dronetravel.guideBriefings checked 8 Oct 2026

Countries · Southeast Asia · national

Indonesia (Bali)

Indonesia reads closed to a visiting pilot: the official registration form requires an Indonesian NIK with no stated alternative, the remote pilot certificate requires an Indonesian ID card outright, and one reachable page states the application must come from an Indonesian citizen or legal entity.

Closed to you for this profile · checked 7 October 2026

21 rules · 38 sources, 13 of them official · 22 fields unconfirmed · Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA, Direktorat Jenderal Perhubungan Udara), Ministry of Transportation · SIDOPI-GO (SIPP-TA)

Everything below follows these two answers. Saved on this device, not sent anywhere.

Your answer

The authority's own pages could not be reached on our checks; treat this brief as provisional.

What decides it

  • A visitor cannot complete the registration in their own name on the documents as published. The drone-registration form requires the applicant's NIK, the Indonesian population number, with no stated alternative, even though the identity-number field and the upload slot both accept a passport. The remote pilot certificate's identity section has exactly two fields, Indonesian Passport and Indonesian ID Card, with the KTP number marked mandatory and nationality instructed as Indonesia. One reachable page states the bar outright: the registration application has to be made by an Indonesian citizen or legal entity, and visitors cannot register drones in their own name.confirmed on the cited page

Permits tied to a place or a time

These do not change the country's colour; they decide whether a particular flight is legal where and when you want it.

  • An operating approval is bounded by place, date range and time of day; it is not standing permission. The worked example covers two named locations, a one-month window and a daily time band, and attaches conditions: comply with the AirNav assessment, coordinate with AirNav for NOTAM issuance, keep the pilot's certificate valid, and report the results of the operation to the Directorate of Air Navigation.
  • A DGCA authorisation route exists above the altitude limit. Controlled airspace requiring prior approval as a general rule is not on any reachable page.
  • Daylight only, sunrise to sunset. Night and beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight need DGCA authorisation.
  • Airport runways and approach paths must be avoided.
  • Operations must stay at least 15 km away from airport runways and approach paths. Four independent reachable pages state the figure; none cites an instrument and none names a specific airport, so the legal basis and any Ngurah Rai version of it are not established.

Before you fly, in order

  1. The principal national instruments are PM 37/2020, on the operation of unmanned aircraft in Indonesian-served airspace, and PM 63/2021, Civil Aviation Safety Regulation Part 107 on small unmanned aircraft systems. PM 37/2020 replaced PM 180/2015. An official DGCA operating-approval letter names PM 63/2021 as the framework an approved operation is flown under and PM 37/2020 as the basis for the approval itself, so both are live and do different jobs. Neither text could be read: every URL that would carry it refuses the connection.
  2. A visitor cannot complete the registration in their own name on the documents as published. The drone-registration form requires the applicant's NIK, the Indonesian population number, with no stated alternative, even though the identity-number field and the upload slot both accept a passport. The remote pilot certificate's identity section has exactly two fields, Indonesian Passport and Indonesian ID Card, with the KTP number marked mandatory and nationality instructed as Indonesia. One reachable page states the bar outright: the registration application has to be made by an Indonesian citizen or legal entity, and visitors cannot register drones in their own name.
  3. One page asserts that sub-250 g drones, naming the DJI Mini series, are explicitly not exempt, but names no instrument and sets the threshold at 250 g on the same page. Treat a sub-250 g aircraft as verification-required rather than automatically exempt.
  4. DGCA Form 107-02 must be completed in full and signed over a 10,000-rupiah duty stamp. The registration certificate is valid for three years; the remote pilot certificate is valid for one year, and the two run on different cycles. An operating approval makes the pilot certificate's continued validity an express condition.
  5. No Remote ID requirement.
  6. An operating approval, persetujuan pengoperasian PUTA, is a third authorisation, separate from the drone registration and from the pilot certificate. The chain is: application, then the form with applicant data, flight plan and required documents, then an airspace assessment by AirNav, then issue of the assessment result, then document verification by the DGCA, then issue of the operating-approval letter.
  7. The operating approval takes four documentary inputs: an application letter, an operating procedure, an emergency procedure and an insurance document. The sample verification table additionally requires the AirNav assessment letter, the remote pilot certificate and the small unmanned aircraft registration certificate, so registration and certification are preconditions for an approval, not alternatives to it.
  8. An operating approval is bounded by place, date range and time of day; it is not standing permission. The worked example covers two named locations, a one-month window and a daily time band, and attaches conditions: comply with the AirNav assessment, coordinate with AirNav for NOTAM issuance, keep the pilot's certificate valid, and report the results of the operation to the Directorate of Air Navigation.
  9. A DGCA authorisation route exists above the altitude limit. Controlled airspace requiring prior approval as a general rule is not on any reachable page.
  10. A ceiling applies and the figure is unresolved between 120 m and 150 m above ground level. Do not rely on either number. One page adds an allowance to fly within 120 m of a structure, up to 120 m above the top of it.
  11. Visual line of sight must be maintained with the aircraft at all times.
  12. Daylight only, sunrise to sunset. Night and beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight need DGCA authorisation.
  13. Airport runways and approach paths must be avoided.
  14. Operations must stay at least 15 km away from airport runways and approach paths. Four independent reachable pages state the figure; none cites an instrument and none names a specific airport, so the legal basis and any Ngurah Rai version of it are not established.
  15. A drone must be declared to Indonesian customs on arrival.
  16. Spare lithium batteries in cabin baggage only: up to 100 Wh without approval, 100 to 160 Wh with airline approval and two spares, over 160 Wh not allowed (IATA passenger guidance; airlines may be stricter).

Spare lithium batteries in cabin baggage only: up to 100 Wh without approval, 100 to 160 Wh with airline approval and two spares, over 160 Wh not allowed (IATA passenger guidance; airlines may be stricter).

