🇲🇰 Country guide · updated 2026-09
Drone laws in North Macedonia
North Macedonia adopted the EU drone regulations wholesale and they have applied since 1 January 2025.
At a glance
- Registration
- Free
- Registration portal
- drone.gov.mk
- Maximum height
- 120 m above the ground. Note that the Agency's older summary pages still say 100 m; the figure here comes from its current English guide for foreign operators.
- Insurance
- Required above 500 g
North Macedonia adopted the EU drone regulations wholesale and they have applied since 1 January 2025. It stays outside the EU system, so it keeps its own operator register — and unusually, it says plainly what a foreign visitor has to do. The Agency publishes its own English guide for foreigners, along with an airspace map updated the moment a zone is created. The one obligation people miss is that every single flight has to be reported before it happens.
Country-specific decision path
Before you choose a launch point in North Macedonia
- Confirm your operator paperwork Registration required — free. Outside the EU/EEA system. You need a separate registration here. Open drone.gov.mk
- Check the exact route on the official map CAA drone portal is the national starting point; read every condition covering the complete route, not only the launch pin. Open CAA drone portal
- Apply the local layer The Agency publishes its own English guide for foreign operators, and it is unusually clear. Review the North Macedonia zone and nature checks
Registration in North Macedonia
The Rulebook on Unmanned Aircraft, in the Official Gazette 115/2024 and applying from 1 January 2025, is only eleven articles long because it does not write its own rules: it makes Regulations 2018/1139, 2019/945, 2019/947 and 2021/664 directly applicable, along with EASA's acceptable means of compliance. Operations therefore run in the familiar A1, A2 and A3 subcategories. Recognition is the part to get right. The rulebook reads 'Member State' in those regulations through the ECAA Agreement, which on its face would bring EU registrations in — but the Agency's own guide for foreigners says plainly that foreign citizens must register as a drone operator here before starting. We follow the guide, because it is the Agency speaking to exactly this reader. A foreign remote pilot certificate, by contrast, is accepted.
Registration is free, online, and compulsory for foreign visitors regardless of any registration held elsewhere. Its purpose is practical: it gives you the registration number you need in order to report each intended flight, which the Agency calls the basic obligation of every operator and remote pilot.
What it costs: Free — Not published.
Outside the EU/EEA system. You need a separate registration here.
How to register
- Register as a drone operator at drone.gov.mk, free of charge
- Hold a remote pilot certificate if the drone is over 250 g — a foreign one from a competent authority is accepted
- Arrange third-party insurance if the drone is over 500 g, covering North Macedonian airspace
- Check the Agency's interactive map for the geographical areas before planning
- Report every intended flight through the same portal, before you fly
- For an airport zone, get approval from both air traffic control and the airport operator
North Macedonia keeps its own operator register even though it has transposed the EU rules, and recognition runs one way only. A foreign visitor must register as a drone operator here before starting, whatever registration they hold at home — but a remote pilot certificate issued by a competent aviation authority elsewhere is accepted, and is needed for any drone over 250 g. Registration itself is free and done online, and the number it gives you is what lets you report your flights.
Flight rules
- Maximum height
- 120 m above the ground. Note that the Agency's older summary pages still say 100 m; the figure here comes from its current English guide for foreign operators.
- Line of sight
- Visual line of sight at all times. The pilot must watch the surrounding airspace for manned aircraft and stop the flight if it becomes risky to aircraft, people, animals or property.
- Weight classes
- Recreational flying is capped at a maximum take-off weight under 4 kg. A remote pilot certificate is required above 250 g and insurance above 500 g. Drones without a class mark may still be flown in the Open category until 31 December 2026, on the weight-based conditions of Article 22 of Regulation 2019/947.
- Night flying
- Night flying is allowed, provided the drone carries at least one green flashing light.
- Weather
- No numeric limits published.
This is where North Macedonia is genuinely more relaxed than the EU. The rulebook makes the class-marking regulation directly applicable, but its transitional article lets a drone that does not meet those requirements be flown in the Open category until 31 December 2026, on the weight-based conditions of Article 22 of Regulation 2019/947 — three years longer than the EU's own transition, which ended on 1 January 2024. Aircraft placed on the market before 1 January 2026 have a further continuing route. It explains why the Agency's guide for visitors works in plain weight thresholds and never mentions class marks at all.
Where you may not fly
Two things set North Macedonia apart. The Agency publishes an interactive map on its own portal, updated the moment a zone is created, and the rulebook requires it to publish each zone together with its period of validity — so the map tells you not just where but for how long. And every flight must be reported through that same portal before it happens, which the Agency calls the basic obligation of every operator. Fixed restrictions include 3 km from the state border zone, 100 m from security and state objects, and airport zones needing approval from both air traffic control and the airport operator.
Airports and controlled airspace
Flying in an airport zone needs approval from both the competent air traffic control and the airport operator — two separate consents, not one. Ohrid airport sits on the shore of Lake Ohrid, so its zone covers part of the country's most photographed water.
