Drone driver's license: Office insists on payment despite no indication of costs

When drone fan Thomas Spangenberg received an email at the beginning of July with the subject line "Fee notice from the Federal Aviation Office – Retrievable in your personal operator/remote pilot account", he initially thought he had become the target of a phishing attack. However, the letter is genuine, as the Federal Aviation Office (LBA) confirms on its service page. And the announced notice was also in the user's LBA account: dated July 10, 2025, it requested payment of 25 euros.

The reason given by the LBA was that Spangenberg had acquired the A1/A3 certificate of competence –, also known colloquially as a small drone driver's license. He does not dispute this, but it can be proven (see screenshot) that this took place on July 18, 2021, a full four years ago. Although, according to the LBA, the claim for payment only expires at the end of the fourth year after it arose in accordance with Section 20 (1) VwKostG, Spangenberg is irritated by something else: he is certain that the proof was said to be free of charge at the time.

And he is not alone: when he published the case in his private blog, other drone pilots who were also surprised by such a notice came forward. The amount to be paid often amounts to 45 euros, as those affected had also registered as operators of an unmanned aircraft at the time. c't also received several reports from drone pilots.

Looking back

With the Drone Regulation of 24 May 2019 (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947), the European Union not only stipulated that unmanned aircraft in Europe be divided into the seven drone classes, but also which requirements must be met for the operation of models in the individual classes. For drones with a take-off weight of over 250 grams, at least the aforementioned EU A1/A3 certificate of competence was required.

This can be obtained after successfully completing online training and an online theory test at the LBA. Operators of drones with cameras are also required to register there. In 2021, many hobby pilots took advantage of this offer, even if they did not yet own a model – and for good reason: it was announced that they would have to pay for registration and the small drone license in the future. However, according to the Aviation Administration Cost Ordinance (LuftKostV) valid at the beginning of 2021, the services were still free of charge. This was reported on relevant websites and magazines.

With regard to the current cost assessments, it therefore depends on when the LBA's services became chargeable. The fact that the Federal Office writes on the aforementioned service page that a payment obligation exists from June 18, 2021, but only states in its cost notices that the Cost Ordinance was "last amended by Article 3 of the Ordinance of December 7, 2021 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 5190)" leads to confusion. Some read this to mean that these services were still free of charge for most of 2021.

However, the "Act on the Adaptation of National Regulations to the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 of May 24, 2019 on the rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft" is actually decisive. This lists the individual costs that form the basis for the current requirements. And this law was already published in the Federal Law Gazette 2021 Part I No. 32 on June 17, 2021 and therefore came into force the next day. Therefore, the LBA cites June 18 as the effective date.

Doubts remain

So everything is fine and the demand is justified? That is debatable. Several of those affected agree that they were not informed before registration or examination that costs would be incurred by using the services. A copy of the LBA website saved in the web archive also shows that on July 27, its FAQs still stated that, in accordance with the current LuftKostV, no costs would be charged for operator registration or the A1/A3 online examinations (including for repeat examinations).

When asked, the LBA explained that the FAQ is not legally binding for the administration. Even if this is the case, c't now wanted to know from the Federal Office when it specifically informed users about the costs. The answer: "We can say with certainty that the information on the obligation to pay fees was published on the entry page to the online portal from 16.08.2021 at the latest and subsequently also directly in the last step of registration [...]."

Conversely, this means that in the worst case scenario, the LBA did not inform users that they would have to pay for the proof of competence and registration almost two months after the Cost Ordinance came into force. If the Federal Office charges these costs anyway, this could possibly constitute a breach of the principle of good faith, to which authorities are also subject. However, the LBA does not see it this way and told c't that there is no obligation under public law to inform him of an obligation to pay fees. "The fact that we have nevertheless been doing this for a long time is merely in the interests of being close to the public," said the spokesperson.

After taking four years to issue the cost notices, the LBA now wants the money as quickly as possible: The amount is due immediately, an appeal against the decision has no suspensive effect – so it still has to be paid. When asked, Thomas Spangenberg was also given the precautionary advice that an unsuccessful appeal would incur costs (usually at least 40 euros). However, the LBA could fail with its claims in court, at least in the case of the notices in which the costs for certificates of competence and registrations made between June 18 and August 15, 2021 are claimed.

(nij)