How a visitor gets legal

Each step as the authority describes it, with who may apply, what it costs and how long it takes.

  1. Step 1

    Establish the weight band, serial number, sites, dates and purpose before travel

    Weigh the aircraft and record its serial number and specifications, and fix the take-off sites, dates and purpose. The registration form is built for a single band, over 250 g and up to 25 kg, and both the sub-250 g position and a reported no-permit-below-2-kg line are unresolved, so a sub-250 g aircraft is verification-required rather than exempt.

    Eligibility not stated · None stated · Before travel

    • Model
    • Weight including battery
    • Serial number
    • Sites
    • Dates

  2. Step 2

    Register the aircraft through SIDOPI-GO, and expect to be blocked

    Registration runs through the SIPP-TA system via the SIDOPI and SIDOPI-GO portals. Eligibility is the blocker, not an unknown to work around: the mandatory NIK field on the registration form has no published alternative for a non-resident, and one reachable page states the application has to be made by an Indonesian citizen or legal entity. Register at least a week before travelling if the route turns out to be open.

    Visitors not eligible · Free for basic recreational registration on the one page that states a price; no fee is named in the official manual · 3 to 5 business days on the one page that states a figure; the official 40-page manual states no processing time at all

    • Indonesian ID card (KTP); the identity-number field and the upload slot also accept a passport or driving licence
    • Applicant NIK, mandatory, no alternative published
    • Application letter
    • DGCA Form 107-02 signed over a 10,000-rupiah duty stamp
    • Photo of the whole aircraft
    • Photo in which the serial number is clearly legible
    • Proof of ownership (invoice or bill of sale, or the downloadable affidavit form where there is none)
    • Insurance evidence, optional at this stage

    Open the official page

  3. Step 3

    Pass the DGCA review chain and collect the registration certificate

    Uploads are PDF or JPEG. The submission then passes a DKPPU inspector, the Kepala Seksi, the Kepala Subdirektorat and the Direktur DKPPU before the certificate issues. The certificate is valid for three years.

    Eligibility not stated · Duty stamp IDR 10,000; no registration fee stated · Not stated anywhere in the 40-page official manual

    • The registration application as submitted

  4. Step 4

    Obtain the remote pilot certificate

    A separate certificate, valid one year, applied for on DGCA Form 107-01. Its identity section has exactly two fields, Indonesian Passport (if applicable) and Indonesian ID Card, with the KTP number marked mandatory and nationality instructed as Indonesia. The declaration establishes a payable charge without naming an amount: the applicant must accept the cost estimate and forward the prescribed payment.

    Visitors not eligible · A prescribed payment exists; no amount is published · Not stated

    • Indonesian ID card (KTP), mandatory
    • Indonesian passport, if applicable

    Open the official page

  5. Step 5

    Apply for an operating approval where one is needed

    Submit the application through SIDOPI-GO with the flight plan and the four required documents. AirNav assesses the airspace and issues the assessment result, the DGCA verifies the documents, and the Directorate of Air Navigation issues an approval letter bounded by location, date range and time of day, conditioned on complying with the AirNav assessment, coordinating with AirNav for NOTAM issuance, keeping the pilot certificate valid, and reporting the results of the operation.

    Eligibility not stated · Not stated in either official document · Not stated in either official document

    • Application letter
    • Operating procedure
    • Emergency procedure
    • Insurance document
    • AirNav airspace assessment letter
    • Remote pilot certificate
    • Small unmanned aircraft registration certificate

    Open the official page

  6. Step 6

    Komodo National Park: apply for SIMAKSI, then pay the drone fee

    Apply for the SIMAKSI conservation-area entry permit, then pay the drone operation fee through the SIORA app once SIMAKSI is approved, or apply at the BTNK office in Labuan Bajo. A standard tourist e-ticket does not cover drone use, and an aviation registration or approval does not by itself authorise a flight in the park.

    Visitors eligible · IDR 1,000,000 to IDR 2,000,000 per drone per day, plus IDR 300,000 per day for photography; the tariff is attributed to PP No. 36/2024 · At least 7 days before the trip; processing typically 3 working days, sometimes 5; the drone permit itself is due by 12.00 WITA on the working day before the flight

    • SIMAKSI application
    • Drone operation fee payment

  7. Step 7

    Carry the written approval and follow ranger instructions on the day

    Disclose the drone to the boat operator at the time of booking rather than on arrival, carry the written approval, and follow ranger instructions on the day. Rangers decide in real time and the default leans toward not approving flights near basking or nesting animals.

    Visitors eligible · None stated · Per visit

    • Written park approval

  8. Step 8

    Declare the drone to Indonesian customs on arrival

    A traveller does need to declare the drone on arrival. No personal-use exemption, import-value threshold or one-drone allowance is established: the only customs URL either research pass cited is the Authorised Economic Operator portal, a trade-facilitation programme for businesses, and it refused the connection.

    Visitors eligible · Not established · At entry

    • Not established

The numbers

The engine's inputs, each with the verdict our verification pass gave it and the sources it rests on.

