🖐 In this research we’ve listed all drone laws and rules in North America, country per country! This is a long & hard work to allow all of us to fly safely in the skies & always comply with local rules whilst adding our common sense. Give a 👍 at the end of this post if you enjoyed it & feel free to comment your experience or any updates you might have. Keep in mind that the content below is updated to the best of our ability & does not replace official sources & your own research.
We will look in assessing every country's do's & don't but also evaluate how fast the local regulation is evolving hoping to give everyone a little more clarity when flying over this great part of the world.
Summary
Summary of North America Drone Rules.
Deep Dive: Recreational Drone Use Practices.
Deep Dive: Commercial Drone Use Practices.
Best Of - Did You Know?
1/ Summary of North America Drone Rules
North America as we define it includes 3 countries (Caribbean countries will be listed in a separate post); including Canada, Mexico and the United States of America, we will dig dive into them all in here. During my research, I've been surprised to observe a probably tighter rule than necessary in Mexico whilst the English speaking countries offer a much more flexible approach. Many of us having great footage out there & its great to be able to watch final movies over Youtube.
A for a general impression the rules are pretty defined across all countries depending on if you're intending to fly for recreational or commercial purposes (Commercial vs Recreational explained). Though we consider Mexico's approach by excluding every foreigner completely overrated, we've also discovered that some others push it to a real competitive advantage with the backup of their government - see this post about President Trump & his approach around drone use in the United States.
Below is an example in the US with Universities opening drone test fields! 😍
List of countries drone regulations approached in this research:
2/ Deep Dive: Recreational Drone Use Practices.
You can find below a convenient map which summing up recreational drone use regulation in each of the North American countries. Click on the icon, to get a full drone use guide in the country of your choice.
As for the legend:
Green stands for countries that do not require any authorisation or license for you to fly most drones (please check each country's guide for more specific details). Note that this will often depend on your drone's weight.
Yellow stands for countries which require at least an authorisation or a pilot's license or both. More or less hard to get but definitely not impossible.
Red stands for countries simply forbidding the use of drones in their territories. None forbid formerly their use in North America but Mexico limits it to its citizens only.
See this aerial video of Mexico - Follow us
3/ Deep Dive: Commercial Drone Use Practices.
You can find below a convenient map which summing up commercial drone use regulation in each of the North American countries. Click on the icon, to get a full drone use guide in the country of your choice.
As for the legend:
Green stands for countries that do not require any authorisation or license for you to fly most drones (please check each country's guide for more specific details). Note that this will often depend on your drone's weight.
Yellow stands for countries which require at least an authorisation or a pilot's license or both. More or less hard to get but definitely not impossible.
Red stands for countries simply forbidding the use of drones in their territories. Mexico will say that its not forbidden but the rules are so strict that its near impossible to do anything commercially in the country.
See this aerial video of Canada video (Man And Drone) - Follow us
4/ Best Of / Did you know?
In the US, you should not fly near marine mammals 👌 "You've been warned"
Mexico, is one the strictest places to fly your drone if you're not a citizen
Your drone can weight up to 34.99 kg and you won't need any authorisation to fly for recreational purposes in Canada, making it one of the highest tolerances in the world.
To sum up, North America is a melting pot when it comes to regulations to fly your drone(s). Mostly tolerated but almost always controlled, please always be respectful of locals' safety & privacy just as you would do in your own country. On this note, I would like to personally wish you epic (& safe) flights.
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