Canada · Country guide
Ten dollars and an exam. Canada is the cheapest place in the world to get legal.
Transport Canada charges $10.17 to sit the exam, requires no course to prepare for it, and issues a certificate that never expires. The bill only starts when you need Advanced operations — and then it is a flight review priced by whoever conducts it, not by the regulator.
New to this? Canada has no document called a "drone licence" either. It has three Pilot Certificates — Basic, Advanced and Level 1 Complex — and which one you need depends on what you fly, how you fly it and where. Each level grants more privileges than the last, and each is built on the one below.
The short answer
Flying a microdrone
Under 250 g, there is no pilot certification at all and no registration. Microdrones have their own rules, and that is the whole requirement.
Flying for fun or basic work
Register the drone, sit the Small Basic Exam for $10.17, and you hold a Pilot Certificate for Basic Operations. No course, no flight review, no expiry date.
Flying near people or in controlled airspace
You need Advanced Operations: the same $10.17 exam fee, but a harder exam and a flight review with a Transport Canada-approved reviewer who sets their own price.
Who runs it and what it's called
- Regulator
- Transport Canada
- Official guidance
- tc.canada.ca drone safety ↗
- Framework
- Canadian Aviation Regulations, Part IX
- Qualification names
- Pilot Certificate – Basic Operations · Advanced Operations · Level 1 Complex Operations
- Drone registration
- Required for every drone of 250 g or more, marked with its registration number
- Size classes
- Micro under 250 g · Small 250 g to 25 kg · Medium 25–150 kg · Large over 150 kg
- Certificate validity
- Does not expire, but knowledge left to lapse more than two years may see results invalidated
- Penalties
- Up to $5,000 for recreational users, $25,000 for commercial users
The three certificates, cheapest first
| Certificate | Exam fee | The exam | Also required | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Operations | $10.17 | 35 multiple-choice questions · 90 minutes · 65% to pass | Nothing. No course, no flight review | 14 |
| Advanced Operations | $10.17 | 50 multiple-choice questions · 60 minutes · 80% to pass | A flight review with a Transport Canada-approved reviewer | 16 |
| Level 1 Complex Operations | Not published | Level 1 Complex Exam, on top of the Advanced Exam | 20 hours of ground school, plus a flight review for Level 1 Complex | 18 |
Exam fees are what Transport Canada publishes on its own exam pages, read on 9 September 2026. Additional attempts cost the same again.
What each level lets you actually do
| You want to | Basic | Advanced | Level 1 Complex |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fly small drones in sight | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fly closer to or over people | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fly in controlled airspace | No | With ATC permission | With ATC permission |
| Fly medium drones, 25–150 kg | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sheltered and extended visual line-of-sight | No | Yes | Yes |
| Beyond visual line-of-sight | No | No | Yes |
Several of the Advanced and Level 1 Complex privileges additionally require the drone itself to meet safety-feature requirements, which is a property of the aircraft rather than of your certificate.
What it really costs
Basic is the cheapest legal route to a drone qualification anywhere we have looked: one exam fee and nothing else. Advanced is where the real money appears, and it is not the regulator charging it — Transport Canada sets no fee for the flight review, so the reviewer does.
| Item | Cost | Paid to | Compulsory? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Basic Exam | $10.17 | Transport Canada | For Basic |
| Advanced Exam | $10.17 | Transport Canada | For Advanced |
| Flight review | Set by the reviewer | A Transport Canada-approved flight reviewer | For Advanced and above |
| Drone registration | Fee not published on the registration page | Transport Canada | At 250 g and above |
| Exam prep course | Market rate | Private school | No |
| Ground school, 20 hours | Market rate | Private school | For Level 1 Complex only |
| Cheapest legal route | $10.17 plus registration | — |
The number nobody publishes. The flight review is the real cost of Advanced Operations, and because Transport Canada explicitly leaves the price to the reviewer there is no official figure to quote. We have not yet surveyed what reviewers charge — when we have, it will appear here rather than as an estimate.
Already qualified somewhere else?
Canada is blunter about this than most. A foreign pilot flying a drone of 250 g or more in Canada needs a Canadian drone pilot certificate — explicitly, even if they are authorised to fly in their home country. There is no conversion and no reciprocity.
| You hold | Recognised? | What you have to do |
|---|---|---|
| UK GVC or A2 CofC | No | Sit the Canadian exam and obtain a Canadian certificate |
| EASA A2 or STS | No | As above |
| US Part 107 | No | As above |
The part that catches people out. Foreign pilots and operators cannot register a drone in Canada at all. Registration is limited to Canadian citizens, permanent residents and Canadian-incorporated companies — so a visitor with their own drone needs a Foreign Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC-RPAS) rather than a registration. That is a permission to apply for in advance, not a form to fill in on arrival.
Where every figure on this page came from
| Claim | Value | Primary source | Checked | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam fee | $10.17 | Transport Canada, Advanced Exam and Small Basic Exam | 9 Sep 2026 | Verified |
| Small Basic Exam format | 35 · 90 min · 65% | Transport Canada, Small Basic Exam | 9 Sep 2026 | Verified |
| Advanced Exam format | 50 · 60 min · 80% | Transport Canada, Advanced Exam | 9 Sep 2026 | Verified |
| Minimum ages 14 / 16 / 18 | 14 · 16 · 18 | Transport Canada, categories and certificates | 9 Sep 2026 | Verified |
| Certificate does not expire | No expiry | Transport Canada, getting a certificate | 9 Sep 2026 | Verified |
| Flight review priced by the reviewer | No set fee | Transport Canada, flight review | 9 Sep 2026 | Verified |
| Registration at 250 g, marking, penalties | 250 g | Transport Canada, registering your drone | 9 Sep 2026 | Verified |
| Foreign certificates not recognised; foreigners cannot register | SFOC needed | Transport Canada, foreign pilots | 9 Sep 2026 | Verified |
| Drone registration fee | — | Not stated on Transport Canada's registration page | 9 Sep 2026 | Absence of evidence |
| Level 1 Complex exam fee | — | Not yet read | — | Not yet checked |
| What flight reviewers charge | — | No survey done | — | Not yet checked |
Questions people ask about flying in Canada
Do I need a licence to fly a drone in Canada?
For a drone of 250 g or more, yes — a Pilot Certificate for at least Basic Operations, plus registration of the drone itself. Under 250 g there is no certification requirement at all.
How much does it cost?
$10.17 for the exam. That is the entire official cost of a Basic certificate. Advanced adds a flight review whose price is set by the reviewer, not by Transport Canada.
Do I have to take a course?
No. Transport Canada sets no training requirement for Basic or Advanced. Only Level 1 Complex requires ground school — 20 hours of it.
Can I use my UK or US certificate in Canada?
No. Transport Canada states plainly that a foreign pilot needs a Canadian certificate even if authorised to fly at home. You will also need a Foreign SFOC, because visitors cannot register a drone in Canada.
Does the certificate expire?
It does not. But Transport Canada warns that knowledge left to lapse for more than two years may see your results invalidated, so it is not quite a certificate for life.
We will tell you when this changes
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