FieldWhat the pages sayVerdictSources
May a visiting pilot fly at allNo lawful route for a visiting recreational pilot.No official page addresses tourists or visitors as a category, in either direction. The closure is read off what the two official SIDOPI documents demand of an applicant: the drone-registration form requires the applicant's NIK, the Indonesian population number, with no stated alternative, and the remote pilot certificate's identity section is built for an Indonesian passport and a mandatory Indonesian ID card. One reachable secondary page states the bar outright. The brief's own position is that this must be shown as a blocking unknown rather than a condition: the official documents point the same way without ever saying it, so a visitor cannot be told from a published source that the path is open or closed. The whole regulation text, PM 37/2020 and PM 63/2021, sits behind URLs that refuse the connection.partly confirmedS8S16S17
EU or EEA registration recognisedNot establishedNo reachable page addresses whether a foreign registration substitutes for an Indonesian one, in either direction. The brief dropped the claim that it is not recognised as an argument from silence.not confirmedS8
UK registration recognisedNot establishedNo reachable page addresses whether a foreign registration substitutes for an Indonesian one, in either direction.not confirmedS8
US registration recognisedNot establishedNo reachable page addresses whether a foreign registration substitutes for an Indonesian one, in either direction.not confirmedS8
Local registrationRequired from 250 g. Cost: Basic recreational registration is free on the one reachable page that states a price. The official 40-page portal manual names no registration fee anywhere, and it does require DGCA Form 107-02 to be signed over a 10,000-rupiah duty stamp, which the free claim does not cover. The remote pilot certificate carries a payable charge whose amount is not published.. Time: 3 to 5 business days on the one reachable page that states a figure. The official manual walks through every screen of the submission and states no processing time at all, and neither does the launch deck. Register at least a week before travelling.. Non-residents: Mixed, and the mixture is the finding. The prose checklist names only the Indonesian ID card (KTP). Two form surfaces are wider and do accept a passport: the identity-number field is labelled KTP or Passport, and the upload slot accepts KTP, driving licence or passport. But the NIK field offers no alternative: enter the NIK of the individual applicant or of the company applicant who signs Form 107-02. NIK is the Indonesian population number and a visitor does not have one. For the remote pilot certificate the identity section has exactly two fields, Indonesian Passport (if applicable) and Indonesian ID Card, with the guidance reading passport number if you have one, KTP number mandatory, and nationality instructed as Indonesia. One secondary page describes a simpler route, uploading a passport copy plus the drone's serial number and specifications..The 250 g threshold is on both reachable pages that state one, and the official registration form's weight field is built for one band, over 250 g and up to 25 kg. The same reachable page that sets the threshold at 250 g also says sub-250 g drones are explicitly not exempt, two incompatible statements on one page, and a third page says no permit is needed below 2 kg. The manual nowhere says a sub-250 g aircraft is exempt and nowhere mentions 2 kg. A directive numbered 008/2025 is reported to have revoked a 72-hour grace period that let tourists fly first and register later; its date and text are not established. The registration certificate is valid for three years. Caveat on everything the manual says: it is a 2021 user manual, not the regulation, and it predates both SIDOPI-GO and PM 63/2021.partly confirmedS8S10S16
Remote IDNot required.Secondary page only. No official page confirms the absence, and neither official SIDOPI document mentions Remote ID at any point.confirmed on the cited pageS8
InsuranceNot mandatory for you · Not mandatory to register, required to operate. The official manual lists insurance evidence as an optional upload and then explains that this evidence will be required when applying for the operating permit to the Directorate of Air Navigation. The launch deck confirms the far end: an insurance document is one of the four inputs to the operating approval, and the sample verification table records it as supplied. Commercial operation needs authorisation plus insurance on the reachable secondary pages.The not-mandatory finding survives only for registration. It fails for an operating approval, where insurance is a documentary precondition.confirmed on the cited pageS8S14S16S17
Altitude ceilingNot establishedDo not publish a number. Two reachable pages give 120 m above ground level, one gives 500 ft (150 m). Neither official SIDOPI document states any altitude, ceiling or height figure at all. The resolution to 150 m rests on a 2022 Ministry press release that refuses the connection and is not the regulation in any case. One reachable page adds an allowance to fly within 120 m of a structure, up to 120 m above the top of it.not confirmedS4S8S14S18
Distance from peopleNot establishedNot established. The page cited for a separation requirement in the first research pass specifies no distance from people and states no such requirement. Nothing reachable addresses crowds either.not confirmedS14
Line of sightVisual line of sight must be maintained with the aircraft at all times during flight.Secondary page only. The attribution to PM 63/2021 could not be checked: every JDIH URL refuses the connection.confirmed on the cited pageS14
NightDaylight only, sunrise to sunset. Flight beyond visual line of sight needs DGCA authorisation.Secondary pages only.confirmed on the cited pageS8S14
Class marksNo reachable page addresses EU C-class marking, and neither official document mentions it. The bands that do appear are 250 g and 25 kg, and the official registration form's weight field is built for a single band of over 250 g and up to 25 kg. Indonesia's own machinery is three separate authorisations: the small unmanned aircraft registration certificate, valid three years; the remote pilot certificate, valid one year; and an operating approval bounded by place, dates and time of day.confirmed on the cited pageS8S16S17
FPVNot establishedNot established. Neither page cited for FPV and spotter treatment in the first research pass addresses it, and the other was unreachable.not confirmedS14
Commercial useStricter than recreational: commercial operation needs authorisation plus insurance. The only worked example of an operating approval in either official document is corporate, issued to an Indonesian company for aerial photography and event documentation; neither document contains a recreational or tourist example anywhere.confirmed on the cited pageS8S17

Every rule we could confirm

Grouped by what they govern. A general rule decides the country's colour for a profile; a situational one applies in a place, a zone or a season.

Registration

Remote ID

Permits

Airspace zones

Parks and protected areas

Towns and cities

Altitude

Line of sight

Night

Commercial use

Customs and import

Parks and protected areas

Who decides, what they decided, and whether there is a way in.

Where the no-fly zones are published

No official geozone map is named on the pages we read, which is itself worth knowing before you travel.

15 km from airport runways and approach paths, stated on four reachable pages, none of which names an instrument or a specific airport. One further page states 9 km instead, naming DPS, CGK, YIA, SUB, KNO and LOP, which is a fourth unsourced figure.

Customs and the border

Declaration
A traveller must declare the drone on arrival.
Import authorisation
Not established
Radio conformity
Not established

On the ground

What pilots, police and the press report actually happening. This is evidence about behaviour, not law: it never changes the status above, and it is dated and linked so you can judge it yourself.

