dronetravel.guideBriefings checked 8 Oct 2026

Countries · Southern Africa · national

Namibia

Every drone flight in Namibia needs prior written NCAA approval, applied for by email to rpas@ncaa.na before you travel with a NAD 300 private fee, drone-specific liability insurance and every launch coordinate named in advance; national parks are closed to private flights and the NCAA publishes no RPAS page.

Permit per flight for this profile · checked 7 October 2026

24 rules · 32 sources, 11 of them official · 18 fields unconfirmed · Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Flight Operations Department

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

Your answer

Some key fields rest on secondary sources; they are listed under what we could not confirm.

What decides it

  • Every RPAS flight requires prior written NCAA approval. There is no casual-tourist exemption and no non-camera-toy exception on any live official page.confirmed on the cited page
  • The instrument a private applicant receives is an RPAS Letter of Approval (RLA), issued by NCAA Flight Operations and signed by the Executive Director for Civil Aviation. It covers only the coordinates and dates named in the application.confirmed on the cited page
  • A foreign pilot applies to the NCAA before travelling. A foreign registration does not substitute for the approval, and no Namibian agent or sponsor appears in any fetched document.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.

  • Flights are planned and approved below 150 ft. Going above 150 ft needs a separate CAUA approval from NCAA ANSSO, which the RLA does not include.
  • Flying in restricted or controlled airspace requires a CAUA approval from NCAA ANSSO, on forms 7 and 8, together with the landowner's permission.
  • A park or landowner permission never replaces the NCAA approval. The NCAA applicant letter lists MEFT, Namibian Film Commission, CAUA and landowner approvals as additional to the RLA, not alternatives to it.
  • Footage displayed for public viewing needs separate Namibian Film Commission (NFC) approval, in addition to the NCAA approval.

Before you fly, in order

  1. Namibia runs a national RPAS regime under the Namibian Civil Aviation Regulations (NAMCAR) Part 101. There is no EASA, UK or US equivalence.
  2. A private or recreational applicant marks Category II on the NCAA application form, under NAMCAR 101.02.1.
  3. Drone-specific public liability insurance is required, valid for the applicant, for the dates of flight and for Namibia, with the confirmation supplied in English. NAMCAR 101.06.2.
  4. Every RPAS flight requires prior written NCAA approval. There is no casual-tourist exemption and no non-camera-toy exception on any live official page.
  5. The instrument a private applicant receives is an RPAS Letter of Approval (RLA), issued by NCAA Flight Operations and signed by the Executive Director for Civil Aviation. It covers only the coordinates and dates named in the application.
  6. A foreign pilot applies to the NCAA before travelling. A foreign registration does not substitute for the approval, and no Namibian agent or sponsor appears in any fetched document.
  7. Footage displayed for public viewing needs separate Namibian Film Commission (NFC) approval, in addition to the NCAA approval.
  8. Flights are planned and approved below 150 ft. Going above 150 ft needs a separate CAUA approval from NCAA ANSSO, which the RLA does not include.
  9. Visual line of sight only. BVLOS is subject to special approval only.
  10. Daylight hours only. Secondary sources only: no official page fetched in either pass states a night rule.
  11. Flying in restricted or controlled airspace requires a CAUA approval from NCAA ANSSO, on forms 7 and 8, together with the landowner's permission.
  12. Keep 5 NM, roughly 10 km, from an aerodrome. Secondary sources only: no official page states a distance.
  13. A park or landowner permission never replaces the NCAA approval. The NCAA applicant letter lists MEFT, Namibian Film Commission, CAUA and landowner approvals as additional to the RLA, not alternatives to it.
  14. Do not fly over populated areas, streets, towns or cities. Secondary sources only: no official page states it.
  15. FPV treatment is unknown. No fetched source addresses it, and BVLOS by special approval is a different question.
  16. Customs treatment of a visitor's drone is unverified. The Namibia Revenue Agency refused the connection on all three of its cited URLs, so nothing is established either way about declaration, a temporary import permit or an ATA Carnet.
  17. CRAN's 2023 document naming Remotely Piloted Aircraft as a type-approval equipment category at N$750, and excluding drones from the toy exemption, is a notice of intention to make regulations and not proven to be in force. Type approval is in any case a supplier obligation that a tourist cannot file.
  18. A radio licence is an NCAA form item only if applicable, which the form limits to flights in controlled airspace. For an ordinary approved VLOS flight below 150 ft, no fetched document requires a radio step.
  19. No fetched source states a Namibia-specific lithium battery rule. Airline dangerous goods policy governs the carriage of spares.
  20. No filming may be conducted on private property without the express permission of the property owner.
  21. 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

