Journal ·
Drone Rules on Koh Phangan in 2026: Registration and Zones
Thailand's CAAT and NBTC drone registration takes up to two weeks and can only start once you land, so here is what it means for a trip to Koh Phangan.
Short answer first
If you are coming to Koh Phangan for a week or ten days, leave the drone at home. Thailand's registration process can no longer be started before you arrive, and approval can take up to two weeks. By the time you are legal, you are packing.
If you are here for a month or more, it is doable, and the island is genuinely good to fly over. This is what the process actually involves in 2026, and where on Phangan you can and cannot put a drone in the air.
Two agencies, not one
Thailand runs a dual system, and both halves are compulsory for almost every camera drone.
CAAT (Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand) handles the aircraft and the pilot. Since 30 June 2025, registration is done only through the CAAT UAS Portal at uasportal.caat.or.th; the older registration channels were retired. You create an account, verify your identity by one-time password, upload documents for both the drone and yourself, and sit an online exam to get a pilot certificate. Fail it and you can retake after 24 hours. The certificate is valid for two years, and the registration number you are issued has to be displayed on the drone itself — at least 3 mm lettering for anything under 25 kg.
NBTC (the telecoms regulator) registers the radio equipment, which in practice means any modern consumer drone. Foreigners can apply online or in person at an NBTC office; there is usually a small fee of a few hundred baht and processing typically takes a few working days, sometimes one to two weeks. The commonly cited rule is that you must register with the NBTC within 30 days of bringing a drone into Thailand — even if you never fly it.
Registration applies to drones with a camera, and to any drone over 2 kg. A Mini-class drone with a camera is not exempt.
You will also need third-party liability insurance of at least one million baht, in English, showing your name and the drone's serial number. That document gets uploaded to the portal.
Why the timing defeats most holidays
The part people miss: you cannot do any of this from home. Since early 2025 the process needs a Thai mobile number and your arrival stamp, so it starts on the day you land. CAAT approval is quoted at up to 14 days.
Realistically:
- Day 1: Thai SIM, buy insurance online, submit NBTC application
- Day 1–2: submit the CAAT application
- Day 2–14: wait
- Then: pass the exam, download the portal app, and file each flight
Best case you are flying within a week. Worst case, three. For a standard four-night or one-week stay there is no version of this that works, and agents who promise otherwise are selling hope.
One more layer: under CAAT's recent notices, flight details — area, date, time and purpose — are submitted through the UAS Portal in advance of each flight rather than just once at registration. Notice No. 16, effective 26 June 2026, relaxed the tighter national-security restrictions that had applied earlier in the year, and drone operations are now permitted in most of the country, with restrictions kept in selected districts of seven eastern and north-eastern border provinces. Surat Thani is not among them. Registration, insurance and per-flight approval still apply everywhere.
Where you can fly on Phangan — and where you cannot
National park land is the big one. A substantial part of Phangan's interior and east coast falls inside Than Sadet–Ko Pha Ngan National Park: the waterfalls, the high jungle, Than Sadet itself. Thai national parks generally prohibit drones without written permission from the Department of National Parks, and penalties reach 100,000 baht plus confiscation of the equipment. Rangers do check. The Ang Thong marine park, on the horizon to the west, is the same story — assume no unless you have paper saying otherwise.
Gatherings and built-up areas. Flights over crowds, urban areas, government buildings and hospitals are out. Which rules out the obvious temptation: filming a beach party at Haad Rin. Publishing identifiable images of people without consent also runs into Thailand's data protection law, which carries serious fines.
People, buildings and daylight. Keep 30 m from people, vehicles and structures, stay within visual line of sight, and fly in daylight. Night flying is not permitted for recreational operators.
Take-off and landing need the landowner's permission. On an island of small private plots and resorts, that matters more than it sounds. Ask before you launch from someone's beach.
Airspace. Samui's airport sits roughly 18 km south of Thong Sala, so Phangan is not under its approach, but the zone map in the CAAT app is the authority, not a blog. Check it before every flight.
What it costs to get it wrong
Flying unregistered is prosecuted under two separate acts. The Air Navigation Act carries up to one year's imprisonment and a 40,000 baht fine; the Radiocommunication Act, covering unregistered radio equipment, adds up to five years and 100,000 baht. Both charges can be brought over the same flight. Carry your CAAT certificate, NBTC certificate, insurance policy and passport with entry stamp whenever you fly.
Practical footnote: declare the drone at customs on arrival. No import permit is needed, but undeclared kit found in a bag is an unpleasant way to start a holiday.
An honest recommendation
Most guests should skip it. Two weeks of admin for a few minutes of footage is a poor trade on a trip built around slowing down, and the island's best views — Domsila, the Khao Ra ridge, the light over Hin Kong at six in the evening — are all available on foot with a phone in your pocket.
If you are staying a month, or you are here often, register properly at the start of your first long stay. The CAAT registration and pilot certificate last two years, so you do the work once.
At Villa Ullassa we ask guests to fly, if at all, from the terrace and away from the neighbouring houses down the slope. The hill is quiet, the west-facing view is the reason people come, and the sound of a drone carries a long way over jungle. That is not a rule so much as a request — the whole point of the place is what you can hear when nothing is running.
Villa Ullassa is a private four-bedroom house on a jungle hillside above Maduawan, with a 180° sunset sea view, a saltwater pool and room for eight.