Patchy enforcement7 confirmed cases · 2019-04 to 2026-08 · practice pass 7 October 2026

Seven dated reports, 2019 to 2026: park rangers at Rinjani, Merbabu and Komodo stop flights in person, airport and event airspace reaches prosecutors, and no fine was reported paid and no foreigner deported over a drone anywhere in Indonesia. Nothing documents a routine check elsewhere.

How people fly
Advice pages place visitor flying in scenic rural and coastal areas and away from temples, ceremonies, airports and protected areas, and the places that recur are Uluwatu, Tanah Lot, Tegallalang, Nusa Penida, Mount Batur and Komodo. That is advice, not observation: no dated first-person flight report, completed or interrupted, was located for any of them. The documented enforcement is in the opposite kind of place, inside national park boundaries. Where a park charges for drone use, paying is not permission: the head of Komodo National Park said so on the record after a traveller who had paid the IDR 2,000,000 fee was refused a flight on Pulau Padar.
Police and rangers
Park rangers are the documented enforcers. Rinjani officers found two foreign climbers carrying drones at the Pelawangan Sembalun campsite in April 2026, confiscated them, carried them down to Resort Sembalun, filed a special incident report, returned them on descent, and directed sanctions at the trekking organisers rather than the climbers, with blacklisting on the table. Merbabu staff ordered a content creator to land and bag a drone in April 2024, and the acting park head confirmed recreational and tourism flights are not permitted. Airport and event airspace escalates: the Bali airport authority traced the operator of a drone found inside the Ngurah Rai safety zone in 2019 and referred the case to prosecutors, and Brimob secured a drone flown against a NOTAM at the Yogyakarta Kraton in 2023, warning the Indonesian operator and releasing him. Bali police action against a recreational tourist flight is close to absent: the one case involving a foreigner, at a Pecatu beach club in November 2024, was charged as assault after he refused to land and delete footage, and the one Bali police drone operation, at Baturiti in August 2026, never identified the operator and produced a circular to hotels, villas and guesthouses banning guests from flying at night.
At the border
No usable report.
Fines actually reported
No fine, confiscation penalty or arrest over a drone flight was confirmed as actually applied to anyone. Across the seven confirmed reports the outcomes were a referral to prosecutors twice, confiscation with return on descent once, an order to land once, a refusal to permit once, a drone secured plus a verbal warning once, and an operator never identified once. No foreigner has been reported deported from Indonesia over a drone in any outlet searched. The one figure an authority has named on the record in an enforcement context is the Aviation Law maximum the Bali airport authority cited in 2019: up to 3 years and up to IDR 1,000,000,000 for endangering aviation safety.

The law's own penalty schedule is separate: Not established, 3 published fine ranges below.

Where reports cluster

  • Mount Rinjani, Lombok (Pelawangan Sembalun campsite)

    The clearest enforcement case in the set: rangers found drones on two foreign climbers, confiscated them on the spot, filed a special report and returned them on descent, while directing sanctions at the trekking organisers. Legal drone use inside the park is stated as a permit plus IDR 2,000,000 PNBP. Your trekking organiser carries the consequence with you.

  • Komodo National Park, Pulau Padar

    A traveller who had paid the IDR 2,000,000 drone fee was still refused a flight, and the park head explained on the record that the fee is not permission and a separate SIMAKSI is required, with the park sitting under a commercial flight corridor. No confiscation case at Komodo was found in any outlet, including the nearest local paper.

  • Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu, Central Java

    Outside the Bali and Komodo frame, but the plainest official statement found: park staff ordered a creator to land on video and the acting park head confirmed drones are allowed only for research with prior written permission, with tourism and recreational flights not permitted while the rules are reviewed.

  • I Gusti Ngurah Rai airport airspace, Bali

    The only Ngurah Rai drone enforcement case on record is from April 2019: a Garuda pilot reported a drone inside the airport safety zone, the airport authority traced the operator and referred the case to prosecutors. The seizure counts that circulate for 2025 have no page behind them. Secondary pages give the keep-out distance as 15 km, and one gives 9 km.

  • Baturiti, Tabanan, Bali

    The only documented Bali police drone operation. Residents reported nightly unidentified drones, a police sector investigated with the Brimob drone team, and the result was a circular to hotels, villas, guesthouses and boarding houses prohibiting guests from flying at night, with media filming requiring prior coordination with the village head and police. The operator was never identified.

  • Pecatu, Badung, Bali (beach clubs)

    The one Bali case involving a foreigner and a drone, November 2024. He flew from open land beside a club and let the drone cross into the grounds; security asked him to land it and delete the footage, he refused, and he was taken to the police station for assaulting a guard and an officer. The drone was the trigger, the charge was the assault.

  • Bali temples and sacred sites: Tanah Lot, Uluwatu, Besakih, Tegallalang

    Where the commercial pages cluster and where the press record is empty. Three pages assert tourists detained by pecalang at Tegallalang, a Chinese tourist's drone seized at Tanah Lot, a fine at Kuta Beach, confiscations at Tanah Lot, Uluwatu and Besakih, and a 2025 governor's circular directing confiscation. None of them gives a month, a name, a case or an outlet, and no Bali temple drone case was found in any press search. A reported 5 km exclusion around sacred sites names no instrument.

  • Bali Barat National Park

    The IDR 280,000,000 fine, four days' detention and five-year conservation-area ban that circulates belongs here and not, as reported, to an unspecified area in February 2026: the one reachable page that carries it puts it at West Bali in 2024, a foreign photographer who flew over a coral reef. It is a commercial travel guide with no named case and no month, and no official park page is reachable.