    Email the NCAA RPAS team for the current pack

    Write to rpas@ncaa.na and ask for the current application pack. The NCAA's web RPAS page returns 404 with resources coming soon, and both RPAS deep links in circulation serve the homepage, so email is the only working route. Confirm at the same time that the form and letter you are working from are still current.

    Visitors eligible · None stated · Before anything else

    • Travel dates
    • Aircraft model

    Open the official page

  2. Step 2

    Complete NCAA form FSS-OPS-FORM-612-01

    Complete the form in full, entering not applicable in any field you cannot fill, and mark Category II for private use. The form is expressly also for a foreign operator seeking an approval to conduct operations in Namibia.

    Visitors eligible · None for the form itself · Before travel

    • Government-issued ID
    • Aircraft details
    • Pilot details

  3. Step 3

    Build the NCAA RPAS Map annex

    One row per launch spot: GPS coordinates in degrees, minutes and seconds, a map screenshot, and the dates you will fly there. Select every point against the NCAA's Google Earth KMZ file of restricted areas, which comes with the pack, and keep the points outside those areas unless you also apply for CAUA or MEFT approval.

    Visitors eligible · None stated · Before travel

    • Coordinates per launch point
    • Map screenshots
    • Dates per point

  4. Step 4

    Get a public liability insurance confirmation in English

    Obtain a confirmation naming the applicant, covering drones, covering Namibia, and covering the travel dates. The NCAA asks for it in English. NAMCAR 101.06.2.

    Visitors eligible · Not stated by the NCAA; the insurer sets it · Before travel

    • Insurance certificate in English

  5. Step 5

    Pay the application fee by bank transfer

    Pay NAD/ZAR 300 for private use, or NAD/ZAR 4,500 for commercial use, into the NCAA account. The fee is non-refundable. Payment has to reach the NCAA at least 10 days before the approval date, and an international transfer can take around three weeks, so start here rather than last.

    Visitors eligible · NAD/ZAR 300 private, NAD/ZAR 4,500 commercial, non-refundable · Payment must arrive at least 10 days before the approval date; allow around 3 weeks for an international transfer

    • Proof of payment or receipt

  6. Step 6

    Email the complete pack to rpas@ncaa.na

    Send the form, the map annex, the insurance confirmation, the proof of payment and a copy of your government-issued ID in one message to rpas@ncaa.na. The team sits in the NCAA Flight Operations Department, 3rd floor, 4 Rudolph Hertzog Street, Windhoek, on +264 83 235 2466.

    Visitors eligible · Covered by the application fee · See the next step: the lead time is contested

    • Completed form
    • RPAS Map annex
    • Insurance certificate
    • Proof of payment
    • Government-issued ID

  7. Step 7

    Plan on 60 days, because the lead time is contested

    Two official figures disagree. The NCAA applicant letter says apply 30 days before your flight and that processing takes one week once all documentation and payment are in. The NCAA homepage says foreigners must submit applications at least 60 days before arrival. Plan on 60 days, which also absorbs the three-week payment transfer.

    Visitors eligible · None additional · 60 days before arrival per the homepage; 30 days plus about one week per the applicant letter

  8. Step 8

    Add a CAUA application if you need height or controlled airspace

    Above 150 ft, or in restricted or controlled airspace, file a separate CAUA application to NCAA ANSSO on forms 7 and 8, with the landowner's permission. Each proposed spot is cleared internally against the FUA, ATC and MET columns.

    Visitors eligible · Not stated · Not stated

    • Forms 7 and 8
    • Landowner's permission
    • Coordinates

  9. Step 9

    Add Namibian Film Commission approval if the footage will be shown publicly

    Films displayed for public viewing need separate NFC approval. The NCAA approval does not cover it.

