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Drone rules for shoots in Portugal: ANAC registration, the AAN's free aerial-image authorisation, Lisbon airport zones, insurance, parks and notice periods.
Checked 3 October 2026
A drone on a commercial shoot in Portugal answers to two authorities: ANAC, the civil aviation authority, which applies the EU drone rules and decides where you may fly, and the Autoridade Aeronáutica Nacional (AAN), which must authorise any photography or filming from the air. Parks, the coast and monuments then have their own say.
Rules change. Confirm with each authority before you book anything; this is a production guide, not legal advice.
The short version
Two permissions: the operator registers (with ANAC, or in their EU home country) and the AAN authorises the aerial images. A camera drone needs both.
AAN authorisation: free, requested only through e-AAN, at least 10 days ahead, valid for up to 30 consecutive days.
Crews from outside the EU: registering with ANAC needs a Portuguese digital key obtained in person; non-EU companies must be established in Portugal.
Lisbon: the city sits inside the airport's drone zones, some closed to open-category flights, others capped at 30 or 60 m.
Natural parks: flying over Sintra-Cascais or Arrábida needs the ICNF's authorisation; it has 30 to 45 working days to answer.
Insurance: liability cover is compulsory for drones over 900 g.
Parques de Sintra: no drones for visitors; a professional shoot needs its authorisation 15 working days ahead.
EU rules: drones, distances and pilots
The open category covers most low-risk commercial flying: a drone under 25 kg, kept in sight, no higher than 120 m above the ground and never over assemblies of people, which in ANAC's examples include busy commercial areas of city centres. The subcategory follows the drone's class label:
A1: C0 (under 250 g) and C1 (under 900 g). A C1 should not fly over uninvolved people, and any overflight is kept to a minimum.
A2: C2 (under 4 kg), at least 30 m horizontally from uninvolved people, or 5 m in low-speed mode.
A3: C3 and C4 (under 25 kg), and unlabelled drones of 250 g or more sold before 2024: 150 m from uninvolved people and urban areas, which rules out the city.
Under ANAC's definition, briefed crew and talent are involved; passers-by are not. Night flights are allowed with a flashing green light.
Pilots must be at least 16. A1 and A3 need an online course and exam; A2 adds practical self-training and a second exam, which ANAC holds in person. Certificates from any EU state are recognised; non-EU visitors train the same way.
Flying above 120 m, out of sight, over uninvolved people outside A1, over crowds or above an airport zone's cap is the specific category, which needs a declared standard scenario or an ANAC operational authorisation. An operator authorised in another EU state asks ANAC for a cross-border operation.
Registration and insurance
The operator, the person or company responsible for the drone, registers if it weighs 250 g or more or carries a camera, unless it is a toy. Registration happens once, where the operator lives or a company has its main business, and counts across the EU. ANAC's pages publish no fee.
EU operators: register at home, not in Portugal.
Individuals from outside the EU: register at uas.anac.pt with an address in Portugal and a Chave Móvel Digital from a Loja do Cidadão. ANAC warns the counter may ask for a tax number if the work looks commercial.
Companies from outside the EU: must be commercially established in Portugal, with a Portuguese address, tax number and digital key.
The operator number goes on a label on every drone and into its remote identification.
Liability insurance is compulsory above 900 g maximum operating mass (Decreto-Lei 58/2018, whose insurance article is still in force). Portaria 2/2021 sets minimum cover from 0.26 million Special Drawing Rights (900 g to 1.5 kg) to 0.56 million (4 to 20 kg). The required policy covers use in Portugal, and ANAC's registration asks for its details.
The AAN: permission to film from the air
Capturing images from any aircraft over Portugal, and publishing them, needs the AAN's authorisation: every drone able to capture images, toys and FPV included, even if you do not plan to record.
How: only through e-AAN (imagensaereas.aan.pt). Open an account and return a signed declaration, by email with a Portuguese digital signature or by post signed by hand; scans are refused, and requests can be filed only once it arrives.
When: at least 10 days before the start; only those requests are guaranteed a decision in time. One filed after 17:00 for an 08:00 flight next day cannot be approved.
Cost: free. The AAN says a fee is planned but not yet set.
Validity: up to 30 consecutive days since 24 March 2025 (an older FAQ answer still says 60); two consecutive days in zones under Decreto-Lei 248/91.
Scope: one request per area. In a municipality without restrictions it covers the whole municipality; elsewhere AAN staff review it and coordinate with the Air Force.
Who: any adult who can sign for it: the pilot, the user of the images or a company.
Foreign applicants can file, but the rule the AAN's FAQ quotes names Portuguese and other EU or EEA applicants; a crew from outside the EU should check with [email protected] early.
Where you can fly
Check every location on ANAC's zones map, dnt.anac.pt. Pending new government-defined zones, ANAC's 2016 airport rules still apply.
Lisbon: on the map, a band taking in Alcântara (LX Factory) and Parque Eduardo VII is closed to open-category flights. The Baixa, Alfama and Parque das Nações are capped at 30 m above the ground (or the tallest obstacle within 75 m, if higher), Belém at 60 m. The drone must display its height; flying higher needs ANAC authorisation.
Sensitive sites: the map marks military zones in Belém, São Bento and Praça do Comércio where every flight needs the AAN's authorisation. Flying over the seats of sovereign bodies, embassies, military and police premises or prisons needs their consent; within 1 km of civil protection, police and hospital heliports, ANAC's.
Cascais: the aerodrome has its own zones along the Estoril coast.
Sintra, Cabo da Roca and Ericeira: inside military area LPR69A, where every flight needs the AAN's authorisation.
Temporary restrictions: the AAN publishes airspace reservations for military events and the wildfire season; check them the week of the shoot.
Parks, beaches, monuments and people
The AAN states that its authorisation replaces no other.
Protected areas: flying over a national protected area needs the ICNF's authorisation. Commercial work uses its filming form, sent to [email protected] with a KMZ or KML map of the flight area and a photo of the drone. Pena, Cabo da Roca and Guincho are in the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park.
Beaches and the coast: flying from beaches or coastal waters may need the maritime authority's authorisation through the local captaincy, and the Maritime Police check it.
Parques de Sintra: drones are banned for visitors and wedding sessions, for the safety of people and property. Professional shoots need authorisation 15 working days ahead: name the drone in the request. More in Photo Shoots in Sintra.
Monuments: filming listed heritage needs its own authorisation.
People: images of people are personal data under the GDPR, and image rights apply as on the ground; see Image Rights & Model Releases in Portugal.
A timeline for a production
45 working days ahead (about nine weeks): the ICNF request for a protected area; it asks for 10 working days but may take 45.
15 working days ahead: Parques de Sintra.
Before the AAN request: ANAC registration (and, outside the EU, the digital key), pilot certificates, insurance and a validated e-AAN account.
At least 10 days ahead: the AAN request, one per area.
Shoot week: check the zones map and the AAN's restrictions; the pilot carries the AAN authorisation.
How we handle it
When we produce a shoot, what each location needs is part of the plan from the first scout, the airspace above it included. For permits on the ground, see Photo Shoot Permits in Lisbon & Portugal.
Sources
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