Drone Laws in Thailand

To comply with drone laws in Thailand, you must complete the following three steps.

Step 1 — Obtain Drone Insurance in Thailand

• Time for approval – 2–3 days for the insurance certificate. 7 days for the entire insurance policy.
• Cost – THB 749 for drones up to 300 grams, and THB 1,599 for drones upto 2 kg

Before registering your drone with the authorities, you need first to insure your drone. Without insurance, you cannot proceed with registering your drone.

I am sure there are a few drone insurance providers in Thailand, but I’ve had good experience with FEIC.

Their website is easy to navigate, and I had no issues registering my drone with them.

Their lowest-tier plan is sufficient as the insurance liability limit covers THB 1 million, which is the minimum requirement.

After submitting the form, I received the drone insurance certificate within 2 days. This certificate can be used to register your drone with CAAT and NBTC.

The official insurance document can take up to 7 days to arrive. However, the drone insurance certificate is sufficient to proceed to the next step.

Step 2 — Register Your Drone With The Thai Authorities

Unlike most other countries that require drones to be registered only with the civil aviation authority, Thailand requires drones to be registered with two authorities.

The first is the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT). And the other is the Office of The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

The CAAT requires the registration of the drone and drone pilot. The NBTC requires registration of the frequency used by the drone.

The process is also documented on the CAAT website.

CAAT Drone Registration

• Time for approval – Immediately after passing the exam
• Cost – N/A
• CAAT website

The registration process for the CAAT has undergone significant changes in 2025. Please follow the instructions on the website, or feel free to contact our partner to help you with the process.

To start the registration process, head to the CAAT website and create an account.

To complete the account creation and registration, you require a local Thai phone number. You can therefore complete this step once you’re in Thailand, or use our partner’s service.

Next, proceed to fill up the form along with all the required information including the invoice for your drone.

After that, you’re required to pass an exam that contains 40 questions. If you answer less than 30 questions correctly, you can retry after 24 hours.

And finally, once you’ve completed the process and obtained your approval, you’re required to stick the registration number on your drone.

NBTC Drone Registration

• Time for approval — Up to 5 business days but full approval can only happen once in Thailand
• Cost — THB 214
• NBTC website

You can simultaneously also begin your NBTC application.

The registration process with the NBTC was slightly trickier because it cannot be completed or approved till you arrive in Thailand.

And that’s because the form requires:

1. Copy of the visa (cannot submit if you’re eligible for visa on arrival)
2. Copy of the arrival stamp on your passport (can only submit once you arrive in Thailand)
3. And the payment of a fee which must be done in person (Step 3 below)

But you can still fill in all the other details and save the form. You might need to Google the frequency and transmission power of your drone.

I made the mistake of submitting my application with a document that said “visa on arrival” as proof of my visa and arrival stamp. Fortunately, I received an email stating that my application was fine and that I could update it with the proof once I arrived in Thailand.

After I arrived in Thailand, I updated my application, and it took 1–2 days to get the approval email, which asked me to proceed with the fee payment.

Step 3 — Pay The NBTC Fee

The final step of the process was the most challenging for me because it involved making a payment, in person at a local bank. There was no option for online payment when I applied!

Once the NBTC application is approved, you will receive an email with a “Bill Payment Pay-IN Slip”. You have up to 30 days to make the payment.

My email stated that the fee payment could be made at Kasikorn Bank PCL or cross-bank bill payment via electronic channels. So, I located the closest Kasikorn Bank branch and walked in one morning.

However, I couldn’t make the payment because the bank told me that they no longer accepted such payments and that I should go to a Krung Thai Bank branch.

Unfortunately, there was no Krung Thai Bank near my hotel, so I had to wait till I made a trip to go to Old Phuket Town to make the payment. Luckily, there is a 7-day window to make the payment.

I found this step to be slightly inconvenient. Although the Bill Payment Pay-IN Slip lists many banks that accept the payment, my experience was different.

I really wish there was an easier (online) payment method. Especially, as I imagine many tourists carry their drones into Thailand and if they stay in a small town, a bank might be hard to locate.

Anyway, once the NBTC fee is paid, all formalities regarding your Thailand drone registration are complete!

Pro-tip: You can ask your hotel staff to help you pay the fee. Just make sure you tip them.