    Visitors eligible · Not stated · Not stated

  10. Step 10

    Get the owner's express permission for private property

    No filming may be conducted on private property without the express permission of the property owner. This is the only rule that covers Spitzkoppe and Kolmanskop, for which no site-specific source exists.

    Visitors eligible · Set by the owner · Before the flight

    • Written permission from the owner or site operator

  11. Step 11

    Wait for the written approval and fly only what it says

    The approval is signed by the Executive Director for Civil Aviation. Do not fly outside the approved coordinates and dates. A pilot who has not applied before leaving home cannot regularise on arrival.

    Visitors eligible · None additional · One week after a complete pack per the applicant letter

    • RPAS Letter of Approval

  12. Step 12

    Declare the drone at any park gate you enter

    If you enter a national park with the drone in your luggage, declare and register it at the entry gate. This is a declaration duty, not a route to permission: the approval does not extend inside a park.

    Visitors eligible · None stated for the declaration · On arrival at the gate

    • The drone itself
    • Government-issued ID

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 allOnly with a permit applied for per flight.The NCAA homepage states that all flights require prior written approval, and NCAA form FSS-OPS-FORM-612-01 is expressly also for a foreign operator seeking an approval to conduct operations in Namibia, so the pathway exists and a visitor may use it. It is partial rather than confirmed because the only live NCAA text on drones anywhere is a four-sentence tab on the homepage: the authority's own RPAS page returns 404 and both deep links the research cited serve the homepage. The form and the applicant letter that carry the detail reach us through a third-party forum, not the NCAA's own site.partly confirmedS1S1bS10
EU or EEA registration recognisedNoNo fetched page addresses recognition of a foreign registration either way. It is answered indirectly: written NCAA approval is required of every operator for every flight, and the NCAA form is explicitly also to be completed by a foreign operator, so a home registration cannot substitute for the approval.partly confirmedS1S10
UK registration recognisedNoSame reasoning as EASA. No fetched page addresses recognition; the approval duty attaches to every operator.partly confirmedS1S10
US registration recognisedNoSame reasoning as EASA. No fetched page addresses recognition; the approval duty attaches to every operator.partly confirmedS1S10
Local registrationNot establishedTwo NCAA-origin texts conflict and nothing resolves them. The NCAA homepage says all drones, recreational or commercial, must be registered with the NCAA. The NCAA's own form and applicant letter restrict registration to local operators: the attachment list separates certificate of registration (local operators) from proposed maps (foreign operators), the airworthiness registration form is marked locally based RPAS only, and the N$745 registration fee is marked local operators only. No fetched page gives a gram threshold. There is also no portal of any kind: the NCAA RPAS page returns 404 with resources coming soon, and both RPAS deep links the research cited serve the homepage instead, so applications go by email to rpas@ncaa.na. The documents a non-resident applicant must attach are confirmed and are listed in the workflow.not confirmedS1S2S3S4S10
Remote IDNot establishedNot established. Remote ID is not mentioned on the NCAA homepage tab, in NCAA form FSS-OPS-FORM-612-01 Rev 3, or in the NCAA applicant letter. The absence of a source is not the absence of a duty.not confirmedS1S10
InsuranceMandatory · Every application. The certificate must be valid for the applicant, for the dates of flight, for Namibia and for drones, and the NCAA asks for it in English.NAMCAR 101.06.2. No minimum cover figure appears on any fetched page, so the amount is unknown.confirmed on the cited pageS10
Altitude ceiling45 mThe operative NCAA figure is 150 ft, not a metric one: the NCAA form fixes the flight below 150 ft and the applicant letter requires a separate CAUA approval above 150 ft. The 45 m here is the metric gloss that secondary pages give for 150 ft (150 ft is 45.7 m). One secondary source says 50 m instead, which is recorded as a conflict.partly confirmedS10S12S13S14
Distance from peopleNot establishedNo official page states a separation distance. A figure of 50 m from uninvolved persons appears on secondary pages only and is not published as a rule here.not confirmedS11S13
Line of sightVisual line of sight only. The NCAA form offers VLOS as the operating condition and marks BVLOS as subject to special approval only.confirmed on the cited pageS10
NightDaylight hours only.Secondary only. No official page fetched in either pass states a night rule, so this rests on one editorial travel guide.partly confirmedS11
Class marksOperating categories, not weight bands. The applicant marks Category II for private use or Category III for commercial use, under NAMCAR 101.02.1. No gram-based class scheme and no EASA C class equivalence appears on any fetched page.confirmed on the cited pageS10
FPVNot establishedNo fetched source addresses FPV. BVLOS by special approval is a different question and does not answer it.not confirmedS10
Commercial useCommercial operation is Category III and carries a NAD/ZAR 4,500 non-refundable application fee instead of the NAD/ZAR 300 private fee, plus a cover letter. The form also carries an RPA operator certificate number field, marked if applicable.partly confirmedS10