  • Nusa Penida, Kelingking and Mount Batur

    Named constantly in advice pages and completely absent from the record. No dated report of a flight completed, interrupted or penalised at any of them was found in either direction. Every volcano search returned authorities using drones to monitor craters rather than enforcement against a visitor.

  • Event airspace under a NOTAM, such as the Yogyakarta Kraton processions

    A NOTAM issued at an event organiser's request is enforced on the day: Brimob secured a drone flown during the Grebeg Syawal procession in April 2023, identified the operator, warned him and released him with no fine or charge.

Dated reports

  • 2019-04 · Flight operations safety zone (KKOP), I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali · press

    A Garuda Indonesia pilot taxiing to a parking stand reported a drone flying inside the airport's safety zone. The Bali airport authority traced the operator and collected evidence.

    Referred to PPNS investigators for prosecution; the final disposition was not reported. Aviation Law No. 1 of 2009 article 421 was cited at up to 3 years' imprisonment and up to IDR 1,000,000,000. report

  • 2023-04-22 · Masjid Gedhe Kauman, Kraton area, Yogyakarta, during the Grebeg Syawal procession · press

    A drone was flown during the procession against NOTAM B0754/23, which banned drones below 150 m from 19 to 23 April 2023 at the palace's request.

    Sat Brimob Polda DIY secured the drone, recorded the owner's identity and purpose, gave a verbal warning and released him. No fine and no charge. The operator was an Indonesian resident of Yogyakarta. report

  • 2024-04-17 · Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu, Central Java · press

    Video circulated of park staff ordering a content creator to bring a drone down at once and put it away.

    Ordered down, no confiscation and no fine. The acting park head confirmed drones are permitted only for research with prior written permission and that tourism and recreational flights are not permitted while the rules are under review. report

  • 2024-11-13 · Savaya club, Desa Pecatu, Kuta Selatan, Badung, Bali · press

    A Polish visitor flew a drone from open land beside the club and let it cross into the grounds. Security told him to land it and delete the footage; he refused, struck a security guard with a beer bottle and body-slammed a Brimob officer, injuring the officer's ankle.

    Taken to the Kuta Selatan police station the same evening and dealt with for the assault, not for the flight. No report that the drone was seized. report

  • 2025-07-27 · Pulau Padar, Komodo National Park, East Nusa Tenggara · press

    A traveller filmed himself being refused permission to fly a drone on Padar even though he had already paid the IDR 2,000,000 drone fee.

    Flight refused, no confiscation and no fine. The park head stated that paying does not make an operator free to fly, that a separate SIMAKSI conservation-area entry permit is required, and that the park sits under a commercial flight corridor regulated by the Transport Ministry. report

  • 2026-04-11 · Pelawangan Sembalun campsite, Mount Rinjani, East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara · press

    National park officers found two foreign climbers, from two different trekking organisers, carrying drones at the campsite; another visitor had an active speaker. Both item types are banned inside the park.

    All items confiscated, carried down to Resort Sembalun, a special incident report filed, and the gear returned to the climbers on descent. Sanctions were directed at the trekking organisers, who were summoned to the Mataram office facing a written warning or blacklisting. Legal drone use in the park was stated as requiring a permit plus IDR 2,000,000 in state revenue. report

  • 2026-08 · Baturiti district, Tabanan, Bali (Mekarsari, Apuan, Perean and Luwus villages) · press

    Residents reported repeated unidentified drones flying nightly between 19:00 and 01:00. The local police sector investigated with the Brimob drone team.

    The operator was never identified. Police circulated a notice to hotels, villas, guesthouses and boarding houses prohibiting guests from flying drones at night, with media filming requiring prior coordination with the village head and police. report

What the law says it costs

Published penalty ranges. What has actually been charged, where anyone reported it, is in the section above.

OffenceRangeSources
General violationUp to IDR 5,000,000, with up to 3 years' imprisonment attached by both sourcesS8S14
Serious offenceUp to IDR 500,000,000 and up to 3 years' imprisonmentS4
Sanctions, fines and criminal punishment for drone rule breaches generally, as quoted in a Ministry agency performance reportNo amount retrieved; the page refuses the connectionS20

Criminal liability: Imprisonment maxima exist and both reachable tiers carry up to 3 years, but no offence or article is identified on any reachable page, so liability is supported only indirectly by the penalty figures.

What we could not confirm

Printed rather than hidden. A brief that answers everything has usually guessed somewhere, and a gap here is a real gap in the official pages or a page we could not reach.

14 cited pages refused our checks and are marked unreachable in the source list.

