Qatar Passes New Law Regulating Drones

Doha - Qatar has introduced a new law that regulates the use of drones , officially called "unmanned aircraft", in the country. The law covers who is allowed to build, own, sell, or fly a drone, and sets out fines and even prison time for people who break the rules.

The Ministry of Justice announced the law, numbered Law No. 10 of 2026, in the Official Gazette. It applies to almost anything involving drones inside Qatar: manufacturing them, designing them, modifying them, repairing them, testing them, or flying them. The only drones exempt from the law are those used by the military or security forces.

In short, the law does three main things: it puts one government body in charge of drones, it requires people and companies to get official permission before doing anything drone-related, and it lays out penalties, from warnings to prison, for those who don't comply.

Who Is in Charge: The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority

The law puts one agency in control of drones nationwide: the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA). It is now responsible for:

Issuing and renewing licences and permits for drone operators
Deciding which types of drones are allowed to fly in Qatar, and what technical standards they must meet
Setting the areas and maximum heights where drones can operate
Controlling how drones are imported and exported
Monitoring drone activity to make sure operators follow the rules
Defining specific flight paths and airspace for drone use
Making sure drone use doesn't harm the environment

Who Needs Permission and How to Get It

The law separates government use from everyone else:

Government agencies can build, modify, test, or operate drones, but only after coordinating with and getting approval from the Authority.
Companies, sole proprietors, and aviation clubs need a formal licence to do any of that same work - manufacturing, modifying, testing, importing, exporting, trading, renting, or teaching people to fly drones.
Individual people cannot legally fly a drone, help fly one, act as a spotter, or work on its control systems without their own personal permit.

To get a licence, an applicant must show:

The company has never been declared bankrupt
Its managers have a clean legal record (no serious or dishonesty-related convictions)
Staff have the right training and qualifications for the work
The drone is insured in case it damages people or property

Licences last three years and can be renewed, but the renewal request must be filed three months before the licence expires, otherwise it simply expires. A licence also can't be handed off to someone else without the Authority's written approval first.

Every Drone Must Be Registered

Anyone who owns a drone in Qatar must register it with the Authority. A new national registry will track who owns each drone, who operates it, and any legal claims attached to it. Future regulations will spell out if any drone types are exempt from registration.

Flying an unregistered drone or one without visible ID numbers or markings is against the law.

Rules for Flying

Once a drone is in the air, the person flying it (or helping fly it) must:

Stay within approved areas and flight paths
Follow air-traffic instructions from the Authority
Follow special guidance during bad weather
Respect height and distance limits
Immediately report it if they lose control of the drone or it flies outside its approved area
Keep the drone properly maintained
Keep records of flights, tests, and maintenance
Get written approval before making major changes to the drone

Penalties Escalate Fast

Enforcement runs on a tiered system. Administrative steps for licensees who slip up include formal warnings, licence suspensions of up to three months (doubled for repeat offenders), and even a forced shutdown of the business's drone operations for up to two weeks - a step serious enough that it must be signed off by the Authority's president and publicized in two newspapers plus the Authority's website, all at the violator's cost.

Criminal penalties are far steeper for the most serious breaches unlicensed drone activity, flying without a personal permit, or ignoring core in-flight safety obligations. Those convicted face up to seven years behind bars, fines reaching QR 300,000, or both, on top of whatever confiscation of the drone and related equipment the courts order. Lesser violations, around registration, licence transfers, identification markings, or secondary flight duties, carry fines capped at QR 200,000.

The law signals Doha's intent to bring what has been a fast-growing but loosely regulated drone sector firmly under state oversight, as unmanned aircraft become more common across commercial, industrial, and recreational use in the Gulf state.