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

Insurance

Permits

Airspace zones

Parks and protected areas

Towns and cities

Altitude

Line of sight

Night

FPV

Commercial use

Privacy

Radio conformity

Customs and import

Batteries

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.

Restricted and controlled airspace needs a CAUA approval from NCAA ANSSO on forms 7 and 8, with the landowner's permission, and each proposed launch point is cleared internally against the FUA, ATC and MET columns. A distance of 5 NM, roughly 10 km, from an aerodrome appears on secondary pages only; no official page states a distance. No fetched NCAA page recommends any consumer app, and nothing addresses DJI GEO behaviour.

Licence
Unknown. No fetched page states a licence.
Updated
Unknown. No fetched page states an update cadence.

Customs and the border

Declaration
Not established
Import authorisation
Not established
Radio conformity
The practical line is the NCAA form's own: a radio licence is required only if applicable, which the form limits to flights in controlled airspace. For an ordinary approved VLOS flight below 150 ft no fetched document requires a CRAN step. CRAN's 2023 document naming Remotely Piloted Aircraft as a type-approval category at N$750, and excluding drones from the toy exemption, is a notice of intention to make regulations rather than a current obligation, and type approval is a supplier filing that requires a certificate of incorporation or trade licence and a manufacturer's letter of authorisation, which a tourist cannot produce.

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.

Too few confirmed reports to say6 confirmed cases · 2026-02-14 to 2026-08-21 · practice pass 7 October 2026

Thin and all from 2026: six dated reports, only one of them confirmed, and every account of a drone being taken at a park gate comes from a travel or operator page rather than a named case. No Namibian press, police or customs record was found in either pass.

How people fly
Reports put visitor flying outside the national parks, on private land or at lodges where the owner has given written permission, with the NCAA approval in hand. At Etosha and the Sesriem gate into Namib-Naukluft the reported practice is not flying but handing the drone in at the entry post and collecting it on the way out, and one destination site says that because the application has to run well before departure, most visitors to Sossusvlei leave the drone at home. One tour operator names Messum Crater in Damaraland as an easy place to get a flight approved, being away from airstrips and park boundaries.
Police and rangers
Every reported interaction is with park gate staff or rangers, not police. One French guide says checks at the entrances to the most visited parks, Etosha and Sesriem, are regular, and that rangers are used to tourists trying their luck with a small drone in a backpack. A commentary site reports that rangers would conduct more thorough vehicle inspections at Etosha entry points, with penalties possibly including significant fines and ejection from the park without refund. Two operator pages say rangers may stop or confiscate a drone in restricted areas and that confiscation and fines are possible at checkpoints or on patrol. No source in either pass documents a tourist being approached by Namibian police, arrested or prosecuted for recreational drone use.
At the border
No usable report.
Fines actually reported
No fine, confiscation or arrest of a visiting recreational pilot is documented anywhere in the practice set. The only amount is one unsourced sentence in an aggregator guide saying some travellers report being fined up to US$500 and having their drone seized permanently, with no case, date or authority behind it; it should be read as an unverified reported maximum, and it is the only dollar figure in either pass. Three further pages assert a penalty power without a case: that the NCAA can issue fines varying with the severity of the offence on top of possible permanent confiscation, that confiscation and fines are possible at checkpoints or on patrol, and that park penalties may include significant fines and ejection without refund.

The law's own penalty schedule is separate: Acted on sometimes, 3 published fine ranges below.

