Professional drone flights in French towns and cities: prior declaration and populated areas

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November 2026latest revision of this guide

• Primary sources: Légifrance, EUR-Lex, Géoportail, DGAC, service-public.fr.
• Every figure linked to its source, dated in the last chapter.
• Dated updates: you always read the latest version.

Who it is for

• Drone operators and remote pilots, French or foreign, flying in French towns: facades, roofs, urban construction sites, real estate, filming, events
• Production companies and agencies organising aerial shots in Paris, the Île-de-France region or a large French city
• Clients (property managers, landlords, construction firms, event organisers) who need a realistic schedule and want to check their provider is compliant
• Local authority departments commissioning flights or receiving requests to occupy public space for a drone

In pictures

Illustrative photos, published by their authors under free licences.

Contents of the complete guide

1. Built-up area, populated area, public space: what your mission triggers (free extract below)
2. Choosing the framework in town: professional open category, STS-01 or authorisation
3. The prior declaration step by step: AlphaTango or form 15476*04
4. The 10 working-day notice: getting the count right, and the back-schedule
5. The file: documents to gather before declaring
6. Public space on the ground: town hall, controlled ground area and residents
7. Events and gatherings: what can be done, what cannot
8. Paris and the Île-de-France region: P23, police prefecture and départements
9. The decision tree: which procedure, which lead time
10. Flight day: checks, changes and after the flight
11. Eight templates to copy
12. Sources and dates consulted

Included: 34 checklist items and 13 decision or reference tables.

Introduction

In a French city, a drone mission is rarely decided in the air. It is decided ten to fifteen days earlier, when you need to know whether the address is in a populated area, whether the prior declaration is due, which operating framework to use, which documents to attach and which prefecture to send them to, and whether the pavement where your safety perimeter will stand belongs to the municipality. A gap at that stage is paid for on the day: flight postponed, a police check that goes badly, a client who finds out the footage was shot outside any legal framework.

This guide sets out the full procedure for the operator flying in built-up areas and for the client commissioning the mission. It starts from what the texts say since 1 January 2026: the order of 23 December 2025 amended the order of 3 December 2020 (the "Espace" or airspace order), opened the open category to professional flights above public space in built-up areas and raised the prior declaration notice to 10 working days. It then explains each step in the order it is done, and ends with a decision tree and eight ready-to-fill templates: site pre-assessment sheet, cover email to the prefecture, statement of the professional purpose, owner or site manager consent, request to occupy public land, notice to residents, agreement with an event organiser, and controlled ground area sheet.

The guide is up to date as of 3 November 2026. The texts cited were re-read that day on Légifrance, form 15476*04 and its notice on service-public.fr, and the DSAC guides on ecologie.gouv.fr. French texts are only authoritative in French, and the forms are in French: the French names you will need are given in brackets. Read it in order the first time; afterwards, chapter 9 (the decision tree) and the templates are enough for each new mission.

Built-up area, populated area, public space: what your mission triggers

Three notions decide everything, and they do not overlap. Mixing them up is the most common mistake, in both directions: some operators declare flights that did not need it, others fly undeclared where a declaration was due.

The built-up area (agglomération)

This is the notion that closes public space to recreational flying. To draw its limits, the DSAC guides refer to article R110-2 of the French Highway code: the "area where closely spaced buildings are grouped and whose entry and exit are marked by signs" along the road. The notice of form 15476*04 adds that the limits follow the land parcels served by road sections classified as "in built-up area" by municipal order. A village of a few houses between two town signs is a built-up area, whatever its size.

The outline of built-up areas on the Géoportail restrictions map is indicative only, as the DSAC itself states. When in doubt, the municipal order or the road signs on site decide.

The populated area (zone peuplée)

This is the notion that triggers the prior declaration. Article 2 of the airspace order, as amended on 23 December 2025, says a drone is in a populated area when it flies:

• within, or less than 50 m (horizontal distance) from, a built-up area shown on the current aeronautical charts of the SIA, the French aeronautical information service (1:500,000, or failing that 1:250,000 or 1:100,000);
• or less than 150 m (horizontal distance) from a gathering of people.

Two clarifications in the official texts change practice. Only places the chart legend classes as "agglomération" count, not those shown as mere navigation landmarks or small settlements: a hamlet that is not on the aeronautical chart is not a populated area on that criterion alone. And a gathering, according to the DSAC, is a group so dense that people cannot move away: the audience of a show or sports event, parks, beaches or tourist sites at busy times, a parade. The form's notice speaks of "a crowd of several dozen people".

Public space (espace public)

This is the notion that separates the professional flight now possible in the open category from the flight that was never prohibited. The DSAC defines it as public roads and places open to the public, that is, freely accessible (beaches, public gardens, promenades) or accessible on a condition anyone can meet, such as an entry ticket. A stadium on match day, an amusement park or a shopping centre car park are public space in this sense. A closed courtyard, a private garden or the fenced interior of an industrial site are not.

What articles 5 and 6 say, on one page

• Article 5, 1° (open category): the drone does not fly above public space in a built-up area, except "in the course of the professional activity of its operator", or in places where the prefect authorises the open category. In a populated area, these professional flights are subject to the article 6 declaration.
• Article 6, 1° (specific category: STS-01, authorisations): every flight in a populated area is subject to a prior declaration to the territorially competent prefect, with ten working days' notice, on AlphaTango or with form 15476. The prefect may prohibit or restrict the flight.

The direct consequence of this wording: in the open category, it is flying above public space in a populated area that must be declared; in the specific category, it is every flight in a populated area, even above private land. That is what the form's box "flights exclusively outside public space" is for.

Common situations

Five minutes to classify an address

1. Open the ICAO 1:500,000 aeronautical chart on Géoportail and check whether the address is in a built-up area shown on the chart, or within 50 m of one.
2. Overlay the drone restrictions map: it shows indicative built-up area outlines, prohibited areas and maximum heights.
3. Identify, on site or on a satellite view, what around the site will be open to the public on the day: street, pavement, square, shop car park.
4. Ask the client what happens within 150 m that day: market, school run, ceremony, match, works with public access.
5. Record the answers in the pre-assessment sheet (template 1). It is used to fill in the declaration and, in a check, to show the question was asked.

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Frequently asked questions

What does “Professional drone flights in French towns and cities: prior declaration and populated areas” contain and how much is it?

For €39 VAT included (€32.50 excl. VAT), you get professional drone flights in French towns and cities: prior declaration and populated areas: 11 chapters online, about 30 printable A4 pages and 8 ready-to-copy templates, to prepare a professional drone mission in a French town or city: know whether the flight is in a populated area and must be declared, choose between the professional open category, STS-01 and an authorisation, file the prior declaration (AlphaTango or form 15476*04) with its documents, count the 10 working-day notice, get permission to occupy public space, film an event without flying over the public, and fly in Paris and the Île-de-France region.

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