Sources that disagree

  1. The text of PM 37/2020 and PM 63/2021. The altitude, the airport distance, the weight bands, the VLOS wording and the sanctions all live in documents no cited URL delivers; thirteen official URLs are still unfetched.
  2. Whether a non-resident may hold the drone registration at all. The official documents leave it genuinely ambiguous rather than settled either way, and this is the single launch-blocking unknown.
  3. The maximum altitude. Two reachable pages give 120 m, one gives 500 ft, and neither official document states any figure.
  4. Any fee amount for registration or for the remote pilot certificate. The official manual states no registration fee in 40 pages, and the pilot certificate declaration establishes a payable charge without naming an amount.
  5. Any processing time. The official manual walks through every screen of the submission and states none, and neither does the launch deck.
  6. Whether a recreational flight needs a remote pilot certificate at all.
  7. Whether an Indonesian phone number or address is required.
  8. The effective date and text of DGCA directive 008/2025, reported to have revoked a 72-hour grace period that let tourists fly first and register later.
  9. The sub-250 g position. One page sets the threshold at 250 g and on the same page says sub-250 g drones are explicitly not exempt; a third page says no permit is needed below 2 kg.
  10. The legal basis for the 15 km airport distance, and whether any Ngurah Rai version of it exists. Four pages state the figure, a fifth states 9 km, and none names an instrument.
  11. Any numeric separation from people or crowds, and any FPV or spotter treatment.
  12. Kominfo, Komdigi and SDPPI radio type-approval for a foreign-bought transmitter. No telecom-regulator URL was ever cited by any pass.
  13. Indonesian customs treatment of a personal drone: any personal-use exemption, import-value threshold, one-drone allowance or lithium-battery rule. The only customs URL cited is the Authorised Economic Operator business portal.
  14. Confiscation as a legal consequence. No reachable rules page mentions it.
  15. The offence-by-offence fine schedule, and which article attaches to which conduct.
  16. Komodo National Park's own published procedure: the AirNav Bali safety-assessment step, the 7 and 14 working-day processing figures, the park-head permit sequence, the unregistered-drone and uncertified-pilot bar and the officers' power to order a landing. All sit on domains that fail DNS resolution.
  17. Bali Barat National Park and Mount Rinjani park rules. No page, official or secondary, was reached for either.
  18. The instrument behind the reported 5 km exclusion around Bali sacred sites, and any Bali provincial or municipal drone text. No Bali government URL was ever cited.
  19. Nusa Penida, Kelingking and Mount Batur site rules and landholder permission.
  20. Whether an official downloadable geozone dataset or public API exists. The only candidate page refused the connection, so the absence cannot be tested.
  21. What apps, if any, the authority recommends, and how DJI geo-zone behaviour maps onto Indonesian airspace.
  22. The community layer of the practice evidence. Reddit is blocked on this machine and the drone forums and Indonesian travel groups were not searched, so no first-person flight report exists in this set for anywhere in Indonesia.

What changed, and when

Dated changes to the rules, newest first.

  1. 27 May 2022

    The SIDOPI-GO portal is in operation: the launch presentation's own screenshots carry this date and its sample operating-approval letter is dated 12 May 2022.

    S17

  2. 14 April 2021

    The SIDOPI online application version 01 is inaugurated, with the 40-page user manual issued for it. The manual therefore predates both SIDOPI-GO and PM 63/2021, which is a caveat on everything it says.

    S16

Checked 7 October 2026. Newer than that? Look here:

Rules move between our checks. The official pages publish the change; the community pages are where someone notices it first.

Official pages

Where pilots report

Sources

Every page this brief rests on, with the date we opened it and, where the page carries one, the date printed on the document itself.

  1. S1officialcould not be opened

    PM 37 Tahun 2020, regulation metadata

    Kemenhub JDIH · opened 2026-10-07

    Regulation metadata page, not the rule text. ECONNREFUSED 202.61.105.44:443, three attempts.

  2. S2officialcould not be opened

    Advanced Air Mobility procedure document

    Kemenhub JDIH · opened 2026-10-07

    Lists PM 37/2020 and PM 63/2021 in its recitals only; not a drone-rules text. ECONNREFUSED at host level.

  3. S3officialcould not be opened

    Peraturan Menteri search listing, page 4 (PM 63 Tahun 2021)

    Kemenhub JDIH · opened 2026-10-07

    Search-results listing: it can only prove a regulation is listed, never what it says. ECONNREFUSED.

  4. S4secondary

    Komodo Drone Rules 2026: Permits, Airspace and Restrictions

    Komodo Guide · document dated 2026-05-29 · opened 2026-10-07

    IDR 2,000,000/drone/day + IDR 300,000/day photography (PP No. 36/2024)

    Commercial travel guide. Also the only reachable page carrying the IDR 280,000,000 and five-year-ban claim, which it places at West Bali National Park in 2024 with no named case.

  5. S5officialcould not be opened

    PM 37 Tahun 2020, regulation abstract PDF

    Kemenhub JDIH · opened 2026-10-07

    A seven-page abstract, not the operative articles. ECONNREFUSED.

  6. S6secondary

    Drone Rules in Komodo National Park and Labuan Bajo

    Labuan Bajo Komodo · document dated 2026-08-20 · opened 2026-10-07

    drone pilots need a drone licence from Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation ... and must apply for a drone flight permit at the Komodo National Park Office itself

    Tour-operator FAQ. It presents the IDR 1,000,000 figure explicitly as one traveller's 2024 account and not an official current price list.

  7. S7secondary

    Can I fly a drone in Komodo National Park?

    Dive Tribe Komodo · opened 2026-10-07

    Standard tourist e-tickets do NOT cover drone use.

    Tour-operator FAQ. No date is printed on the page.

  8. S8secondary

    Drone Laws in Indonesia (2026)

    Terasor · document dated 2026-07 · opened 2026-10-07

    the registration application has to be made by an Indonesian citizen or legal entity

    Drone-law aggregator. The page prints Last reviewed: July 2026 with no day; an earlier pass invented the day.

  9. S9officialcould not be opened

    Peraturan Menteri search listing, page 6 (PM 37 Tahun 2020 status)

    Kemenhub JDIH · opened 2026-10-07

    Search-results listing; the in-force (Berlaku) status of PM 37/2020 is unverified because of it. ECONNREFUSED at host level.

  10. S10secondary

    Flying a Drone in Indonesia in 2026

    Geokepo · document dated 2026-09-05 · opened 2026-10-07

    A DGCA directive (008/2025) revoked the old 72-hour grace period that let tourists fly first and register later.

    Travel-guide article, and the only reachable page carrying Bali itself rather than Komodo. It sets the threshold at 250 g and also says sub-250 g drones are explicitly not exempt, two incompatible statements on one page.

  11. S11secondarycould not be opened

    Drone use in Komodo National Park requires SIMAKSI beyond SIPP-TA

    Komodo Times · opened 2026-10-07

    News article. TLS self-signed certificate in the chain, two attempts. Nothing in this file rests on it.

  12. S12officialcould not be opened

    PM 63 Tahun 2021, regulation abstract PDF

    Kemenhub JDIH · opened 2026-10-07

    ECONNREFUSED at host level. The URL also differs from the one in the same research pass's own citation list by two transposed characters, so at least one of the two is corrupt.