Where reports cluster

  • Etosha National Park, especially the Anderson Gate

    The one place reports cluster. Five unrelated pages describe the drone being handed in at the entry gate and collected on exit, one adds that gate checks are regular, and one carries the only specific anecdote in the set, a German tourist's DJI Mavic 3 taken at Anderson Gate although it was sealed in its case. Every one of them is a travel, operator or commentary page, and whether the hand-in ends in return or seizure is not resolved by any of them.

  • Namib-Naukluft National Park, the Sesriem gate, Sossusvlei and Deadvlei

    Reported as off limits to tourist drone use, with Sossusvlei and Deadvlei named as inside the restricted area and the Sesriem gate checked regularly. One destination site puts the practical position plainly: approval is required, the process has to start long before departure, so most visitors leave the drone at home.

  • Skeleton Coast Park

    Weaker than the research reported. The only page found narrows the restriction to the portions of the park adjoining Damaraland's western boundary, and no dated enforcement report exists for the park at all.

  • Hosea Kutako International Airport, Windhoek

    Two secondary pages contradict each other outright: one says the airport does not specifically look for drones and travellers bring them through by declaring them as camera equipment, the other says an undeclared or unauthorised drone is held until departure. Neither cites anything, and the legal pass could not reach the revenue agency.

  • Private lodges and private land outside the parks

    The only places reports describe a flight actually happening, and on one anonymous anecdote of a photographer flying at a lodge outside Sossusvlei with the owner's written permission and an aviation approval. Treat it as the shape of the legal route rather than a pattern.

  • Messum Crater, Damaraland

    Named by one tour operator as one of the more straightforwardly permissible locations, being remote and away from airstrips and park boundaries. An assessment of where an approved flight is easy to site, not a report of a flight.

  • Fish River Canyon, Spitzkoppe and Kolmanskop

    No dated practice report of any kind was found for any of the three, in either pass. This is where the evidence is absent rather than where flying is accepted.

Dated reports

  • 2026-02-14 · Etosha National Park, Anderson Gate · community

    An aggregator drone guide recounts a German tourist whose DJI Mavic 3 was confiscated at Anderson Gate although it was sealed in its case, and separately that some travellers report being fined up to US$500 with the drone seized permanently.

    No case, date, authority or corroboration is given. The page is undated on the anecdote itself and writes DCA for the authority, a name the NCAA no longer uses, so the detail cannot be relied on. report

  • 2026-02-16 · Etosha National Park · press

    A commentary site reports that the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced visitors are prohibited from bringing drones into the park under any circumstances even with no intention of using them, and that rangers will conduct more thorough vehicle inspections at entry points.

    Penalties are described as possibly including significant fines and ejection from the park without refund. The page cites no published MEFT or NCAA notice, names no editor or publisher, and covers East Africa; MEFT's own news listing carries no such notice. report

  • 2026-03-13 · Namibia, farmland and rural areas · press

    The Namibia Agricultural Union reported drones as an increasing nuisance across the country, with farmers and rural residents reporting sightings especially at night, and the NCAA's position that night flights are prohibited.

    Reporting channels were published rather than penalties: NamPol on +264 81 222 2883 and the NCAA at incidents@ncaa.na. No tourist arrest or fine is identified. report

  • 2026-06 · Etosha National Park, entry gates · owner

    An Etosha planning page states that drones are completely banned inside the park, that you may not even bring one in, and that any drone must be handed in at the entry gate and collected on exit, for anti-poaching security and wildlife protection.

    Confiscation and fines are described as possible at checkpoints or on patrol. No named incident. The page carries no date of its own, so the month here is the search index's value, and the publisher is a private booking agent, not MEFT. report

  • 2026-07 · Etosha National Park and Namib-Naukluft National Park · community

    A travel photography blog states that drones are strictly prohibited inside all national parks and nature reserves in Namibia, and that at Etosha specifically drones have historically been confiscated at the gate and held until departure.

    Claimed temporary holding. General advice rather than the author's own experience, with no visitor, gate date or case named, and the page prints July 31 without a year. report

  • 2026-08-21 · Etosha National Park and the Sesriem gate, Namib-Naukluft · community

    A French travel guide states that in the majority of cases the drone must now be deposited at the entry post and is returned only on exit through the same gate, and that checks at the entrances to the most visited parks, Etosha and Sesriem, are regular.

