Register a drone and get a pilot certificate through Transport Canada's Drone Management Portal: the GCKey or Sign-in Partner sign-in, the 250-gram threshold, the Basic, Advanced and Level 1 Complex exam formats, the flight review, and the $25 and $125 certificate fees verified on Transport Canada's own pages.
Applies in: CA
Transport Canada's Drone Management Portal is the secure online portal where you register a drone, take the online exams, view exam and flight review results, and apply for and access your drone pilot certificate, and where you update your address and contact information. The same page states that businesses may also manage their drones and share their accounts with staff. This guide walks through the portal process only: signing in, registering a drone, taking the exam for the certificate that matches how you will fly, completing a flight review where one is required, and applying for the certificate. It does not cover starting a drone business, choosing clients, pricing work or insurance, and it gives no advice on where any particular flight is lawful. Those are separate questions; this guide covers the portal steps that come before any flight with a drone of 250 grams or more.
Work through the steps in order. Registration and certification are separate portal functions for the same drone and the same pilot: a registered drone does not certify its pilot, and a pilot certificate does not register a drone. Both must be in place, with proof carried when you fly, before a drone of 250 grams or more leaves the ground.
Weight decides whether the portal applies at all. Registering your drone: Overview states that all drones weighing at least 250 g must be registered, including custom-built drones and drones built from a kit or off the shelf, and that drones under 250 g do not need to be registered unless something is attached to them that increases their weight to 250 g or more. Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Microdrones defines microdrones as drones with an operating weight of less than 250 g, states that the weight of the remote control is not factored into the weight calculation but the weight of anything attached or carried, such as optional cameras or safety cages, is part of the operating weight, and states that pilots of microdrones do not need to register their drone or get a drone pilot certificate to fly them. Weigh the drone as it will actually fly, with its camera and accessories fitted, before deciding the portal does not apply.
One eligibility limit belongs in this step. The registration overview states that foreign pilots or operators cannot register drones, and that you need a Special Flight Operations Certificate for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (SFOC-RPAS) to comply with the Canadian Aviation Regulations. This guide does not describe the SFOC-RPAS application; if you are not a Canadian pilot or operator, do not start a portal registration expecting it to succeed.
If your drone is 250 g or more, decide which certificate matches how you will fly before booking anything, because the exam and the later steps follow from that choice. Getting a drone pilot certificate states there are three types of pilot certificates, basic, advanced and Level 1 complex, and that the type you need depends on what you want to fly, how you want to fly and where you want to fly. Basic operations, on Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Basic operations, mean a drone of no more than 25 kg, always in sight, more than 30 metres horizontally from any person, in uncontrolled airspace, more than 5.6 kilometres from the centre of a certified airport and more than 1.9 kilometres from the centre of a heliport; if any one of those conditions is not met, the operation is advanced or complex. Advanced operations add controlled airspace with permission from air traffic control, flying closer to people, medium drones of more than 25 kg up to 150 kg, sheltered operations and extended visual line-of-sight operations, according to Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Advanced operations. Level 1 Complex operations build on Advanced to allow lower-risk beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, and pilots must fly under an RPAS Operator Certificate, according to Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Level 1 Complex operations. Pick the certificate for the most demanding flying you actually intend to do; an Advanced certificate covers Basic operations too, and a Level 1 Complex certificate covers basic and advanced operations, on the same pages.
The portal's credential requirement is stated exactly, and narrowly, on its own help page. Having technical problems with the Drone Management Portal? describes two secure sign-in options and no others: GCKey, and a Sign-in Partner, also called an online banking partner. State this plainly, because it is the step where people waste time trying the wrong credential: the portal pages name a GCKey or a Sign-in Partner, and name no other credential, no separate portal username, and no CRA credential for this service.
A GCKey is a unique username and password, an electronic credential, issued by the Government of Canada so you can communicate securely with online government services, on the same help page. If you have never used GCKey before, you will need to register for an account. If you already have a GCKey account used with another government department, you may use the same one to sign in here. If you have forgotten your GCKey password, contact GCKey support, as Transport Canada states it is unable to reset passwords for you; if you do not know your GCKey username, register for a new GCKey and register for a new account in the Drone Management Portal using the same email address previously provided, and you will have the option to access your previous account at that time.
