License for drone in Thailand

KTMphil

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Joined
Jan 11, 2011
Location
Chiang Mai, Thailand
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2007 KTM 990 Adventure Suzuki DRZ 400
After a lot of confusion, there are now licenses available for drone owners in Thailand

1. Print out and complete drone registration forms in links below (addresses to send applications is on the forms)

2. Prove that you have not committed any offenses in Thailand. To do so, you need a confirmation of the National Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board and the Immigration Bureau. How you do this is still unkown

3. Ayuthaya/ Sukothai you might need a special license to fly there:
According to the tourist information, the permit costs 3,000 or 5,000 baht - the employees did not know exactly.

4. Maximum flight altitude: In Thailand, drones are allowed to climb a maximum of 90 meters (=300 feet).


5. Compulsory insurance: Drone insurance is compulsory in Thailand. The insurance must cover damages of at least one million baht (about 27,000 euro).


6. Distance to airports: You have to stay 9 kilometers (= 5 miles) away from airports.

Using them Chiang Mai must be generally approved by the air traffic control, because the airport is so close to the city. We have obtained the appropriate permission. But you should call a few days before, so that the colleagues in the tower can coordinate with their bosses.


7.
You may approach a maximum of 30 meters of people, vehicles and buildings. The prescribed distance is 50 meters for approved drones.


8. Flight bans: You must not fly near crowds. It is not allowed to fly over cities and villages.


9. Flight approval: You must always obtain the permission of the landowner to start and land. In practice, we usually solve this in such a way that we ask the guards for permission or inform us at the info counters.


10. Time of operations: Drone flights are allowed in Thailand only in daylight, so in the time between sunrise and sunset.


Cr: https://drone-traveller.com/drone-laws-thailand/



Nice flight around Ayuthaya


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Contact regarding drones in Thailand:


To contact CAAT : The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand
333/105 Lak Si Plaza,
Khamphaeng Phet 6 Rd.,Talat Bang Khen,
Lak Si, Bangkok 10210


Tel: +66 (0) 2568-8800

E-Mail : info@caat.or.th







 

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It looks like you need a permit to fly a drone in Laos, presumably from the Laos Civil Aviation Authority.


Drone use in Laos is allowed but you need a permit under all circumstances. Good luck with that!

    • Permit must be required first from relevant authorities before flying drones
    • Do not fly drones over crowds or other congested areas
    • Do not fly drones near airports or aircraft that is operating
    • Fly drone daylight hours and in good weather conditions
    • Respect the privacy of others when flying drones

Contact Information Call: +856 21 250791
Email: lto@laotourism.org




Source: https://www.onceinalifetimejourney.com/our-travel-tips-and-tricks/guide-to-drone-flying-in-asia/
 
[h=1]How to register your drone in Thailand[/h]


[FONT=&quot]If you intend to fly a drone in Thailand, whether as a hobby or for commercial reasons, you have to by law register your drone first. If you don't you could face a fine of up to 100,000 Baht or even up to five years in prison. They are serious about this, so before you fly, make sure you register your drone with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). In addition, if your drone weighs over two kilos and/or you plan to use it for commercial reasons, then you need to obtain insurance and get permission to fly from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT). Their fine for not doing this is up to 40,000 Baht and up to one year in prison. Before you ask, if you have a toy drone, for example weighing less than 250g, then the NBTC or CAAT are not interested.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Scroll down for how to register your drone and for links to download the forms.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
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[FONT=&quot]When I first started flying drones in Thailand I hardly ever saw any other drone pilots. I also didn't face any problems about where I could fly. Security guards would come over if they saw me flying, not because it was illegal, but because they were curious to see the live pictures from above. Sadly, those days are long gone. Security guards are more likely to chase you away or sometimes you will see signs like the one above which prohibits the flying of drones. This is not necessarily because of any new laws, it is mainly because just about everyone decided to get a drone for Christmas. Now, with so many people flying, it is no longer the novelty and people, sometimes quite rightly, are fed up with the buzzing sound of the drones flying low over their heads.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When I attend an event these days, there are usually four or five drones flying. And quite honestly, some of these pilots are very dangerous. They are not keeping their drones in line of sight. They are just watching their screens. Which means the possibility of a collision is quite high. I have seen them go down before, either crashing into buildings, trees and power lines, or just colliding with another drone. I tend not to fly at events any more. Partly because it is distracting to people who might be watching a show, but also it is quite dangerous if there is a large crowd. The number one rule for drone pilots is to make sure you have a wide and clear area in case of an emergency landing. This kind of thing is why the Ministry of Transport came out with a new law about the use of drones in Thailand.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Scroll down for the law regarding drones in Thailand.[/FONT]
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thairegulation.jpg
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[FONT=&quot]Even after you have registered your drone with the NBTC and have permission to fly from CAAT (if you have a large drone or you are flying for commercial reasons), you still need to obey the following rules. If not, you will be subject to a fine and maybe imprisonment.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Once you have permission from the land owner to fly, you must obey these rules while flying:[/FONT]

