Agricultural drone spraying rules in Greece
What you need to spray crops with a drone in Greece: legal status, authorities, permits, requirements and operating limits, with links to the official sources.
Legal status
Not allowed. Prohibited. Aerial application of pesticides is banned under Law 4036/2012 (arts. 23 and 39), and regional agricultural authorities state that this includes drones. Derogations exist only for special cases (authorities cite public-health uses such as mosquito control), and there is no drone-specific regime for crop spraying.
Who regulates it
- Agriculture: Ministry of Rural Development and Food, Directorate of Plant Production Protection (ΥΠΑΑΤ)
- Agriculture: Regional directorates of agricultural economy (example: Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace) (ΔΑΟΚ)
- Aviation: Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA)
Legal basis
- Law 4036/2012 (ΦΕΚ Α΄ 8/2012), arts. 23, 39 and 45: Transposes Directive 2009/128/EC. Bans aerial application of pesticides except derogations in special cases, and sets fines for breaches (art. 45).
- Directive 2009/128/EC, art. 9: EU ban on aerial spraying of pesticides.
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947: EU drone rules, applied in Greece by HCAA.
What you need
- There is no authorisation route for spraying plant protection products on crops by drone. (pamth.gov.gr)
- Other drone work follows the EU drone rules: registration and, in the specific category, a declaration or an HCAA operational authorisation. (hcaa.gov.gr)
How to get authorised
- Do not spray plant protection products by drone. Breaches can be fined under Law 4036/2012. (pamth.gov.gr)
Good to know
- The regional bulletin says that where aerial spraying is exceptionally allowed, products must be expressly approved for aerial spraying, the operator needs a certificate in the rational use of pesticides, and an agronomist must issue a prescription.
- An EU proposal of December 2025 (COM(2025) 1021) would let Member States exempt some drone types from the aerial-spraying ban. It does not apply yet.
Checked against official sources on 2026-09-18. Rules change: confirm with the authorities before operating. This page is a planning summary, not legal advice. The product label and the official rules always prevail.