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| A drone light show in Hanoi sky__Photo: Huy Hung/VNA |
With eight chapters arranged in 35 articles and effective as of November 5, Government Decree 288/2025/ND-CP, providing the management of unmanned aircraft and other flying vehicles, details and guides the implementation of a number of clauses and articles of the 2024 Law on People’s Air Defense. It applies to Vietnamese and foreign agencies, organizations and individuals engaged in activities related to unmanned aircraft and other flying vehicles in Vietnam.
As per the Decree, the registration of an unmanned aircraft or a flying vehicle must satisfy the conditions on origin, technical standards, and legal dossiers.
• The owner of an unmanned aircraft or flying vehicle must have papers proving the title over it. For imported aircraft, an import license and customs declaration are required; other cases require an invoice from a legal trading unit, a decision from a competent agency or transfer documents.
• The aircraft must conform to the relevant standards and technical regulations issued or recognized by the Ministry of National Defense.
• Aircraft that are assembled or manufactured by their owners before the effective date of this Decree or those currently in the research-testing phase must be inspected and issued certificates of technical standard conformity by manufacturers or entities recognized by competent state agencies. Their owners must have documents proving their lawful ownership or commit to bearing responsibility for their lawfulness.
The Decree also stipulates that the dossier for first time aircraft registration in Vietnam must include letter of confirmation from the customs office permitting import or letter of confirmation of a legal entity eligible for manufacturing or assembling that specific type of aircraft. Aircraft owned by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security are exempt from this requirement.
Decree 288 also sets stringent requirements for operators and flight activities. It states that the operator is required to have the aircraft registration certificate or temporary registration that remains valid. The person directly controlling an unmanned aircraft or other flying vehicles, except ultra-light aircraft weighing under 0.25 kilogram, must reach the age of 18 years and is prohibited from using alcohol, drugs or banned stimulants.
Operators of vehicles weighing 0.25 kilogram or more must have “visual line of sight” flight control licenses. In case of operating vehicles weighing 0.25 kilogram or more, flying beyond visual line of sight or flying along a pre-programmed route via a control center, a flight control license for observation by equipment or an international certificate recognized by the Ministry of National Defense is required.- (VLLF)