    The most specific description of the gate practice in the set, but a general account with no named case. The page says nothing about airports or customs. 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
Flying in a national park without permissionNo amount published. MEFT states the prohibition and the gate declaration duty and publishes no penalty.S5
A tour operator aiding a visitor to breach the park drone rulesMay be blacklisted from conducting business in all national parksS5
Failing to prove removal of temporarily imported telecommunications equipment (draft CRAN regulation, not proven in force)Fine not exceeding N$50,000 or imprisonment for 12 months, or bothS9

Confiscation: No aviation seizure power is established. CRAN's draft regulations give the Authority power to seize telecommunications equipment that does not comply with applicable technical standards or those Regulations, at draft regulation 20(5), but that is a draft and CRAN is neither the aviation nor the customs authority. Separately, one editorial travel guide reports that an undeclared or unauthorised drone can be held by customs at Windhoek's airport and is only returned when you leave; it cites no official source.

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.

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

Sources that disagree

  1. Whether a visiting pilot must register the aircraft at all. The NCAA homepage says all drones recreational or commercial must be registered; the NCAA's own form and letter restrict registration to local operators and mark the N$745 fee local operators only. The conflict is between two NCAA-origin texts and nothing resolves it.
  2. The local registration gram threshold. No fetched page gives one.
  3. Remote ID. No fetched page mentions it.
  4. Minimum insurance cover. The requirement is confirmed, the amount is not stated anywhere.
  5. An official people-separation distance. The 50 m figure is secondary only.
  6. FPV treatment of any kind.
  7. The recreational non-camera-toy exception. It appears on no live page and must not be published as a route.
  8. NAMCAR 101.03.1 and the Executive Director wording as previously quoted. They exist only in a search-engine cache of a 2022 version of the NCAA site.
  9. A Namibia-specific lithium battery rule.
  10. DJI GEO behaviour and any NCAA-recommended app. The authority recommends none.
  11. Penalty figures for flying without approval, in controlled airspace, or in breach of an RLA condition. None is published.
  12. Site rules for Kolmanskop and Namdeb, Spitzkoppe and its conservancy, and the Fish River Canyon drone procedure. Only the general private-property rule applies.
  13. Any Namibia Tourism Board drone rule.
  14. Whether an aviation approval is also an import authorisation. Reasonable to assume not, but no fetched page states it.
  15. Customs in full: the Namibia Revenue Agency refused the connection on all three cited URLs across four tries, so the temporary import permit and its validity, the production-on-demand condition, the surrender-on-departure requirement, the seizure and penalty sentence, and the ATA Carnet route all stay unverified and unpublishable.
  16. Whether CRAN's 2023 notice of intention ever became regulations in force, and therefore whether a type-approval or temporary-import authorisation obligation applies to a visitor's drone.
  17. The geozone file's licence, update cadence and any public URL. The KMZ arrives with the application pack, so Namibian geodata must be treated as a per-application file, not an ingestible layer.
  18. Whether NCAA form FSS-OPS-FORM-612-01 Rev 3 of 25 October 2021 and the undated applicant letter are still the current pack. This is the single most load-bearing open question and only rpas@ncaa.na can answer it.

What changed, and when

Dated changes to the rules, newest first.

  1. 25 February 2025

    MEFT issues a press release recording observed non-compliance with the park rules, restating that drone use is not allowed in national parks without an official permit, requiring declaration at the gates, and warning that tour operators aiding a breach may be blacklisted from all national parks.

    S5

  2. 5 January 2023

    CRAN publishes General Notice No. 7 of 2023 in Government Gazette 8002, a notice of intention to make regulations on telecommunications equipment requiring type approval, naming Remotely Piloted Aircraft as a category at N$750 and excluding drones from the toy exemption. Public hearing date and venue TBD.

    S9

  3. 25 October 2021

    NCAA form FSS-OPS-FORM-612-01 Rev 3 issued, the application form for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Operations under NAMCARS Part 101 that is also to be completed by a foreign operator.

    S10

  4. 1 January 2021

    MEFT's park entrance and conservation fees take effect, signed 18 November 2020. The table contains no drone or filming fee of any kind.

    S6

  5. 27 March 2020

    NAMCAR Part 101 gazetted, per a commercial operator's reproduction of the Part 101 text. No official page fetched in either pass carries this date.