  • must not fly in a way that may cause harm to the life, property and peace of others
  • must not fly into restricted area, limited area and dangerous area announced in Aeronautical Information Publication - Thailand or AIP-Thailand and also at government buildings and hospitals unless permission is given.
  • take-off and landing area must not be obstructed by anything
  • must keep the Unmanned Aircraft in line-of-sight at all times and not rely on the monitor or other devices
  • must only fly between sunrise and sunset when the Unmanned Aircraft can clearly be seen
  • must not fly in or near clouds
  • must not fly within 9 km (5 nautical miles) from airport or temporary airfield unless having permission from the airport or airfields operators
  • must not fly over 90 meters above the ground
  • must not fly over cities, villages, communities or areas where people are gathered
  • must not fly near other aircraft that have pilots
  • must not violate the privacy rights of others
  • must not cause a nuisance to others
  • must not deliver or carry dangerous items or lasers on the Unmanned Aircraft
  • must not fly horizontally closer than 30 meters (100 feet) to people, vehicles, constructions or buildings
[FONT=&quot]For the full regulations, click here, or visit the CAAT website for the latest up to date information.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Before I continue, I should point out something in the above infographic released by CAAT which is contradictory to the regulations. The infographic says you need to have a licence to fly if your drone has a camera, even if it is less than two kilos. But, the regulations do not say anything about that. From what I, and other people understand, if you have a small drone like a Spark or Mavick that weighs less than two kilos, you do not need to get permission to fly from CAAT. As long as you are not using it for commercial reasons and you obey the above rules. However, you still need to register your remote controlled device with the NBTC.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Scroll down for how to register your drone with NBTC.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]If you intend to fly a drone in Thailand, then by Thai law you must register it first with the NBTC. Apparently only 350 drones have been registered up to now out of an estimated 50,000 drones in Thailand. Which is why there is now a crackdown on drones. Before, we probably would have gotten away with flying without a license if we were discreet. But, now, thanks to all of the publicity, everyone knows you must register your drone or you will face up to five years in prison. It was front page news in the Bangkok Post (see the article here) and other national newspapers.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The following is what I did to register my drones with NBTC in Bangkok. They have 17 offices around Thailand, and so you don't need to do this here. Also, you are apparently allowed to register at your local police station. I know people who have done this, but make sure you download the form in advance as they won't know anything about it. My advice is to go to your local NBTC officer. In Thai it is "&#3585;&#3626;&#3607;&#3594;.", just search for it on google maps. For the one in Bangkok, it is on Soi Phahonyothin 8. Click here for the map link. When you arrive, you will see the big building in the photo above. You need to go to Building 2, first floor. From the front gate, turn right and walk down a path. Don't go through security. You will see the building on your right near the road.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Before you go, you should prepare the following. If you do so, then you will be in and out in just five minutes. That is how long it took me to register my two drones.[/FONT]

  1. Sign a copy of your passport
  2. Photos of your drone and the serial number on your drone
  3. Two copies of the filled in application form
[FONT=&quot]That's it if you are just flying as a hobby like myself. If you are media or a registered company, then there are more documents that you need.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]NOTES: [/FONT]

