Drones

It is important for both flight safety and personal privacy to know and follow the laws, provisions and rules that apply when flying drones in Swedish airspace.

Rules for flying drones

The flying of drones is risk-based and is divided into three categories: open, specific and certified. The person who flies a drone is called a remote pilot.

If a remote pilot wishes to fly a drone within one of these three categories, they must have a valid authorisation certificate. An authorisation certificate can be obtained by undergoing training and completing a theory test for the intended category.

For each flight, there must also be a responsible operator. This person is responsible for ensuring that the flight is carried out in a safe manner and that the remote pilot who performs the flight has the right skills.

However, there are some exceptions where an authorisation certificate is not required for a flight, such as when the drone is a toy or weighs less than a specific weight.

Where are you allowed to fly?

As a remote pilot and operator, it is your responsibility to know what rules apply and where you are allowed to fly. If you fly a drone in contravention of the rules, you may be guilty of a violation of the Aviation Act (2010:500).

New rules in 2026

New provisions on unlawful drone flight were introduced on 1 January. They make it punishable to fly a drone without a drone licence if the drone weighs 250 g or more. If you would like to find out what applies to you and your drone specifically, we recommend that you visit the website of the Swedish Transport Agency and use the digital guide available there.

Flying over facilities with protected status or in a restricted area

It is forbidden to fly drones over or close to a facility with protected status. A facility with protected status may be a police station or a government building. A special decision may also mean that the prohibition is linked to a prohibition against making images, recording descriptions or taking measurements of or inside the facility with protected status.

It is often also forbidden to fly in restricted areas, known as R areas. A restricted area might be a prison or a military base, and in some cases a site may be both a facility with protected status and a restricted area.

In some restricted areas it is always forbidden to fly, whereas in others there may be temporary prohibitions depending on the type of activity taking place in the area. Temporary restricted areas may be established in connection with large events or police activities.

Photographing using drones

Under camera legislation, private individuals and businesses do not need any special permit to take photographs using drones. However, the rules contained in the General Data Protection Regulation and the Camera Surveillance Act must be followed.

If individuals can be identified using the photographs, the person who took the photographs is the controller of the personal data caught on camera. The responsibility of controller means meeting the requirements set out in the statutes, such as providing information about the surveillance and contact details for anyone wanting to know more about the surveillance.

However, if drones are flown at such a height that the people caught on camera are not identifiable, there is no personal data processing. In such cases, neither the General Data Protection Regulation nor the Camera Surveillance Act apply.

Publishing and disseminating air photographs

If you wish to publish or in some other way disseminate air photographs or similar compilations of geographical information, this may in certain circumstances require a dissemination permit from the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority (Lantmäteriet). 

Lantmäteriet website

Reviewed 19 December 2025