    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. S1official

    NCAA homepage, Drones/RPAS tab

    Namibia Civil Aviation Authority · opened 2026-10-07

    All drones (recreational or commercial) in Namibia must be registered with the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) under Part 101 regulations.

    Brief id V1. Rule page, summary only: this four-sentence tab is the only live official drone text in existence. Undated; the newest news item on the page is 25 June 2026. The next sentence on the same tab reads: Foreigners must submit applications for drone authorization at least 60 days before arrival.

  2. S1bofficial

    NCAA homepage, Drones/RPAS tab, second half

    Namibia Civil Aviation Authority · opened 2026-10-07

    All flights require prior written approval, and flying in National Parks is strictly prohibited.

    Brief id V1b. Rule page. The strictly prohibited wording is the authority's own, not a travel-source artefact, which is what puts it in direct conflict with MEFT's permit wording.

  3. S2officialcould not be opened

    Cited as the NCAA RPAS page

    Namibia Civil Aviation Authority · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id V2. Official domain, dead deep link: it serves the homepage. The 2022 text previously quoted from it, on approval from the Executive Director and NAMCAR 101.03.1, is not present and exists only in a search-engine cache.

  4. S3officialcould not be opened

    Cited as Government Gazette 8119

    Namibia Civil Aviation Authority · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id V3. Official domain, dead deep link: it serves the homepage. It is not a Government Gazette and contains no gazette text. The practice research cited this same URL as its one official source.

  5. S4officialcould not be opened

    The NCAA's own RPAS page

    Namibia Civil Aviation Authority · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id V4. Returns 404, resources coming soon. The authority has no live RPAS rule page, which is why email to rpas@ncaa.na is the only working route and why the form and letter in this brief reach us through a third-party forum.

  6. S5official

    Press Release: Ministry concerned over nonadherence to Park rules and Regulations

    Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism · document dated 2025-02-25 · opened 2026-10-07

    The Use of drones is not allowed in Namibia's National Parks without an official permit, and visitors arriving with drones must declare and register them at the park's entry gates.

    Brief id V5. Rule-stating press release, issued by Romeo Muyunda, MEFT Spokesperson. The letterhead date is 25 February 2025; the 7 April 2025 date carried by earlier research is a search engine's last_updated value. It also records observed non-compliance and the tour-operator blacklisting consequence.

  7. S6official

    Park Entrance and Conservation Fees

    Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism · document dated 2020-11-18 · opened 2026-10-07

    Fees are valid for 24 hours period beginning at the time of entry, per person, per park.

    Brief id V6. Fee schedule, signed 18 November 2020, with effect from 1 January 2021. Foreign adult N$100 entrance plus N$50 conservation, vehicle of 10 seats or fewer N$50. The table contains no drone or filming fee of any kind. /Ai-/Ais Game Park appears in it, which is how Fish River Canyon is identified as a MEFT park.

  8. S7official

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism · opened 2026-10-07

    All National Parks in Namibia issue the relevant permits upon arrival at the park gates; fees and requirements only differ at a few.

    Brief id V7. Rule page, undated. This sentence is about park ENTRY permits and must not be presented as a gate-issued drone route. The same page states that the Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) does not issue any Permits.

  9. S8official

    Permits, Registrations, Certificates & Licences

    Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id V8. Permits index, undated. Lists wildlife, gambling, environmental and Etosha park permits and no drone, film or aerial permit of any kind. This absence is what closes the MEFT route for a private flight alongside the NCAA letter's own wording.

  10. S9official

    Gazette 8002, General Notice 7 of 2023: Notice of Intention to Make Regulations in Respect of Telecommunications Equipment Requiring Type Approval

    Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia · document dated 2023-01-05 · opened 2026-10-07

    Remote Controlled Toys and miscellaneous devices, except remotely piloted aircrafts

    Brief id V9. Official but a DRAFT: a notice of intention to make regulations, with the public hearing date and venue still TBD. The quote is the Annexure B exemption carve-out; Annexure C prices Remote Piloted Aircraft (RPA) at 750. It also carries the seizure power at draft regulation 20(5) and the N$50,000 or 12-month offence. Whether it was ever made is unverified.

