Portal
Insurance
There is no national insurance requirement for light drones in Croatia. EU law only mandates third-party liability cover above 20 kg. Insurance is still strongly recommended, and it is required for most commercial work.
Penalties
Penalties are set nationally and applied administratively. Serious or dangerous breaches — flying near aircraft, over crowds, or in a protected zone — can lead to prosecution. We do not publish figures for Croatia because no official penalty schedule was available to verify. Check with CCAA (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency) for the current position.
Whatever the amount, the pattern across Europe is the same: paperwork failures are handled administratively, while flying near aircraft, over crowds, or inside a protected zone is what turns a case into a prosecution.
Visiting Croatia with a drone
An EU or EEA registration is valid in Croatia — the CCAA says so in as many words, and a pilot certificate from any member state is accepted too. Recreational flying below 20 kg needs no insurance here. What visitors get wrong is the second system: airspace reservations run through Croatia Control's AMC Portal, which is a separate registration from your CCAA operator record, and the coastal towns and islands that draw most drone photography sit inside control zones where the 5 km and 50 m thresholds decide what you can do. The national parks are the other surprise — Plitvice and Krka prohibit drones rather than permitting them with paperwork.
Commercial work
Insurance becomes mandatory as soon as the flight is aerial work rather than recreation — gov.hr frames it exactly that way, and the minimum cover is the EU figure of 750,000 SDR. The State Geodetic Administration approval regime matters more to commercial operators too: its exemption covers targeted filming of isolated locations for an owner's own needs, which is narrower than most commercial jobs, and approvals run up to three months per application. Filming permits in the national parks are priced by each park; Plitvice publishes hourly and daily rates, though those are for permitted ground filming, since drone filming there is banned.
Location planning
These are well-known photographic subjects to research, not recommended launch points or proof that a flight is allowed. Check the exact route against official airspace, nature, land-manager and people restrictions.
- Dalmatian coast and islands (away from airports and military zones)
- Istrian peninsula inland areas
- Zadar and Šibenik coastlines
- Korčula and Hvar island landscapes (check restrictions)
- Croatian Highlands and Gorski Kotar
- Pelješac Peninsula vineyards
Apps and official maps
- AMC Portal and AMC Portal Mobile (amc.crocontrol.hr) — Croatia Control's airspace system: the zone map, reservations and live status. It needs its own registration, separate from CCAA's
- drone.ccaa.hr (FAUST) — CCAA operator registration. Not the same system as the AMC Portal, and the two are routinely confused
Practical tips
- Two portals, two registrations, two bodies. drone.ccaa.hr registers you as an operator; amc.crocontrol.hr handles airspace. Neither substitutes for the other
- Plitvice and Krka do not issue drone permits to visitors — drones are prohibited, not merely regulated
- Photography and filming may need State Geodetic Administration approval, which is a Croatian requirement most guides never mention
- The «permanent Dubrovnik no-fly zone» that circulates was a temporary event zone in June 2024, not a standing ban
- The AMC Portal's own FAQ still uses Croatia's old national drone categories A, B1, B2, C1 and C2. Those were repealed in 2021 and have no legal force
- Old fine figures quoted in kuna are pre-2023. Croatia adopted the euro on 1 January 2023
- A new flight-rules regulation took effect on 1 September 2026, introducing temporary reserved areas for drones and U-space provisions
Questions about flying in Croatia
Do I need to register to fly a drone in Croatia?
Registration required — Not published. In the EU. One EU/EEA operator registration covers this country.
How high can I fly in Croatia?
120 m above ground level in the Open category.
Do I need drone insurance in Croatia?
There is no national insurance requirement for light drones in Croatia. EU law only mandates third-party liability cover above 20 kg. Insurance is still strongly recommended, and it is required for most commercial work.
Can I fly a drone at night in Croatia?
Night flying is allowed in the Open category. A drone with a class mark must show a flashing green light so it stays visible. You still have to keep it in sight, which is harder after dark, and national geographical zones apply exactly as they do in daylight.
What are the penalties for breaking drone rules in Croatia?
Penalties are set nationally and applied administratively. Serious or dangerous breaches — flying near aircraft, over crowds, or in a protected zone — can lead to prosecution. We do not publish figures for Croatia because no official penalty schedule was available to verify. Check with CCAA (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency) for the current position.
Official sources
Primary sources used for this guide, checked September 2026. Open the live national source again before flying; geographical zones and temporary restrictions can change between reviews.
- National authority CCAA (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency) — official drone information
- Official zones and map AMC Portal — Croatia Control
- European framework Regulation (EU) 2019/947 — rules and procedures for operating unmanned aircraft
- Official maps directory EASA — national aviation authorities and geographical-zone sources
Rules change, and national authorities publish the current position. Before you fly, check CCAA (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency) — it is linked at the top of this page too.