Belgium: the portal, the insurance and the geozones
In Belgium the European base is supplemented by an arrêté royal of 8 November 2020 and an arrêté ministériel on zones. Everything goes through a single online counter, the DGTA Drone Portal, and an insurance obligation wider than the one in Union law.
Key points
- The competent authority is the Direction générale Transport aérien of the SPF Mobilité et Transports. The arrêté royal of 8 November 2020, numac 2020043563, governs its supervisory powers, operator registration and the recognition of training bodies.
- Registration as an operator is free of charge and is done online on the Drone Portal, before any flight. It is compulsory above 250 grams, and below that as soon as the machine carries a camera or a sensor, unless it is a toy drone.
- It is the operator who is registered, never the machine. The unique number received has to be displayed visibly and legibly on every drone, and entered in the remote identification system where the machine has one.
- Insurance: every operator in the ‘open’ category has to take out third-party liability cover for personal injury and damage to property caused to third parties, article 12 of the arrêté royal being the provision cited by the authority. From 20 kilograms, Regulation (EC) No 785/2004 applies.
- A1/A3 examination: free of charge, online, 40 multiple-choice questions, two hours at most, 75 per cent correct answers, and three attempts at most. The certificate arrives by email within twenty-four hours and is valid five years.
- A2 examination: free of charge as well, but taken in person, about thirty questions, after obtaining a valid A1/A3 certificate and with a minimum age of sixteen. Venue: the official Catégorie OPEN A2 page (updated 05/03/2026, read on 01/10/2026, https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/aviation/voler-en-piloter/drones-uas/formations-et-examens/categorie-open-a2) gives, in its Examen section, the premises of the SPF Mobilité et Transports in Brussels; in its section on foreign certificates, it also mentions taking the examination at a recognised training entity. Both statements stand side by side on the page: have the venue confirmed by the DGTA when registering on the Drone Portal (https://drones.mobilit.fgov.be/). The practical part is done by self-training in A3 conditions.
- Geographical zones: the DGTA publishes them on the Droneguide platform, with the conditions for accessing them. Do not confuse access to a geozone, granted by Skeyes or the manager of the zone, with the operational authorisation, issued by the DGTA.
- Every Belgian explanation in this module is written in indirect style, with no verbatim citation: the reuse regime for texts published in the Moniteur belge could not be established, and the studio does not cite what it cannot justify.
The trap. The Belgian trap is to think the European base is enough. At least three gaps say otherwise: third-party liability insurance is required of every operator in the ‘open’ category, including for a light machine; the A1/A3 examination is capped at three attempts; and the A2 examination is taken in person, with no training organised by the authority: the exact venue to be confirmed by the DGTA at registration. Check the country before revising an examination arrangement.
Source
Arrêté royal du 8 novembre 2020 portant exécution du règlement (UE) 2019/947; numac 2020043563, ELI https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/arrete/2020/11/08/2020043563/justel; arrêté ministériel du 21 décembre 2020 (zones géographiques UAS fixes), numac 2020044609, ELI https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/arrete/2020/12/21/2020044609/justel, last amended by the ministerial order of 20 December 2024, numac 2024011943 (Belgian Official Gazette of 15/01/2025), ELI https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/arrete/2024/12/20/2024011943/moniteur; titres and numac vérifiés sur ejustice.just.fgov.be le 01/10/2026; SPF Mobilité et Transports, Direction générale Transport aérien, pages accessed on 02/09/2026, sauf mention contraire: https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/aviation/voler-en-piloter/drones-uas/informations-generales/informations-generales (10/10/2025); https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/aviation/voler-en-piloter/drones-uas/informations-generales/zones-geographiques (06/08/2026, re-read on 01/10/2026); https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/aviation/voler-en-piloter/drones-uas/informations-generales/references-legales (10/10/2025, re-read on 01/10/2026); https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/aviation/voler-en-piloter/drones-uas/formations-et-examens/categorie-open-a1a3 (24/03/2026); https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/aviation/voler-en-piloter/drones-uas/formations-et-examens/categorie-open-a2 (05/03/2026, re-read on 01/10/2026); https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/aviation/voler-en-piloter/drones-uas/drone-portal (08/10/2025); https://mobilit.belgium.be/fr/aviation/voler-en-piloter/drones-uas/questions-frequentes (10/10/2025); Drone Portal: https://drones.mobilit.fgov.be/