Certification
How to Get Your Basic Pilot Certificate
Register, study, pass the exam. What each step actually involves, and what it costs.
If you fly a drone weighing 250 grams or more in Canada, you need a pilot certificate. Which one depends on the flying you intend to do, and the honest answer for many new pilots is that Basic covers less than they expect.
Canada now has three levels of pilot certificate: Basic Operations, Advanced Operations, and Level 1 Complex Operations. The third was introduced on 4 November 2025 and covers lower-risk beyond-visual-line-of-sight work. This guide covers the Basic certificate; our guide to getting your Advanced certificate covers the next step up.
Is Basic the Right Certificate for You?
A Basic certificate suits you if you are not flying near people and not flying in controlled airspace. Transport Canada draws the line at three things: you stay out of controlled airspace, you do not fly over bystanders, and you keep your distance from anyone not involved in the operation.
Read as a list that sounds workable. Mapped against where people actually live, it is more restrictive than it appears — our article on where you can fly with a Basic certificate works through real Canadian cities and is worth reading before you decide.
Minimum age: you must be at least 14 to sit the Small Basic exam. Advanced requires 16, and Level 1 Complex requires 18.
Step One: Register Your Drone
Before you fly, register the aircraft with Transport Canada through the Drone Management Portal. Registration costs $10 and takes a few minutes. Note that this fee increased from $5 on 1 April 2025, so older guidance you find online may quote the wrong figure.
You will be issued a registration number that must be marked on the aircraft — a permanent marker, label or engraving are all acceptable. This lets the drone be identified after a fly-away or an accident, and marking it is required by law. Drones under 250 grams do not need registering unless you attach something that takes them to 250 grams or more.
Step Two: Ground School
Our Basic ground school runs about two to three hours and covers the topics Transport Canada requires you to know, so you go into the exam with the knowledge actually being tested rather than a general sense of the rules.
It also includes an exam preparation package. Exam prep is aimed squarely at passing: a plain-language summary of the regulations, and sample questions with the correct answer explained so you learn as you work through them. It is less in-depth than ground school, and it covers the finer detail the exam tends to reach for. Both are in the Basic Online Bundle.
Step Three: The Small Basic Exam
The exam is 35 multiple-choice questions with 90 minutes to complete them, and you need 65% to pass. It costs $10 and is written online through the Drone Management Portal.
Plenty of people find it harder than expected. If you fail, you wait 24 hours and try again, and there is no limit on attempts — so a first-time failure is a delay, not a disaster.
What you receive: passing issues a Pilot Certificate – Basic Operations, which you can download from the Drone Management Portal. Carry a copy whenever you fly. Enforcement officers can ask to see it, and flying without one carries a penalty of up to $1,000 for an individual.
Keeping It Current
Your pilot certificate does not expire. However, Transport Canada requires you to keep your knowledge current through a recency activity, which our recency seminar satisfies.
If Basic Turns Out to Be Too Restrictive
Most pilots who intend to work with clients, in cities, or anywhere near people end up needing the Advanced certificate. It permits controlled airspace with authorisation and operations near and over bystanders with the right aircraft declaration. Our guide to getting your Advanced certificate covers the exam and the in-person flight review.
Ready to get certified?
Start the Basic Online Bundle and go into the exam prepared.