Welcome to the Drone Photography Bible guide to drone regulation in Italy. This page aims to be a drone regulations Italy quick reference guide.
Be aware, whilst we do our best to keep this page up to date, drone regulation is changing. For up to date Italian drone regulation, please consult official sources.
Italy drone regulations
Beautiful coastlines, majestic mountain ranges, castle, vineyards and more. Italy is a wonderful place for drone photography and videography.
To ensure you fly your drone safely, responsibly and within the rules of the law, we have listed out the drone regulations in Italy for you to follow.
Italy drone regulation – quick guide
The Italian authorities currently allow drone pilots to fly their drones but only in compliance with Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) regulations.
ENAC has issued rules for drone flight, and some key rules are outlined below.
ENAC drone regulation says:
- Always fly below 70m/229 feet,
- Always keep a visual line of sight with your drone,
- Do not fly about populated areas,
- Do not fly within 5km/3.1 miles of airports, airfields, heliports,
- Always give right of way to other aircraft,
- Do not fly at night,
- Do not fly over private property,
- Do not fly over national parks,
- Do not fly over state buildings,
- Do not fly over federal buildings,
- Do not fly over hospitals,
- Do not fly over industrial plants,
- Operation sites – ie, places current in use by police, military, search- and rescue forces.
- Do not fly over rivers, and
- Do not fly over streets.
As you can see from above, Italy can be a tricky place to fly a drone.
Hobbyist vs Commercial drone regulations in Italy
To fly a drone in Italy as a hobbyist, you currently do not need a license to do so. The same is true for commercial pilots. At the moment, you do not need a commercial license to use your drone commercially in Italy.
Instead of having to register your drone, you will need a competence certificate for commercial drone flight in Italy.
If you are using your drone commercially in Italy, your maximum altitude can be 100m/328 feet but you need to get special permission for this. To enquire about this special permission, please contact ENAC directly.
As with the increased maximum height, with special permission, you can fly your drone at night commercially in Italy.
Drone Regulation Italy – Useful sites and apps
Before you take off, check the information on the links and apps below for up to date guidance on Italian drone regulations.
Altitude Angel: Guardian App – App Store & Google Play
Guardian is a companion application for Altitude Angel users offering quick and easy access to essential drone safety data while on the move.
Using your location, Guardian supplements your normal due-diligence activities by displaying no-fly zones and ground hazards for a growing number of countries around the world, completely free of charge.
Altitude Angel: Drone Safety Map
Drone Safety Map spans over 40 countries, providing accurate, real-time online updates to aeronautical and ground hazards; helping you to plan and conduct your drone flights more safely. It’s perfect if you’re planning your flight ahead of time, or if you want to research an area before your flight.
ENAC’s drone page is a useful resource for anyone looking to fly a drone in Italy.
D-Flight, a division within ENAC, is a one stop site for Italian drone flight maps, maps of restricted areas in Italy, Italian drone code of conduct and more. You can also use the site to register your drone and log flights to keep the aviation authority up to date.
We hope you found our drone regulations Italy reference guide useful!
Noticed drone regulations that we are missing? Have we made a mistake with some drone regulation that we have mentioned? Please email us at regulation@dronephotographybible.com and let us know.
Drone regulations in Italy – All information in this article is correct at the time it was published. Please always check local drone regulations before you fly. The information here is meant only as guidance and should not be taken as fact.
