🇹🇷 Country guide · updated 2026-09
Drone laws in Turkey
Turkey has never been part of the European drone system and rebuilt its own at the end of July 2026.
At a glance
- Registration
- No registration fee is published
- Registration portal
- İHATTYS
- Maximum height
- 120 m for the P0 and P1 licences, with a 3,000 m horizontal limit. Higher or further needs the advanced P2 licence and an allocated airspace volume.
- Insurance
- Not confirmed — check with the authority
We could not confirm the exact current fee for Turkey against an official published tariff. The figure above is our best reading — check SHGM (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) before you rely on it.
Turkey has never been part of the European drone system and rebuilt its own at the end of July 2026. The new instruction scrapped the weight-permission model for pilot licences, mandatory geofencing and remote ID, and a software requirement that reaches foreign aircraft. The landscape is extraordinary and the rules are now among the strictest in Europe. For a visitor this is the hardest country on this site to fly in legally.
Country-specific decision path
Before you choose a launch point in Turkey
- Confirm your operator paperwork Registration required — No registration fee is published. Outside the EU/EEA system. You need a separate registration here. Open İHATTYS
- Check the exact route on the official map İHATTYS is the national starting point; read every condition covering the complete route, not only the launch pin. Open İHATTYS
- Apply the local layer Be honest with yourself before packing. Review the Turkey zone and nature checks
Registration in Turkey
Turkey is not an EASA member state and applies none of the EU regulations. It runs its own instruction, the SHT-İHA, under Civil Aviation Law 2920. A completely new edition was published at the end of July 2026, with a transition period to 31 July 2027. It replaced the İHA0–İHA3 weight classes with M0–M3 and introduced three pilot licences: P0 for amateurs, P1 for commercial work, P2 for advanced operations. Anything written before August 2026 describes a system that no longer exists.
Registration applies from 500 g. The obstacle is not the form but the aircraft: since the end of July 2026 a foreign-registered drone must carry İHATTYS-compatible software, and one that does not may be neither registered nor flown. Sign-in runs on Turkish e-government identity. We found no verified route by which a visiting hobbyist completes this.
What it costs: No registration fee is published — Ongoing.
Outside the EU/EEA system. You need a separate registration here.
How to register
- Check whether your aircraft carries the İHATTYS-compatible software module
- Create an account in İHATTYS at ihatakip.shgm.gov.tr
- Register as a user; sign-in uses Turkish e-government identity
- Hold the right licence — P0 for amateur flying, P1 for commercial
- Give police 24 hours' notice where a provincial order requires it
- Check the zone map: green needs no permit, orange needs one, red is closed
Turkey registers users and aircraft in its own system, İHATTYS, from 500 g upwards, and recognises no foreign registration. Sign-in runs through Turkish e-government identity, and the published route for foreign operators is an application through diplomatic channels 20 working days ahead. No registration fee is published. Since the end of July 2026 a foreign-registered drone must also carry İHATTYS-compatible software, or it may neither be registered nor flown.
Flight rules
- Maximum height
- 120 m for the P0 and P1 licences, with a 3,000 m horizontal limit. Higher or further needs the advanced P2 licence and an allocated airspace volume.
- Line of sight
- Visual line of sight for P0 and P1. Beyond line of sight is a P2 privilege only, and optical aids do not count as sight.
- Weight classes
- Turkey uses its own classes: M0 from 500 g to 4 kg, M1 to 25 kg, M2 to 150 kg, M3 above that. A tourist drone is almost always M0, and anything under 500 g falls outside the system.
- Night flying
- This changed in 2026 and most sources still have it wrong. Amateur P0 flying is daylight only, but a P1 holder may fly at night with suitable equipment, and an observer may be required.
- Weather
- The old instruction required 2 km visibility. The new one sets no numeric limit, so treat visibility as a line-of-sight question.
Turkey has never used the EU C0–C6 marks. Since the end of July 2026 it classifies unmanned aircraft as M0 to M3 by take-off mass, beginning at 500 g, and pairs them with pilot licences P0 for amateurs, P1 for commercial work and P2 for advanced operations. Aircraft under 500 g that cannot leave a small cylinder around the pilot count as toys and fall outside the system entirely.
Where you may not fly
Turkey works in green, orange and red zones held inside İHATTYS: green needs no permit, orange needs one, red is closed. The instruction does not list airports or military sites, because the zone data is the rule. Alongside it, provincial governors publish their own orders — typically 5 nautical miles from a runway, plus military, prison and government exclusions, and often 24 hours' notice to police.
Airports and controlled airspace
5 nautical miles, about 9 km, from the nearest runway edge at any altitude, and the same for heliports. Provincial governors publish these orders, which also cover military sites, prisons, fuel depots, government buildings and courts.
