Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Drone and Model Aircraft Registration and Education System (DMARES) Enforcement Guidance
CAP 1974
Second Edition
Published by the Civil Aviation Authority, 2020
Civil Aviation Authority Aviation House Beehive Ring Road Crawley
West Sussex RH6 0YR
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First published October 2020 Second Edition December 2020
Enquiries regarding the content of this publication should be addressed to: uavenquiries@caa.co.uk
The latest version of this document is available at: www.caa.co.uk/CAP1974
Abbreviations and Glossary of Terms 5
First Edition October 2020 Second Edition December 2020
Aim
The aim of this document is to provide guidance to police forces to enable them to effectively carry out enforcement activities relating to UAS registration and pilot competence requirements.
Availability
The primary method of obtaining a copy of the latest version of CAP 1974 is via the CAA website under the publications section.
The CAA has a system for publishing further information, guidance and updates. This can be found within the ‘latest updates’ section of the CAA website’s UAS webpages. In addition, the CAA also provides a more general aviation update service via the SkyWise system.
For queries relating to the content of CAP 1974: UAS Unit
Civil Aviation Authority Aviation House Beehive Ring Road Crawley
West Sussex RH6 0YR
E-mail: uavenquiries@caa.co.uk
Abbreviations and Glossary of Terms
A
ANO Air Navigation Order
B
BMFA British Model Flying Association (One of the recognised aero modeller associations)
C
CAA Civil Aviation Authority
D
DMARES Drone and Model Aircraft Registration and Education Scheme
F
FPV-UK First Person View UK (One of the recognised aero modeller associations)
L
LMA Large Model Aircraft Association (One of the recognised aero modeller associations)
S
SAA Scottish Aero modellers Association (One of the recognised aero modeller associations)
SPOC Single Point of Contact
A
Air Navigation Order (ANO) – The legal document established as a United Kingdom (UK) Statutory Instrument (SI) that is made for the purposes of regulating air navigation within the UK.
F
Flyer ID – The number issued by the CAA to a Remote Pilot following completion of the CAA DMARES Flyer ID Test, as proof of pilot competence.
O
Operator ID – The OP-ID number issued to a UAS operator by the CAA, following completion of the registration process. Valid for 12 months.
Operational Authorisation – A document issued by the CAA that authorises the operation of an unmanned aircraft system, subject to the conditions outlined within the authorisation, having taken into account the operational risks involved.
R
Remote Pilot – A natural person responsible for safely conducting the flight of an unmanned aircraft by operating its flight controls, either manually or, when the unmanned aircraft flies automatically, by monitoring its course and remaining able to intervene and change the course at any time.
U
Unmanned Aircraft (UA) – Any aircraft operating or designed to operate autonomously or to be piloted remotely without a pilot on board.
Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) – An unmanned aircraft and the equipment to control it remotely.
Note: The UAS comprises individual 'System Elements' consisting of the Unmanned Aircraft (UA) and any other System Elements necessary to enable flight, such as a Remote Pilot Station, Communication Link and Launch and Recovery Element. There may be multiple UAs, RPS or Launch and Recovery Elements within a UAS.
Unmanned Aircraft System operator – Any legal or natural person operating or intending to operate one or more UAS.
From 30 November 2019, the requirement for an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operator to be registered, and the remote pilot to demonstrate competence became mandatory in law. The law that contains these requirements has changed on 31 December 2020. The terms ‘UAS’ and ‘drone’ are used interchangeably throughout.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 (as retained within UK law), referred to as ‘the UAS IR’, sets out the requirements for UAS registration and pilot competence, a copy of which can be found here.
The enforcement of the UAS IR is achieved through the Air Navigation Order 2016 (as amended) ‘The ANO’, which sets out penalties for breaches of certain UAS IR requirements. CAP 2013 describes the 2020 amendment, which introduces these penalties. These are summarised below, for registration and pilot competence.
There are two overall requirements:
Operator Registration: The operator of the following UAS must register with the national CAA Drone and Model Aircraft Registration and Education (DMARES) system, and display this registration number visibly on the aircraft- as described here.
Any UAS with a mass of 250g or greater
Any UAS with a mass less than 250g with a camera, unless it is a toy The legal requirement for this is set out in UAS IR Article 14.
Enforcement
ANO article 265A sets out that a UAS operator who contravenes the registration requirement within the UAS IR is guilty of an offence. ANO article 265F sets out that a person guilty of this offence, is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
Pilot Competence: Anyone flying a UAS with a mass of 250g or greater must hold the relevant pilot competence, and carry proof of this competence.
The legal requirement for this is set out in Articles 4 and 5 of the UAS IR.
Enforcement
ANO article 265B sets out that a remote pilot who contravenes the pilot competence requirement within the UAS IR is guilty of an offence. ANO article 265F sets out that a person guilty of this offence, is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
Anyone operating a UAS, of any mass.
A small toy drone, below 250g, is not required to be registered.
