Republic of Moldova · for visitors
Flying a drone in Moldova
You can fly here legally — just not on the day you arrive. Every drone flight in Moldova needs written approval from several state institutions, and that takes weeks rather than hours. This is the honest short version, with the map and the paperwork attached.
Visitors and foreign crews do fly here legally. The paperwork is free and all of it moves by email.
Count on about a month. Started from home before the trip, it fits without stress.
An unannounced drone near the border or a military site is a criminal matter, not a fine.
The short answer
Moldova has no “register your drone and fly” regime. Under the Air Code (art. 33) and Government Decision no. 949/2022, operating an unmanned aircraft requires permission from the authorities — camera drones and hobby flights included, whatever the weight.
- Approvals come from the Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence and Security Service (SIS), then an authorisation from the Civil Aviation Authority, and finally a cooperation procedure signed with MOLDATSA, the air navigation service provider.
- Foreign nationals have one extra step, and it comes first: clearance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Without it the other institutions will not process the file.
- The procedure is free of charge. What it costs is time — from about two weeks to more than a month, depending on how fast each institution answers.
- Third-party liability insurance for the drone is mandatory, and is bought after the approvals arrive, not before.
Coming for a week?
Then be realistic: a file opened after you land will not be approved before you leave. Three options actually work.
Start about a month ahead
Everything is filed by email, so the whole procedure can be run from home before the trip. For a visitor, this is the only way to fly legally on holiday.
Use an authorised local operator
If you need the footage rather than the flying, a Moldovan operator who already holds the approvals can fly for you. Ask us and we will point you to one.
Leave the drone in the bag
Not the answer anyone wants, but it is the honest one for a short trip decided at the last minute.
If you fly anyway
The fine is the least of it. What makes an unauthorised flight expensive here is everything that comes with it.
- The fine is the small partThe Civil Aviation Authority puts unauthorised drone operation at up to 20 conventional units under the Contravention Code — roughly 1,000 MDL, about €50.
- Losing the aircraftEquipment used in an unauthorised flight can be seized, and recovering it is a procedure of its own — reliably longer than your stay.
- A criminal file, not a ticketNear the state border, military units, government buildings or critical infrastructure, an unannounced drone is not read as a tourist mistake. That is where the Criminal Code replaces the fine.
- The room is not neutralMoldova borders Ukraine and has had foreign drones and debris cross its airspace repeatedly. People do call the police when they hear one overhead. Expect questions even when you are formally in the right — which is precisely why you want the approvals on your phone.
This page is information, not legal advice. The binding texts are the ones published by the Moldovan authorities.
The rules, in brief
1 Approval before the flight, not after Details
There is no weight or altitude below which the authorisation stops being required. A 249 g camera drone is in scope.
2 Above 30 m, every flight is announced Details
Once authorised, planned operations above 30 m are notified to MOLDATSA about five days ahead, confirmed by phone at least ten minutes before take-off, and reported again when you land.
3 The 10 km border strip is a separate permit Details
Flying within roughly 10 km of the state border needs an additional Border Police approval, requested online at epermis.border.gov.md with the three approvals attached.
4 Restricted airspace does not look restricted Details
The Chișinău control zone, prohibited, restricted and danger areas (LUP, LUR, LUD) and aerodrome zones cover a large share of the country — including places that look like empty countryside.
5 Insurance is mandatory Details
Third-party liability for the drone. It covers the damage you cause to other people, not the value of your own aircraft.
6 Everything is signed electronically Details
Applications are filed by email, signed with a qualified electronic signature. Visitors usually get stuck exactly here — tell us and we will sort out this step with you.
Can you fly where you are going?
Click any point in the country, or use your current position. The overlay is the official airspace layer of the Republic of Moldova.
Source: Geoportal INDS, “Airspace” layer. Indicative — the answer that binds you is the one from the authorities. · Open the full map
The procedure, step by step
Six steps. Two of them run in parallel; the rest are strictly in order.
- 1 Ministry of Foreign Affairs — foreign nationals only Passport copy and the drone’s details to protocol@mae.gov.md. Nothing else moves before this clearance exists.
- 2 Electronic signature Every application is filed signed. In Moldova the signature is issued by Moldcell (MobilSign), Orange (Orange Sign) or STISC.
- 3 Ministry of Defence cancelaria.msm@army.md — the application, a photo of the drone with its serial number visible, and a copy of your passport.
- 4 Intelligence and Security Service (SIS) petitii@sis.md — the same file, sent at the same time as the previous step, not after it.
- 5 Civil Aviation Authority info@caa.gov.md — only once both answers above are positive, with them attached to the request.
- 6 Insurance, then MOLDATSA The insurer needs the three approvals to issue the policy. With the policy in hand you sign the cooperation procedure with MOLDATSA (amc@moldatsa.md) — and from that moment you are an authorised operator.
⏱ In practice: two weeks at best, over a month when an institution is slow. 💸 The state charges nothing for any of this. The only unavoidable cost is the insurance policy. 🛂 Flying in the border strip adds the Border Police permit, requested at epermis.border.gov.md after the first three approvals.
Where uas.md fits in
uas.md is an independent Moldovan platform for drone operators. It exists because this procedure is written down nowhere in one piece. Everything on it is free, and the entire file can be prepared through it — including for someone who is not in the country yet.
Applications, generated
One form, and the requests to the Ministry of Defence, SIS and the Civil Aviation Authority come out ready to sign, annexes included.
The airspace map
Check any point in the country before you plan the shot, not after you drive there.
Insurance
The few Moldovan insurers that actually cover drones, ordered from the same account.
Your file, in one place
Approvals, expiry dates and reminders — so a second trip costs you an afternoon instead of a month.
Planning the rest of the trip
For everything that is not airspace — where to go, the wine country, the monasteries, guided tours — the official sources are better than any blog.
Contact
Questions in English are welcome — about the procedure, about a specific location, or about a shoot you are planning.
Send your travel dates, the drone model and roughly where you would like to fly. We answer in English.