Towns and cities
Istanbul has had a governorship order on unmanned aircraft since 2016, but the specific zones sit in an attached document we could not retrieve. Check İHATTYS rather than a radius quoted elsewhere. We found no equivalent order for Ankara.
Protected nature
We found no Turkish instrument banning drones at archaeological sites as such, despite the claim being common. What does apply is a filming permission from the provincial culture and tourism directorate at museums and archaeological sites. Whether national park photography tariffs cover drones is unconfirmed.
Government and military sites
Military installations, prisons, fuel depots, government buildings, courts and police facilities, through provincial orders. During state events and elections a 3,000 m radius and 1,000 m altitude restriction can apply.
Other restrictions in Turkey
- The zone map sits inside İHATTYS behind a Turkish login, so the map is the rule and it is hard to read from abroad
- Geofencing, remote ID and certified software are mandatory under the new instruction
- Some provinces require 24 hours' written notice to police before a permitted flight
Insurance
A standalone 2017 regulation sets minimum third-party cover for unmanned aircraft at reduced rates. The new instruction contains no insurance article, and the minimum figures sit in a table we could not retrieve. The superseded rules required cover for commercial work and from 25 kg. Treat the position as unresolved and ask SHGM.
Penalties
The figures below come from the cited legislation and are revalued every January, so check the year before relying on one. Several Turkish provincial police pages still publish amounts that are cycles out of date.
| Breach | Penalty | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Operating without permission | 60,000 TL as set in 2024, revalued annually — 108,370 TL was being applied in early 2026 | Civil Aviation Law 2920 article 144, as amended by Law 7519. Imposed by the provincial governor. |
| Other breaches of the unmanned aircraft rules | 5,000 to 100,000 TL, also revalued annually | Same article, imposed by SHGM rather than the governor. |
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 Turkey with a drone
Be honest with yourself before packing. There is no verified route for a visiting hobbyist to register and fly legally: the portal runs on Turkish e-government identity, the published foreign route is a 20-working-day diplomatic application, and a foreign drone without the compatible software module may not be flown. Aircraft under 500 g sit outside the registration duty, though whether the software rule reaches them is unconfirmed.
Commercial work
Commercial work needs the P1 licence, and advanced operations the P2 with a medical certificate. Foreign operators are directed to apply through diplomatic channels 20 working days ahead. A foreign licence can be recognised, but only at P1 and P2 — there is no described route to the amateur P0.
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.
- Cappadocia — restricted by provincial order and busy balloon airspace
- Gallipoli and Troy, Çanakkale — full provincial rule set published
- Pamukkale and Hierapolis — filming permission applies; no drone ban found
- Mount Nemrut — no drone provision found either way
- The Lycian coast and Ölüdeniz — nothing published; heavy paragliding traffic
- Marmara island region — covered by its own 2019 decision
Apps and official maps
- İHATTYS - the official portal and zone map, behind a Turkish login
- İHA Takip - SHGM's own app for the map and flight permits, also e-government sign-in
Practical tips
- The İHA0–İHA3 classes are gone; anything describing them predates August 2026
- Night flying is no longer banned outright, but amateur P0 flying is still daylight only
- A foreign drone without İHATTYS-compatible software may not be flown or registered
- There is no passport-registration scheme for drones at the Turkish border
- Fines are revalued every January, so an older quoted figure will be too low
Questions about flying in Turkey
Do I need to register to fly a drone in Turkey?
Registration required — No registration fee is published. Outside the EU/EEA system. You need a separate registration here.
How high can I fly in Turkey?
120 m for the P0 and P1 licences, with a 3,000 m horizontal limit. Higher or further needs the advanced P2 licence and an allocated airspace volume.
Do I need drone insurance in Turkey?
A standalone 2017 regulation sets minimum third-party cover for unmanned aircraft at reduced rates. The new instruction contains no insurance article, and the minimum figures sit in a table we could not retrieve. The superseded rules required cover for commercial work and from 25 kg. Treat the position as unresolved and ask SHGM.
Can I fly a drone at night in Turkey?
This changed in 2026 and most sources still have it wrong. Amateur P0 flying is daylight only, but a P1 holder may fly at night with suitable equipment, and an observer may be required.
What are the penalties for breaking drone rules in Turkey?
The figures below come from the cited legislation and are revalued every January, so check the year before relying on one. Several Turkish provincial police pages still publish amounts that are cycles out of date.
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 SHGM (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) — official drone information
- Registration İHATTYS
Rules change, and national authorities publish the current position. Before you fly, check SHGM (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) — it is linked at the top of this page too.