Press Release 03/2018 - Clarifications on the Decree-Law approved by the Portuguese Government regarding drones registration and insurance

With regard of the numerous requests for clarification received, the Portuguese Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), hereby informs the following:

Last Thursday the Portuguese Council of Ministers approved the Decree-Law that establishes the legal regime regarding the registration and insurance of compulsory civil liability to remotely piloted civil aircraft systems, commonly known as drones.

That Decree-Law will complement ANAC’s Regulation 1093/2016 of 14 December, which defines the operating conditions applicable to these aircraft ("airspace use rules") and accompanies the future envisaged regulation at European Union level, namely establishing that:
 
i. The entry into force of this Decree-Law will take place after its publication in the official journal.

ii. The registration requirement depends on the electronic platform that will be made available by ANAC and the correspondent operation will be disclosed by this Authority on its official pages "Voa na Boa" and facebook.

iii. The need for civil liability insurance will become mandatory after densification of the conditions for the conclusion of an insurance contract for drones weighing more than 0,900 kg. The implementation of the coverage, conditions and minimum capital of the insurance contract will be approved by a Government decree in the near future.

iv. The registration of the drone operators, weighing more than 0.250 kg, will be made on the above-mentioned electronic platform, to be made available by ANAC. Upon registration of the operator on the electronic platform, ANAC shall issue a label to be placed on the aircraft in order to identify the drone operator. It should also be noted that this Decree law provides the possibility of using electronic identification in the future, which will depend on technological developments at European Union level.

v. The registration of the sale will be made by the Seller using the same platform, at the time of purchase, where the buyer's data and the characteristics of the drone are registered.

vi. The update of this information and further developments will be announced immediately on ANAC´s website (www.anac.pt), on "Voa na Boa” (www.voanaboa.pt) and on facebook.

The Portuguese Civil Aviation Authority
Communication Department
July 6, 2018