Small drones, of this type are normally less than 250g, but may still have a camera, and so are still required to be registered.
The DJI Mavic Mini is 249g, but is equipped with a camera and is not a toy, and so the registration requirement applies.
DJI Phantom type drones generally weigh about 1.5Kg
Most model aircraft of this size are generally above 250g.
The following are exempt from these requirements:
UAS operating indoors only
Control line model aircraft operated as part of a recognised model association1, as follows:
Operators of control line model aircraft below 1Kg are exempt from the requirement to register, and
All control line model aircraft remote pilots are exempt from the requirement to hold a pilot competence certificate (Flyer ID).
Note:
These are model aircraft that are controlled in flight by one or more (normally a pair) of lines, attached to a handle, that work the required flight functions. The aircraft is connected to the remote pilot by these lines. This is not the same as a tethered drone. Anyone making use of this exemption should be able to present the exemption document which is part of an Article 16 Authorisation.
1 The British Model Flying Association (BMFA), Scottish Aeromodellers Association (SAA), Large Model Aircraft Association (LMA) or FPV-UK are the 4 recognised UK model aircraft associations.
Requesting Data from the CAA for Verification
The CAA is currently working with the PNC Bureau to integrate DMARES into PNC, similar to the Midas database and DVLA records. Until this is in place, we are drafting a procedure to allow police forces to access information held on the database where there is a criminal investigation. Due to restrictions around the Data Protection Act, the CAA can only release data held on the DMARES database where there is a confirmed criminal investigation and the request is supported by a DPA form. Until this is in place, each force should make use of its own CAA SPOC who can contact our Investigations and Enforcement Team (IET) with their request.
To request DMARES information from the CAA, the police force must email the relevant information to the CAA IET team at iet@caa.co.uk, in their force’s data protection act form. This form should contain:
The person’s name
Address
Date of Birth
In addition, the following should be included where possible:
Email address (used to register as an operator)
Operator ID/Flyer ID
The CAA will log and validate the request, and return any relevant details held in the database. For simple, instant verification of whether an Operator ID or Flyer ID exist, these can be carried out online here:
The Check a registration portal can be used to check an Operator or Flyer ID.
The My registration portal can be used by the user of the aircraft to view their own details.
Operator Registration Requirements
Means of Compliance
Conditions
What must the pilot produce
Operator ID Number issued by the CAA and valid for 12 months.
Members of some associations may obtain a CAA Operator ID via their association; the requirement to hold and display an Operator ID still applies.
The previous exemption to this requirement, has been withdrawn.
– Must be valid and in date
Operator number (OP-ID) displayed clearly on the UAS.
If this is not possible, it could be displayed inside the UAS, in a compartment that can be accessed easily and without the need for any tools.
This requires the ID number and the name of the user.
A user is also able to check their own details by logging into the portal here.
CAA Operator ID
In some cases, for UAS where it is not possible to display the number on the outside of the aircraft, it may be displayed inside a compartment of the aircraft. This must be easily accessible for inspection, without the need for any tools.
Remote Pilot Competence Requirements
All UAS Remote Pilots of any unmanned aircraft weighing 250g or more must meet the requirements described in 3.1 below. A Flyer ID must be obtained as set out below unless one of the stated exemptions applies.
For UAS in the A2 Open subcategory, remote pilots must also hold an A2 Certificate of Competence, in addition to a Flyer ID.
For UAS in the ‘Specific’ Category, more advanced requirements apply which will be stated in the ‘operational authorisation document’ that the remote pilot or UAS operator should be able to produce.
Remote pilots of control line model aircraft, being operated as part of a recognised association do not need to hold a Flyer ID (section 1.3).
Means of Compliance
Conditions
What must the pilot produce
Method 1:
Flyer ID issued by the CAA.
– Flyer ID in Date and valid
Print out/screenshot of the CAA issued confirmation of flyer number/certificate.
The validity of the Flyer ID number should be checked to ensure it is genuine and valid.
This can be checked online here. This requires the ID number and the name of the user.
A user is also able to check their own details by logging into the portal here.
Method 2:
Exemption – Model Flying Association Competency Scheme.
And hold a relevant qualification from the respective association
All of the following:
And:
Must be current member of:
British Model Flying Association (BFMA);
Scottish Aeromodellers Association (SAA);
Large Model Aircraft Association (LMA); Or
First Person View UK (FPV-UK)
Membership of the association must be in date
BMFA Basic proficiency certificate, or registration competency certificate, or ‘A’ Certificate; or
SAA Bronze Standard; or
LMA ‘LMA Proficiency’ certificate; or
FPV-UK Certificate of Competency
Current membership card for:
BMFA; or
SAA; or
LMA; or
FPV-UK;
Method 1- CAA Flyer ID | Method 2- Model Aircraft Competence |
Screenshot, certificate, email or note of Flyer ID Number | Association Competence Certificate Example: |
Association Membership Addres s | |