  13. S13community

    Drone Rules and Permits, Komodo National Park

    Komodo Island Liveaboard · document dated 2026-07-12 · opened 2026-10-07

    we treat any specific fine amount as unverified until confirmed directly by BTNK at the time of booking

    Liveaboard operator's guide, read as a community trip-report rather than a rule page. An earlier pass recorded its date as 2026-08-01; the page prints July 12, 2026.

  14. S14secondary

    Drone Laws in Indonesia

    Propel RC · document dated 2026-04-16 · opened 2026-10-07

    Operations must remain at least 15 kilometers away from airport runways and approach paths

    Drone-law aggregator. It is also the page that states no permit is required below 2 kg, a third threshold an earlier pass never surfaced although it used this page for altitude and the airport rule.

  15. S15officialcould not be opened

    PM 180 Tahun 2015, regulation metadata

    Kemenhub JDIH · opened 2026-10-07

    Metadata page for a repealed regulation, revoked by PM 37/2020. ECONNREFUSED.

  16. S16official

    Buku Panduan SIDOPI, Versi 01 (SIDOPI portal user manual, 40 pp.)

    DGCA, Directorate of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operation · document dated 2021-04-14 · opened 2026-10-07

    Masa berlaku sertifikat pendaftaran pesawat tanpa awak adalah tiga (3) tahun. / The unmanned-aircraft registration certificate is valid for three (3) years.

    Fetched with TLS verification disabled on 2026-10-07; the host serves an incomplete certificate chain and the chain failure is the only defect. A portal user manual, so it proves what the system requires of an applicant, not what the regulation says, and it predates both SIDOPI-GO and PM 63/2021. Listed as G1 in the gap pass.

  17. S17official

    Paparan Launching SIDOPI-GO (launch presentation, 8 pp.)

    DGCA, Directorate of Air Navigation · document dated 2022-05-27 · opened 2026-10-07

    Mengoperasikan pesawat udara tanpa awak sesuai dengan Permenhub PM 63 Tahun 2021 / CASR Part 107

    Fetched with TLS verification disabled on 2026-10-07; chain failure only. No date is printed on the deck; it is bounded to on or after 27 May 2022 by its own screenshots, and its sample approval letter is dated 12 May 2022. The letter is an individual decision; the process diagram is a rule of the system. Listed as G2 in the gap pass.

  18. S18officialcould not be opened

    Peluncuran aplikasi perizinan drone (2022 press release)

    Ministry of Transportation · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id G3. A press release about launching a permit app, not the regulation, and per the research index it attributes the zone taxonomy to PM 90/2015 rather than PM 37/2020. ECONNREFUSED, two attempts. The proposed resolution of the altitude conflict to 500 ft rests on it.

  19. S19officialcould not be opened

    Aktivitas Drone Berkembang, Balai TN Komodo Tata Perizinan dan Pengoperasiannya

    KLHK / KSDAE · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id G4. A news article on an official domain describing one park's procedure, closer to a decision account than a rule page. DNS ENOTFOUND, two attempts; every menlhk.go.id host tested fails to resolve.

  20. S20officialcould not be opened

    LAKIP Badan Litbang Tahun 2020 (agency annual performance report)

    Kemenhub Research and Development Agency · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id G5. An agency performance report quoting drone rules in passing, not a rule page. ECONNREFUSED. The sanctions, fines and criminal punishment line rests on it.

  21. S21officialcould not be opened

    Authorised Economic Operator portal

    Directorate General of Customs and Excise · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id G6. A business trade-facilitation scheme, irrelevant to a traveller's drone, so it could not have answered the customs question even had it loaded. ECONNREFUSED, two attempts. It is the only customs URL any research pass cited.

  22. S22press

    Bule ini ngamuk banting anggota Brimob, pukul sekuriti di Bali gegara drone

    detikJogja (detik.com) · document dated 2024-11-13 · opened 2026-10-07

    WNA tersebut menggunakan drone melewati batas dan memasuki area kawasan Savaya

  23. S23press

    Turis asing bawa drone saat mendaki Rinjani, TNGR siapkan sanksi tegas

    detikBali (detik.com) · document dated 2026-04-13 · opened 2026-10-07

    Semuanya disita, diamankan dibawa turun oleh petugas ke Resort Sembalun

    Quoting Ma'ruf Hadi, Kepala Seksi Wilayah II, Balai TNGR. The incident is dated Saturday, which is 11 April 2026.

  24. S24press

    Balai TNGR amankan dua WNA yang bawa drone saat mendaki Rinjani

    Antara News Mataram · document dated 2026-04-14 · opened 2026-10-07

    Kalau dibiarkan, ini bisa jadi modus. Ketahuan bayar, tidak ketahuan merasa bebas.

    State news agency bureau. It dates the incident to Saturday 11 April 2026 and states the IDR 2,000,000 PNBP for a drone permit.

  25. S25press

    Wisatawan dilarang terbangkan drone di Pulau Padar padahal sudah bayar Rp 2 juta

    Kompas.com, regional desk · document dated 2025-07-30 · opened 2026-10-07

    Meskipun mereka sudah membayar, bukan berarti mereka bebas menerbangkan drone-nya

    Quoting Hendrikus Rani Siga, head of Taman Nasional Komodo. The video circulated on 27 July 2025.

  26. S26press

    Penjelasan BTNGMb soal viral drone dilarang terbang di Merbabu, harus berizin

    detikJateng (detik.com) · document dated 2024-04-19 · opened 2026-10-07

    Sedangkan untuk wisata atau rekreasi, saat ini baru kita kaji

    Quoting Nurpana Sulaksono, acting head of Balai Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu. The incident is dated Wednesday 17 April 2024.