A Sign-in Partner forwards you to your online banking partner to sign in using your online banking credentials, on the same page. If you have switched banking partners and no longer have access to the account used to log in, you will have to contact Transport Canada to reset your account, and you may switch to either secure sign-in option, such as a different banking partner or GCKey. For problems with your Sign-in Partner credentials, such as a password that is not accepted, a forgotten password, a lost bank card or forgotten security answers, contact your Sign-in Partner's help desk; for problems such as not being forwarded to your Sign-in Partner or the partner site not displaying properly, contact Government Sign-In by Verified.Me, on the same page.
Before blaming the credential, check the browser conditions the help page lists: use an up-to-date web browser, naming Google Chrome version 84 or newer, Safari version 13.1.2 or newer, Microsoft Edge version 85 or newer, or Mozilla Firefox version 68 or newer; do not bookmark any pages you see after you sign in, and bookmark the login page only; enable cookies and JavaScript; and disable any third-party browser extensions you may have installed. If none of that works, the portal page and the help page both give the same contact route: email aviation.ont@tc.gc.ca or telephone 1-800-305-2059, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time, on Drone Management Portal.
Registration is the shorter of the two portal jobs. Registering your drone: Manage registration states it should take 3 minutes to register a drone, and lists what you need before you start: the purchase date if applicable, the make, model, serial number and type of drone, and a Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, with debit cards usable if added to your Apple Wallet app or Google Pay app. Have those details in hand before signing in, since the registration asks for the drone's identifying details, not for a description of what you plan to fly.
Once registered, mark the drone before it flies. The registration overview states you must clearly mark your drone with its registration number, and that you can use a permanent marker, a permanent label or engraving, and recommends including your name and contact information as well. The number must be clearly visible on the drone. The certificate of registration is issued through the portal, and the portal page states you can view any certificates of registration issued there; carry proof of registration when you fly, as the Basic and Advanced category pages both require you to have and be able to show proof of drone registration alongside your pilot certificate.
Registration is not a one-time entry you can forget. The manage-registration page states that if you move or change your address, you must notify Transport Canada within seven days through the Drone Management Portal by accessing your Account settings, and that changes update any certificates previously issued as well as any drones registered to you as an individual. The same page states you must deregister your drone if you sell or transfer its ownership, damage it beyond repair, or lose it, and that individuals and businesses can deregister through the portal. On a sale or transfer, the seller must also provide the buyer with documentation including the owner's manual, maintenance records and records of any modifications made, must deregister through the portal, and the new owner must re-register the drone, using the drone's original registration number, and must pay a non-refundable fee to register it; do not remove the registration marking after deregistering, because a drone's registration number remains the same even if it is transferred to someone else.
Drones for a business are registered inside the portal's business accounts, not by a separate business registration step in this guide. The manage-registration page states that drones may be registered for a business within a business account, that to sign up for a business account you will first need a personal account in the Drone Management Portal, that within your personal account you can sign up for a business account or accept an invitation from an existing business account holder, and that once this is done you can switch between your personal and business accounts using Switch accounts, registering or accessing as many business accounts as needed using the same sign-in credentials. Transferring a drone from your personal account to a business account you own or work for can be done in your personal account at no cost, once you have signed up for or been invited to access a business account, and your certificates of registration will automatically update once the transfer is complete. That is the whole of the business-account step in the portal; registering the business itself, insuring it and finding clients are outside this guide.
All three exams are taken online through the portal, and each exam page states its format in the same terms. Prepare first: every exam page strongly recommends attending a drone flight school before attempting the exam, and states that online exam questions are based on the Knowledge Requirements for Pilots of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, while warning that the document is not a study guide. Results are given right after the exam finishes through the Drone Management Portal, on each exam page. If you fail an online exam, you must wait 24 hours before trying again, and you can re-take it as many times as you wish, on each exam page. Each exam page also states that a fee applies and additional attempts have the same fee, but the fee amount was blank on every exam page; this guide therefore states no exam fee amount. Check the fee shown in the portal before paying, and do not rely on a figure from a training provider or a forum post.
The three exams, as their pages state them:
If you need extra time, ask before paying. Each exam page states that Transport Canada is committed to providing accommodations for pilots who need extra time, that all requests for extra time are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and that to request an accommodation you send an email to TC.RPASInfo-InfoSATP.TC@tc.gc.ca before paying for your exam. If technical difficulties strike while taking an exam, each exam page directs you to contact Transport Canada to let them know what happened, so they can reset your exam for you; do not simply re-enter and pay again before contacting them.
