Agricultural drone spraying rules in the Netherlands
What you need to spray crops with a drone in the Netherlands: legal status, authorities, permits, requirements and operating limits, with links to the official sources.
Legal status
Not allowed. Prohibited. Applying a plant protection product with an aircraft is banned (Plant Protection Products and Biocides Decree, art. 29), and the government treats drones as aircraft. The minister can only grant an exemption in connection with a threat to plant production; there is no drone spraying regime.
Who regulates it
- Aviation: Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT)
- Agriculture: Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (exemptions) (NVWA)
- Other: Board for the Authorisation of Plant Protection Products and Biocides (Ctgb)
Legal basis
- Besluit gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden, art. 29: Bans applying plant protection products or biocides with an aircraft. The minister may grant an exemption in connection with a threat to plant production (art. 38 of the Act).
- Wet gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden, art. 38: Legal basis for temporary exemptions when plant production is threatened.
- Updated national action plan on sustainable use of plant protection products 2022–2025 (consultation version): States that drones are 'aircraft' within the meaning of the EU directive and that applying plant protection products with drones falls under the ban.
- Directive 2009/128/EC, art. 9: EU ban on aerial spraying of pesticides.
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947: EU drone rules, applied in the Netherlands by ILT.
What you need
- There is no authorisation route for spraying plant protection products by drone. A ministerial exemption is only possible in connection with a threat to plant production. (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Other drone work (e.g. monitoring, releasing natural enemies) follows the general drone rules: operator registration and, in the specific category, ILT authorisation. (ilent.nl)
How to get authorised
- Do not apply plant protection products by drone. Use ground equipment. (wetten.overheid.nl)
- For permitted drone uses, check the ILT rules for the specific category. (ilent.nl)
Good to know
- According to the national action plan, drones used to spread biological control agents (macro-organisms) or to monitor pests and diseases are not covered by the ban.
- 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.