The professional drone operator's guide to France 2026

Who it is for

• Freelance remote pilots and companies starting or structuring a professional drone business in France
• Operators already flying in the open category who are moving to the specific category (STS-01, STS-02, PDRA or SORA)
• Foreign operators who want to understand the French layer on top of the EU rules before working in France
• QHSE managers and heads of department bringing a drone fleet in-house, who want a file that is ready for an inspection by the French authority (DSAC)

What this guide does not do: This guide delivers no training, certificate or authorisation, and does not replace your operations manual · It is not personalised legal, tax or insurance advice · It does not cover the certified category, drones of 25 kg or more, or state missions (police, civil protection)

Contents of the complete guide

1. The professional operator's roadmap: from zero to the first invoiced mission (free extract below)
2. Choosing the operating framework: open category, STS-01, STS-02, PDRA or SORA
3. Setting up: company, registration, fleet and subcontracting
4. Training and qualifying remote pilots, and keeping the evidence
5. Declaring a standard scenario on AlphaTango, then keeping the declaration alive
6. Obtaining an operational authorisation: PDRA and SORA on METEOR
7. The operations manual (MANEX): what it must contain and how to keep it current
8. Insurance and liability of a professional operator
9. Preparing each mission: paperwork, lead times and the mission file
10. Day D: flight checklists and documents to show during an inspection
11. Records, DSAC inspections and safety occurrences
12. Templates to copy: mission, risks, records, emergency, client compliance
13. Official sources and update dates

Included: 63 checklist items and 14 decision or reference tables.

Introduction

This guide is for people who fly drones for a living or on behalf of their organisation in France: freelance remote pilots, service companies, engineering firms, and companies or local authorities running their own fleet. It does not repeat the complete regulation guide (flight rules, reading the zone map, the prefecture notification step by step). It takes the point of view of the UAS operator, the person or company answerable to the authority for every flight, and organises everything that must exist before, during and after a mission for the business to be legal and stay that way.

Read it in order the first time: the roadmap in chapter 1 gives the steps and points to the chapter that details each one. Then use it as a toolkit: the lead-time tables in chapter 9, the checklists in chapters 9 and 10 and the templates in chapter 12 can be copied and printed, replacing the fields in [brackets]. French official documents and forms are named in French, as you will meet them.

The guide is up to date as of 6 October 2026. It relies on Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 in its consolidated version, the French order of 3 December 2020 on the use of airspace by unmanned aircraft (the « arrêté Espace ») as amended by the order of 23 December 2025, the French transport code, and the documents published by the French civil aviation authority (DGAC): the ministry's specific-category page (updated 13 July 2026) and the DSAC guide to the specific category (edition 2, version 1.1 of 9 March 2026). Chapter 13 lists every source with its date.

The professional operator's roadmap: from zero to the first invoiced mission

Running a professional drone business in France no longer goes through an "approval" or a national "declaration of activity": since 1 January 2026, everything rests on the EU framework. Three roles coexist and can be held by the same person: the UAS operator (registers, writes the procedures, declares or obtains the authorisation and answers for the operation), the remote pilot (holds the certificates and flies), and the owner of the drone (registers aircraft of 800 g or more). A company that employs remote pilots is the operator; an employed remote pilot does not register personally for the employer's flights.

The twelve steps, in order

What has gone, but is still written everywhere

• The French national scenarios S-1, S-2 and S-3 have not existed since 1 January 2026; declarations based on them ceased to be valid on that date (Article 23 of Regulation 2019/947).
• The AlphaTango "déclaration d'activité" and the "ED" declared-operator number belonged to those national scenarios. Today you register as an EU operator, then make an STS operational declaration or apply for an operational authorisation.
• The CATT (theory certificate of the national scenarios) no longer allows flights under a standard scenario since 1 January 2026, outside New Caledonia: the European CATS is required.
• The obligation to declare aerial photography has been repealed; what you must now check are the zones where aerial data capture is prohibited (ZICAD).

The three most expensive start-up mistakes

1. Buying the fleet before choosing the framework. A drone without a C5 marking cannot fly STS-01; one without a C6 marking cannot fly STS-02. Without the right marking, you are left with the open category or a PDRA or SORA authorisation, which takes longer.
2. Calling yourself "DGAC-approved". The DSAC guide is explicit: the DGAC, DSAC or DSNA logo and "brand" may not appear on any commercial material without authorisation. An STS declaration is not an approval; write "operator registered under no. FRA…" and "declared STS-01" if that is the case.
3. Confusing the STS declaration with the prefecture notification. The first, made once and valid for 2 years, lets you operate under the scenario. The second is made for every flight in a populated area, at least 10 working days in advance. You often need both.

How it works

1. You pay on StripeBy card, in one go, on the checkout page hosted by Stripe: your card details never go through our servers.
2. You read it right awayRight after payment, you land on the complete guide's page. Bookmark it or print it to PDF; the invoice is emailed to you.
3. A problem? We fix itCannot access it, or the content does not match its description: email devis@c-drone.fr and we restore access or refund you (terms of sale, in French).

Frequently asked questions

What does the professional drone operator's guide to France 2026 contain and how much is it?

For €50 VAT included (€41.67 excl. VAT), you get the professional drone operator's guide to France 2026: 13 chapters online, about 30 printable A4 pages and 8 ready-to-copy templates, to run a legal professional drone business in France: choosing between the open category, STS-01, STS-02, PDRA and SORA, registering and declaring on AlphaTango, authorisations on METEOR, remote pilots, operations manual (MANEX), insurance, records and DSAC inspections.

How do I receive the guide?

Right after payment you are redirected to the complete guide's page. Bookmark it, or print it to PDF (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P, “Save as PDF”). Stripe also emails you the receipt.

Do I get an invoice?

Yes: Stripe generates the invoice and emails it. You can enter your company name and VAT number at checkout. Seller: Lacangel Group (VAT FR21995268018); prices VAT included.

Is the guide kept up to date?

Yes. The guide's page is updated when the rules change; your access stays valid and you always read the latest version.

Does this guide replace the official texts or a training course?

No. C-DRONE is neither the French civil aviation authority (DGAC) nor a training organisation: the guide explains and organises the paperwork, with links to the official sources, which alone are authoritative.

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By purchasing, you request immediate access to the digital content and acknowledge that you lose your right of withdrawal (French consumer code, article L221-28, 13°). Questions before buying: devis@c-drone.fr.