  27. S27press

    Drone dilarang terbang tanpa izin otoritas bandara setempat

    Antara (state news agency) · document dated 2019-07-24 · opened 2026-10-07

    ada temuan masyarakat menerbangkan 'drone' yang kami temukan terbang di KKOP di Bandar Udara Internasional I Gusti Ngurah Rai

    The incident is dated April 2019, month only. The article is framed as a rules explainer with the case as its hook, and it cites Aviation Law No. 1 of 2009 article 421 at up to 3 years and IDR 1,000,000,000.

  28. S28press

    Polisi amankan drone yang nekat terbang saat Grebeg Syawal di Kraton

    Mojok.co · document dated 2023-04-23 · opened 2026-10-07

    Diamankan saja, lalu mendata pemiliknya siapa, kepentingannya apa.

    Quoting Kapolresta Yogyakarta Kombes Pol Saiful Anwar. Tribunnews headlined the same event as police shooting the drone, which this account does not support; that article returned HTTP 403 twice, so the discrepancy is unresolved.

  29. S29press

    Lagi, drone misterius terbang malam-malam resahkan warga Baturiti Tabanan

    detikBali (detik.com) · document dated 2026-08-07 · opened 2026-10-07

    Dalam surat itu tamu atau penghuni akomodasi dilarang menerbangkan drone pada malam hari

    Quoting Kapolsek Baturiti Kompol I Nyoman Darsana. The flights ran in the days before publication, so the incident is dated to the month only.

  30. S30secondary

    Drone Laws in Indonesia (2026): Bali Rules and No-Fly Zones

    DronesGator · document dated 2026-03 · opened 2026-10-07

    A tourist flying a sub-250g drone over Tegallalang rice terraces was detained by pecalang under the new Perda Bali No. 12/2024.

    Consumer drone site; the page prints Updated March 2026 with no day. The Tegallalang account gives a year, no month, no name, no case and no outlet, and the bylaw it names is not reachable, so it is carried as a hotspot note and not as a dated incident.

  31. S31secondary

    Indonesia Drone Laws 2026: Complete Guide for Tourists

    UAVWiki · document dated 2026-04-01 · opened 2026-10-07

    Local police intercepted the flight, confiscated the drone, and issued a fine of 5 million IDR

    Drone-rules guide carrying three anecdotes, Tanah Lot, Kuta Beach and Ubud, none with a named person, a case number, an outlet or a month. It dates the Kuta Beach fine to 2026, where the research report had it at 2025. All three are carried as hotspot notes.

  32. S32secondary

    Photography Rules at Bali Temples and Ceremonies

    Your Happiness Tours · document dated 2026-05-04 · opened 2026-10-07

    Drone photography near Balinese temples is banned without an explicit permit from the Bali Provincial Government

    Tour-operator blog. It attributes pecalang confiscation powers to a 2025 governor's circular, says confiscated drones are generally not returned, and lists Tanah Lot, Uluwatu and Besakih as places tourists lost drones in 2024 and 2025, all without a named case or an instrument.

  33. S33secondary

    Drone Laws in Bali 2026: No-Fly Zones, SIPP-TA Registration

    Your Happiness Tours · document dated 2026-04-10 · opened 2026-10-07

    Flying a drone in Bali without registering via SIPP-TA or entering a no-fly zone risks fines up to IDR 5 billion (~USD 308,000) and deportation.

    Tour-operator blog. The IDR 5,000,000,000 figure cites Aviation Law No. 1/2009 with no quotation, link or article, and is an order of magnitude above the IDR 500,000,000 ceiling in the law block.

  34. S34secondary

    Drone rules in Indonesia: registration, restricted zones

    Indonesia Knowledge · document dated 2026 · opened 2026-10-07

    9 km radius around any airport

    Travel reference site; no day is printed. Its 9 km figure, named for DPS, CGK, YIA, SUB, KNO and LOP, is a fourth airport distance nobody sources.

  35. S35secondary

    Drone Laws by Country: Where You Can Fly in 2026

    Drone Trader blog · document dated 2026-07-01 · opened 2026-10-07

    Bali's maximum penalties reach into hundreds of thousands of dollars for restricted-airspace violations.

    Multi-country roundup. It names no instrument for either the penalty claim or its assertion that all drones flown in Bali must be pre-registered regardless of weight since 2025.

  36. S36community

    Bali Drone Law Risks and Penalties

    Drone Permit Bali (Juara Holding Group) · document dated 2026-01-09 · opened 2026-10-07

    Typical real-world consequences today include equipment confiscation, forced deletion of footage, and administrative fines.

    A commercial drone-permit service that sells the permits it describes, including a dedicated foreign film crew service, so its account of the risk of flying without one is an interested one. Read as a community operator claim, not as press. Last updated 4 August 2026; no case, date or amount is given.

  37. S38secondarycould not be opened

    Are Compact Drone Laws Changing Fast in Bali (no content)

    Alibaba Product Insights · opened 2026-10-07

    Soft 404: the URL returns HTTP 200 and renders Alibaba's own 404 error module with no article text, confirmed both from the rendered markdown and from a raw-HTML grep for the claimed sentences. The research report's Ngurah Rai seizure counts, more than 72 drones between January and April 2025 and 41 in the first quarter, rest entirely on it. Four further alibaba.com product-insights URLs in the same report behave identically and are not carried here, because nothing in this file rests on them.

  38. S39secondarycould not be opened

    Is a Compact Drone Really Allowed in Bali's National Parks (no content)

    Alibaba Product Insights · opened 2026-10-07

    Soft 404, same mechanism as S38. The research report's IDR 280,000,000 fine with four days' detention and a five-year ban, dated February 2026 at an unspecified conservation area, rests entirely on it. The same claim does exist on S4, but as 2024 at West Bali National Park.