Certification
How to Get Your Advanced Drone Pilot Certificate
Five steps from registration to flight review, and what the Advanced certificate now lets you do.
The Basic certificate works for some operations, but its limits are too restrictive for most people who want to fly commercially. If that describes you, the Advanced certificate is the one you need. It takes an extra step to earn, and it opens up a wide range of flying that Basic prohibits.
Canada has three pilot certificate levels: Basic Operations, Advanced Operations, and Level 1 Complex Operations, the last introduced on 4 November 2025 for lower-risk beyond-visual-line-of-sight work. This guide covers Advanced. For the first rung, see our guide to getting your Basic certificate.
When You Need Advanced
You need an Advanced certificate to fly in controlled airspace, and to fly near or over bystanders. Since 4 November 2025 the Advanced certificate also permits medium drones — aircraft over 25 kg and up to 150 kg — within visual line of sight, where previously that work needed a Special Flight Operations Certificate. The aircraft must carry a manufacturer declaration covering the specific operation.
Minimum age: 16 to sit the Small Advanced exam. The certificate itself does not expire, though you must keep your knowledge current through a recency activity.
Step One: Register Your Drone
Register the aircraft with Transport Canada through the Drone Management Portal before you fly. Registration costs $10 — it rose from $5 on 1 April 2025, so older guidance online may quote the wrong figure. Any drone weighing 250 grams or more must be registered and marked with its registration number.
Step Two: Advanced Ground School
Ground school is not mandated for Advanced, but it comes highly recommended by Transport Canada, by flight reviewers, and by us. Our Advanced ground school runs about 20 hours and covers the knowledge requirements for Advanced operations: meteorology, radio work, airspace, and the regulations you will be held to.
Ground school teaches you to fly safely. The exam, separately, asks some unexpectedly awkward questions — which is what our exam prep course is for. It is also optional, and it puts questions in front of you similar enough to the real thing that nothing on exam day blindsides you. Both are in the Advanced Online Bundle.
Step Three: The Small Advanced Exam
The exam is 50 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes, and you need 80% to pass. It costs $10 and is written online through the Drone Management Portal.
A lot of people fail their first attempt, so do not be discouraged. You can retake it after 24 hours, as many times as you need.
Step Four: Flight Review Prep
Your flight review provider should offer a prep course or at least preparation materials. Ours gives you a clear picture of what the review involves, plus the list of documents and standard operating procedures you will be asked to produce on the day. Our flight review prep includes the cost of the review itself.
Missing paperwork is one of the more common reasons a review goes badly, so work through our guide to standard operating procedures before you book.
Step Five: The Flight Review
The final step is flying for an accredited flight reviewer, who assesses whether you operate safely and checks your documentation against the regulations. They will watch you perform a range of tasks and go through your procedures and SOPs. Pass, and your result is uploaded within 24 hours, after which your certificate becomes available.
What you receive: a Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations, downloadable from the Drone Management Portal. Carry a copy whenever you fly. Enforcement officers can ask to see it, and flying without a certificate carries a penalty of up to $1,000 for an individual and $5,000 for a corporation.
Then Keep Flying the Way You Demonstrated
The procedures you showed the reviewer are the ones you are expected to keep using. If your work later moves towards beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, Level 1 Complex is the next step, and it builds directly on the Advanced certificate.
Ready to fly where the work actually is?
Start the Advanced Pilot Bundle — ground school, exam prep and your flight review included.