  1. You don't need to take your drone into the office. Though some people did.
  2. Stick the photos on a piece of A4 paper and then sign the sheet of paper.
  3. You need a set of documents for each of your drones.
  4. The serial numbers are on a sticker on the drone box. I took a picture of that.
  5. Print the application form on both sides of a sheet of paper. Or pick one up at their office.
  6. The filled in form needs to be photocopied. This is what they stamp and return to you.
[FONT=&quot]This is a link to the page on the NBTC page about the regulations. This is a direct link to download the form. It is only in Thai. I will take you through it step by step below. Scroll down.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
form01.jpg
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[FONT=&quot]The first three fields to fill in are for "Day/Month/Year"[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The next section is about the weight of your drone. I ticked the first one as my drones are less than 2 kilos. The others are for between 2 and 25 kilos, and for more than 25 kilos.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
form2.jpg
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[FONT=&quot]Number 5 is your first name and number 6 is your family name. Number 7 is your age. Number 8 and 9 is your nationality. I wrote UK.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Numbers 10-12 is your birthday written as Day/Month/Year. Number 13 is your ID card number. I wrote my passport number.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Number 15-21 is your address. 15 is the house number, 16 the Soi number, 17 the road name, 18 the Tambon or kwang name, 19 the Amphoe or Khet name, 20 the province name, and 21 the post code. Number 22 is your telephone number. I didn't fill in the rest.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They didn't ask me for proof of address, so I guess you could write your friend's address or a hotel adress if you don't have permanent residence.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I didn't fill in Section 2 as I am a private individual. Continue to page two.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
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[FONT=&quot]For Number 23, I ticked the first box as I just fly for a hobby. The others are for media, businesses etc.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
form4.jpg
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]For Number 24, I wrote the name of my drone. For Number it is asking for the number of drones and rotors. I wrote one drone and four rotors. I was registering a DJI Phantom 3 and a DJI Spark. I did this on two different forms. I guess if you have two of the same then use the same form.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For number 26, I wrote the serial number of the drone. As I said before, it is on a sticker on your box. Number 27 is the weight. Number 28 is for what equipment is fixed. I said camera. Number 29 is the maximum height it can go in meters. Number 29 is the frequency. For mine I wrote 2.400 - 2.483 GHz.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]That's it. Sign your name and then write your name clearly in the brackets below. The other signatures are for the officials. Hand them into the officer at the reception. It took them about five minutes to check everything and stamp it. The registration is free at the moment.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As I mentioned before, this is just registering your remote controlled device with NBTC. In theory, you need to get permission to fly from CAAT. But, the official at the NBTC said there is no need if I obey the rules as to where and when I can fly and I am not flying for commercial reasons. Same goes for insurance. They said they would forward my application to CAAT. So, as far as they are concerned I have finished. I am legal. But, personally I would like to go the second step and get permission to fly. If you want to do that yourself, then click here for the forms and regulations in English. If you search for Thai drone insurance on Facebook you will find some companies that offer it.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This is only the first draft of my blog. I will come back and add more details later. There are a few things I am not clear about yet. If you have experience of registering your drone in Thailand, or you have any questions, then please feel free to post them below in the comments. Please remember, if you do fly your drone in Thailand, please do so responsibly. It only needs one person to fly over the Grand Palace or crash into an aircraft for drones to banned for everyone.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]


Cr: http://www.richardbarrow.com/2017/1...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer[/FONT]
 
"Before I continue, I should point out something in the above infographic released by CAAT which is contradictory to the regulations. The infographic says you need to have a licence to fly if your drone has a camera, even if it is less than two kilos. But, the regulations do not say anything about that. From what I, and other people understand, if you have a small drone like a Spark or Mavick that weighs less than two kilos, you do not need to get permission to fly from CAAT."

This is the contradiction I was puzzled by too. I submitted my application to the CAAT, prior to the NBTC announcement, based on their infographic and understanding that any drone with a camera needs to be registered with them and have insurance. BTW DJI Phantom drones are also less than 2kg.
 
So under 2kg needs a license or not?

According to Article 5 of the 'Announcement of the Ministry of Transport on Rules to Apply for Permissions and Conditions to Control and Launch Unmanned Aircraft in the Category of Remotely Piloted Aircraft B.E. 2558 (A.D. 2015)', for non commercial, NO. According to the CAAT website, if it has a camera, YES, no matter it's use.
 
Update from Richard Barrow on whether small drones (<2kg) need insurance or not:

[FONT=&quot]The infographic says you need to have a licence to fly if your drone has a camera, even if it is less than two kilos. But, the regulations do not say anything about that. From what I, and other people understood, if you have a small drone like a Spark or Mavick that weighs less than two kilos, you do not need to get permission to fly from CAAT. As long as you are not using it for commercial reasons and you obey the above rules. However, officials we have spoken to at CAAT insist that you still have to get permission to fly. We asked specifically about the smallest of drones, DJI Spark, and they said yes, we would need insurance and permission to fly.


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