Basic needs no flight review. Advanced and Level 1 Complex do, and the flight review is booked outside the portal even though its result lands in it. Complete a flight review for drones states that a flight review is one of the two knowledge requirements for conducting Advanced Operations or Level 1 Complex Operations, that flight reviewers are Transport Canada-approved drone pilots who can administer a flight review, and that before you conduct your flight review you must pass the Advanced Exam. Every flight reviewer is associated with a self-declared drone flight school, and you contact the drone flight school directly to schedule a flight review, providing a digital or physical copy of the results page of your successfully completed exam, a valid, not expired piece of government-issued identification that provides your name and date of birth, and the Certificate of Registration for the drone used for the flight review. The reviewer assesses your ability to operate your drone safely, and the page recommends reading Appendix A of the Knowledge Requirements document, which lists the skills the reviewer will ask you to demonstrate. You may be charged a fee by the flight reviewer, and prices are set by the reviewer; no reviewer fee amount is stated on the page, so get the price from the school before booking rather than assuming a published figure.
After the review, the portal takes over again. Within 24 hours of your flight review, the flight reviewer will submit your results online and you will receive an email confirmation with a link to view your results, on the same page, and the portal page states you can access your flight review results from your flight reviewer in the Drone Management Portal. If you pass, you can apply for a Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations or Level 1 Complex Operations. If you fail, you may schedule another review the next day, with no limit on the number of times you can retake a flight review, but you may need to pay a fee each time. Note also that if you let your knowledge level lapse for more than 2 years, Transport Canada may invalidate your flight review results. Foreign pilots need to apply for their SFOC-RPAS before their flight review, which may take up to 30 working days, on the same page; build that wait into the plan rather than booking a review first.
Applying for the certificate is the last portal step for Advanced and Level 1 Complex, and it is where the two verified certificate fees fall. For Advanced, Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Advanced operations states that once the $25.00 fee is paid when you apply, you will be issued a Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations, that you can download and print your certificate through the Drone Management Portal, and that issuance is immediate after payment. For Level 1 Complex, Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Level 1 Complex operations states that once the $125.00 fee is paid when you apply, you will be issued a Pilot Certificate – Level 1 Complex Operations, downloadable and printable through the portal, and issued immediately after payment. For Basic, the certificate is issued after passing the exam and is included in the exam fee, according to the Basic category page; the exam fee amount itself was blank on the pages, so no Basic fee figure is stated in this guide. Download and print the certificate, or keep the electronic document on the device you carry when flying: the certificate page states drone pilots must carry a valid drone pilot certificate at all times while operating their drone, that a valid certificate is a printed or electronic document issued by Transport Canada, and that no other form of certification will be accepted.
Certification does not end the portal relationship; it starts a recency duty. Keep your drone pilot skills up to date states that your pilot certificate does not expire, but before operating a drone you must have completed one of the following within the previous 24 months: re-taking and passing the Small Basic Exam, the Small Advanced Exam or the Level 1 Complex Exam; passing a flight review; or completing a Transport Canada Civil Aviation endorsed safety seminar, a drone recurrent training program from a drone flight school, or a Transport Canada endorsed self-paced study program. You must be able to show proof of completion of one of these activities whenever you fly. Treat the 24-month date as part of the certificate: diary the date you passed, and complete the next qualifying activity before it lapses, rather than discovering the lapse at a flying site.
When you fly, carry both proofs the category pages require: your pilot certificate and proof of drone registration, and be able to show them. The Basic page states you must have and be able to show your Pilot Certificate – Basic Operations and proof of drone registration when you fly, the Advanced page states the same for the Advanced certificate and proof of registration, and the Level 1 Complex page states the same for its certificate and proof of registration, adding that pilots must fly under an RPAS Operator Certificate. Keep the portal account itself current in the ways step 3 describes: an address change notified within seven days through Account settings, deregistration on sale, loss or irreparable damage, and re-registration by a new owner under the original number. If the portal stops working for you, return to step 2: the help page's browser, cookie, extension and bookmark checks, and the same email and telephone contact, are the published route back in, and exam resets go through Transport Canada rather than through a second payment.
One of two, exactly as [Having technical problems with the Drone Management Portal?](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/drone-management-portal/having-technical-problems-drone-management-portal) states them: a GCKey, or a Sign-in Partner. A GCKey is a unique username and password issued by the Government of Canada for securely conducting online business with government programs and services, and a GCKey already used with another government department may be used to sign in here. A Sign-in Partner forwards you to your online banking partner to sign in using your online banking credentials. The portal pages name no other credential, so do not expect a different government sign-in to open the portal.