Towns and cities
Skopje is subject to city-wide bans around elections and major gatherings; all operations over the capital and a list of surrounding municipalities were prohibited for two days around the November 2025 municipal elections. Zones have no size or duration limit.
Protected nature
We found no Agency source addressing Mavrovo, Galičica or Pelister national parks, or the Ohrid and Prespa UNESCO property. That is a gap in the published record rather than a permission — check the map and ask the park.
Government and military sites
A 100 m standoff applies to objects of importance for security and to state authorities: Ministry of Defence and army facilities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Government, the Assembly, the President's residence, diplomatic missions, power plants and high-voltage installations, storage plants, water purification works and correctional facilities.
Other restrictions in North Macedonia
- No flying within 3 km of the state border zone — an unusual restriction, and a wide one in a small country
- No flying over an assembly of people at any weight, though a drone under 250 g may overfly uninvolved people
- The Agency is required to publish each geographical zone together with its period of validity
- The minimum age is 16, and a minor must be supervised by an adult
Insurance
Third-party liability cover is required for any drone with a maximum take-off weight above 500 g, and for a visitor it must be an international policy that covers North Macedonian airspace. Note that the Agency's own registration form states the requirement differently, citing the EU threshold and national compulsory insurance law; the 500 g figure here comes from the guide written for foreign operators. No minimum sum insured is published, and the pilot is liable for damage to third parties whatever the policy says.
Penalties
The rulebook contains no penalty provisions at all — eleven articles, none of them about sanctions. That is a finding rather than a gap in our searching, and it matches the position in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Penalties would sit in the aviation law, which we could not retrieve, so we publish no amounts. Check with the Civil Aviation Agency.
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 North Macedonia with a drone
The Agency publishes its own English guide for foreign operators, and it is unusually clear. Register first — free, online, and compulsory no matter what you hold at home. Bring a remote pilot certificate if your drone is over 250 g; a foreign one from a competent aviation authority is accepted. Insure anything over 500 g with a policy covering North Macedonian airspace. Then report every flight through the portal before you make it: that reporting duty, not the registration, is what visitors overlook. Recreational flying is capped at 4 kg, the minimum age is 16, and supporting documents may be submitted in English.
Commercial work
A foreign person or company may work commercially if registered as an operator in the specific or certified category in an EASA member state, or as a drone operator in a third country in line with Regulation 2019/947. Authorisation from the Agency is required first, applied for at uas@caa.gov.mk with the operator certificate, pilot certificates, identification, insurance policy, operations manual, a map of the area, technical specifications, a risk assessment and proof of payment. The published charge is 100 euro per drone under 25 kg, 500 euro from 25 to 150 kg and 1,500 euro above that.
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.
- Lake Ohrid and the old town — UNESCO, and the airport zone reaches the shore
- The church of St John at Kaneo, Ohrid
- Matka Canyon, near Skopje
- Mavrovo National Park and the half-submerged St Nicholas church
- Kokino megalithic observatory
- Tikveš Lake and the Stobi archaeological site
Apps and official maps
- drone.gov.mk - registration, the flight reporting tool and the Agency's interactive map, all in one place
- The Agency's English guide for foreigners - published on the same portal, and worth reading before you travel
Practical tips
- Register before you fly — a foreign registration does not substitute, though a foreign pilot certificate does
- Report every single flight through the portal; this is the duty visitors miss
- Stay 3 km clear of the border zone, which rules out a lot of a small country
- An older drone with no class mark is still fine here until 31 December 2026
- Night flying is allowed with at least one green flashing light
Questions about flying in North Macedonia
Do I need to register to fly a drone in North Macedonia?
Registration required — free. Outside the EU/EEA system. You need a separate registration here.
How high can I fly in North Macedonia?
120 m above the ground. Note that the Agency's older summary pages still say 100 m; the figure here comes from its current English guide for foreign operators.
Do I need drone insurance in North Macedonia?
Third-party liability cover is required for any drone with a maximum take-off weight above 500 g, and for a visitor it must be an international policy that covers North Macedonian airspace. Note that the Agency's own registration form states the requirement differently, citing the EU threshold and national compulsory insurance law; the 500 g figure here comes from the guide written for foreign operators. No minimum sum insured is published, and the pilot is liable for damage to third parties whatever the policy says.
Can I fly a drone at night in North Macedonia?
Night flying is allowed, provided the drone carries at least one green flashing light.
What are the penalties for breaking drone rules in North Macedonia?
The rulebook contains no penalty provisions at all — eleven articles, none of them about sanctions. That is a finding rather than a gap in our searching, and it matches the position in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Penalties would sit in the aviation law, which we could not retrieve, so we publish no amounts. Check with the Civil Aviation Agency.
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 Civil Aviation Agency (Агенција за цивилно воздухопловство) — official drone information
- Registration drone.gov.mk
- Official zones and map CAA drone portal — Civil Aviation Agency of North Macedonia
Rules change, and national authorities publish the current position. Before you fly, check Civil Aviation Agency (Агенција за цивилно воздухопловство) — it is linked at the top of this page too.