Cost and regulations of commercial drone services in Singapore

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We received many enquiries asking about the cost, process, and permits to provide commercial drone services in Singapore. Here is a summary of the licenses and permits required before you can start providing commercial drone service in Singapore. Before we begin, we need to define commercial drone services.

Any services that are not classified as a hobby/education/research is considered commercial. Even if you are providing a drone service to your own company, without any money changing hands, that is considered commercial. 

DJI M300 RTK Inspection drone with 3 cameras.jpg

To do commercial drone services, regardless of the weight of your UA, the location and height which you fly your UA, you will need:

  1. UA Pilot License

  2. Operator Permit

  3. Class 1 Activity Permit

UA Registration

Any unmanned aircraft (UA) with a total weight of above 250 grams must be registered before it can be operated in Singapore.

  • Pay $15 for the registration label here

  • Stick the label on your UA and register online via the UA portal (ESOMS)

Please visit CAAS website for detailed information:

Drone CAAS Label.jpg

1) UA Pilot Licence (UAPL) 

The person operating the drone will need a valid UAPL. Training cost aside, UAPL has the following costs:

  • Theory Test registration: $125

  • AFE Assessment fee: $200 - $400

  • License registration: $500

 

We are a CAAS-Approved Unmanned Aircraft Training and Assessment Organisation(s) (UATO)

We provide drone license training conducted by our trainers with more than 5 years of experience providing professional drone services.

UAPL UATO Unmanned Aircraft Training and Assessment Organisation.jpg

2) Operator Permit

A company or person will need a valid operator permit. To obtain the operator permit, applicants must go to UA Portal (ESOMS) and submit the following document

CAAS Operator permit.PNG

  1. Operator Manual

  2. Risk Assessment

The costs are

  • New OP registration (includes 1 drone mode): $600

  • Every additional drone model: $400

  • Annual renewal fee: $200

 

3) Class 1 Activity Permit

A class 1 Activity Permit (AP) is required before a commercial flight is allowed. Activity permit tells the authority the flight area, time and place of the flight. It allows various agencies to understand intended flight operations. A person can apply for a block activity permit if the flight is in the same area but expected to take place over a long period of time. 

The costs are:

  • New Activity Permit: $75

  • Renewal of expired Activity Permit: $25

 
CAAS Activity permit.PNG