It depends on weight. [Registering your drone: Overview](https://www.tc.gc.ca/en/services/aviation/drone-safety/register-drone.html) states that all drones weighing at least 250 g must be registered, including custom-built drones and drones built from a kit or off the shelf, while drones under 250 g do not need to be registered unless something attached to them increases the weight to 250 g or more. [Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Microdrones](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/learn-rules-you-fly-your-drone/drone-operation-categories-pilot-certificates/microdrones) states that pilots of microdrones do not need to register their drone or get a drone pilot certificate to fly them. For drones of 250 g or more flown under Basic operations, [Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Basic operations](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/learn-rules-you-fly-your-drone/drone-operation-categories-pilot-certificates/basic-operations) states you must have and be able to show your Pilot Certificate – Basic Operations and proof of drone registration when you fly.
According to [Take a drone pilot online exam: Small Basic](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/drone-pilot-licensing/take-drone-pilot-online-exam-small-basic-exam), you must be 14 years of age or older, the exam has 35 multiple choice questions, you have 90 minutes, and a score of 65% or higher is a pass; if you run out of time, the exam is marked on the answers provided. Results are given right after the exam finishes through the Drone Management Portal. If you fail, you must wait 24 hours before trying again, and you can re-take it as many times as you wish. The same page states a fee applies and additional attempts have the same fee, but the amount was blank on the page, so check the fee in the portal before paying.
Basic covers uncontrolled airspace, more than 30 metres from any person, within visual line of sight, while Advanced adds controlled airspace with permission, flying closer to people, medium drones, sheltered operations and extended visual line-of-sight operations, according to [Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Advanced operations](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/learn-rules-you-fly-your-drone/drone-operation-categories-pilot-certificates/advanced-operations). To get the Advanced certificate you must pass the online exam, pass a flight review and apply for the certificate, and [Getting a drone pilot certificate](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/drone-pilot-licensing/getting-drone-pilot-certificate) states holders of an Advanced certificate can conduct both basic and advanced operations. [Complete a flight review for drones](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/drone-pilot-licensing/complete-flight-review-drones) states you book through a drone flight school, provide the exam results page, valid government-issued identification showing name and date of birth, and the Certificate of Registration for the drone used, and the reviewer submits results within 24 hours; the reviewer may charge a fee, with prices set by the reviewer.
Two certificate fees, stated in prose on the category pages: once the $25.00 fee is paid when you apply, you will be issued a Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations, according to [Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Advanced operations](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/learn-rules-you-fly-your-drone/drone-operation-categories-pilot-certificates/advanced-operations), and once the $125.00 fee is paid when you apply, you will be issued a Pilot Certificate – Level 1 Complex Operations, according to [Drone operation categories and pilot certificates: Level 1 Complex operations](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/learn-rules-you-fly-your-drone/drone-operation-categories-pilot-certificates/level-1-complex-operations). Both are issued immediately after payment and can be downloaded and printed through the portal. The registration fee, the three exam fees and the Basic certificate fee were not stated as amounts on the official pages, so this guide states no amount for them; check the amounts in the portal or on the fee tables before paying.
No, but recency does not last forever. [Keep your drone pilot skills up to date](https://www.tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/drone-pilot-licensing/keep-your-drone-pilot-skills) states your pilot certificate does not expire, but before operating a drone you must have completed, within the previous 24 months, re-taking and passing one of the Small Basic, Small Advanced or Level 1 Complex exams, passing a flight review, or completing a Transport Canada endorsed safety seminar, a drone recurrent training program from a drone flight school, or a Transport Canada endorsed self-paced study program, and you must be able to show proof of completion whenever you fly. [Complete a flight review for drones](https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/drone-safety/drone-pilot-licensing/complete-flight-review-drones) adds that if you let your knowledge level lapse for more than 2 years, Transport Canada may invalidate your flight review results.
No figure in this guide was carried from a secondary source. The following are not stated because they could not be verified as amounts on an official page: the drone registration fee amount, since the fee column was blank on the registration fee tables and the pages state only that a fee, and for a new owner a non-refundable fee, applies; the Small Basic, Advanced and Level 1 Complex exam fee amounts, since each exam page shows a blank fee with only the statement that additional attempts have the same fee; the Basic certificate issuance fee amount beyond the statement that it is included in the exam fee; any flight review fee amount, since the flight review page states only that the reviewer may charge a fee with prices set by the reviewer; the RPAS Operator Certificate fee and processing time, since no page stating them could be verified on an official page; any registration validity or renewal period, since no validity or renewal period could be verified on an official page; and any claim that the exams are open-book, since the exams' open-book status could not be verified on an official page. Check the fee shown in the Drone Management Portal, or the fee tables on the pages linked above, before paying any of those amounts.