Agricultural drone spraying rules in Portugal
What you need to spray crops with a drone in Portugal: legal status, authorities, permits, requirements and operating limits, with links to the official sources.
Legal status
Not allowed. Prohibited. Aerial application of plant protection products is banned under Law 26/2013 (art. 34). DGAV states that drone applications cannot be carried out under the current legal framework, because the aerial-application derogations in the law do not apply to drones.
Who regulates it
- Agriculture: Directorate-General for Food and Veterinary Affairs (DGAV)
- Aviation: National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC)
Legal basis
- Lei n.º 26/2013, de 11 de abril (arts. 15(2) and 34): Rules for the sale and use of plant protection products. Bans aerial application; its derogation regime (chapter VI) was written for manned aircraft such as aeroplanes and helicopters.
- DGAV Technical Clarification No. 7/DGAV/2018 (2 August 2018): DGAV's position on unmanned aircraft: drones are aircraft, so the general ban applies, and drone applications cannot be carried out under the current framework.
- Directive 2009/128/EC, art. 9: EU ban on aerial spraying of pesticides, with national derogations under strict conditions.
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947: EU rules for drone operations, applied in Portugal by ANAC.
What you need
- There is no authorisation route for applying plant protection products by drone. DGAV aerial-application permits and plans (PAA) do not cover drones. (dgav.pt)
- Any other drone work (mapping, monitoring) must follow the EU drone rules: operator registration and, outside the open category, an ANAC operational authorisation. (anac.pt)
How to get authorised
- Do not spray plant protection products by drone. Use ground application under Law 26/2013. (dgav.pt)
- Follow DGAV news: a national working group led by DGAV is preparing the ground for drone use once the law changes. (dgav.pt)
Good to know
- In December 2024 Portugal took a declaration to the EU Agriculture Council asking for EU rules on drone spraying; according to DGAV, 14 Member States backed it.
- An EU proposal of December 2025 (COM(2025) 1021) would let Member States exempt some drone types from the aerial-spraying ban. It is still under discussion and 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.