  11. S10secondary

    Drohne Namibia packet: NCAA applicant letter plus NCAA form FSS-OPS-FORM-612-01

    Namibia-Forum.ch (host) · document dated 2021-10-25 · opened 2026-10-07

    (Also to be completed by a foreign operator for an approval to conduct operations in Namibia)

    Brief id V10. A secondary HOST carrying official-authored documents: the NCAA's standard applicant guidance letter, issued to all applicants rather than being an individual permit decision, the blank NCAA form FSS-OPS-FORM-612-01 Rev 3 dated 25 October 2021, and one pilot's own note. Because the NCAA publishes no RPAS page, this forum attachment is the only route to the official text, and the verdicts that rest on it are the brief's own. The letter is undated and the file was last updated 1 March 2026. It carries: the fee line, verbatim, the required fee is NAD/ZAR300 for private and NAD/ZAR4500 for commercial, and N$745 for registration (local operators only); VLOS only with BVLOS subject to special approval only; Category II private and Category III commercial under NAMCAR 101.02.1; insurance under NAMCAR 101.06.2; the below-150-ft planning assumption and CAUA above it; the radio licence only for controlled airspace; the KMZ of restricted areas; the per-spot coordinates and dates; and the decision signed by the Executive Director for Civil Aviation.

  12. S10bsecondary

    NCAA applicant letter, page 3

    NCAA RPAS Team, Flight Operations Department (official-origin, secondary host) · opened 2026-10-07

    Filming in national parks requires Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism (MEFT) approval, contact them directly (not available for private flights);

    Brief id V10b. Applicant guidance, undated. This is the sentence that closes the park route for a recreational pilot. The same page lists Namibian Film Commission approval for films displayed for public viewing, an authority no earlier research named.

  13. S10csecondary

    NCAA applicant letter, lead time and processing

    NCAA RPAS Team, Flight Operations Department (official-origin, secondary host) · opened 2026-10-07

    Please apply 30 days prior to your flight to ensure your application is successful... Providing we have received all the correct documentation and payment the processing time is one week.

    Brief id V10c. Applicant guidance, undated. In direct conflict with the NCAA homepage's 60 days before arrival.

  14. S11secondary

    Drones in Namibia

    Uncover Namibia · document dated 2022-08-16 · opened 2026-10-07

    Drones are only allowed to operate in Namibia during daylight hours and within visual range.

    Brief id V11. Editorial guide and the only source for the night rule, the urban restriction and the 50 m separation figure. One concrete trap: it still publishes the NCAA contact as rpas@dca.com.na and +264 61 70 2005, the authority's former address. The NCAA's own documents give rpas@ncaa.na and +264 83 235 2466, so mail to the old address may not arrive.

  15. S12secondary

    Flying a Drone in Namibia

    Namibia Tours & Safaris (tour operator) · document dated 2024-09-04 · opened 2026-10-07

    60 days prior to the planned flight - recreational / 120 days prior to the planned flight - commercial

    Brief id V12. Editorial guide. Source for the 5 NM aerodrome figure and one of the 45 m metric glosses. The 120-day commercial figure appears on no official page.

  16. S13secondary

    Namibia Drone Rules for Travelers

    GlobalRules · document dated 2026-10-05 · opened 2026-10-07

    non-refundable application fee is N$/ZAR 300 for private use (N$4,500 for commercial)

    Brief id V13. Aggregator, verified 2026-09-03 and updated 2026-10-05. It corroborates the fee independently of the NCAA letter. Re-opened for the practice pass: it carries no enforcement, park-gate, confiscation, fine or customs content, so nothing in the practice block rests on it.

  17. S14secondary

    Namibia Drone Laws

    drone-laws.com · document dated 2026-01-21 · opened 2026-10-07

    Don't fly higher than 150 feet(45 meters above the surface

    Brief id V14. Aggregator. Quoted verbatim, including the page's own unclosed bracket. One of the 45 m metric glosses, and a source for the aerodrome distance and the urban restriction.

  18. S15secondary

    Drone in Namibia: NCAA Permit and Off-Limits Parks

    Partir en Liberte (Clement Lacaille) · document dated 2026-07-21 · opened 2026-10-07

    An undeclared drone, or one without authorization, risks being held by customs on arrival at Windhoek's Hosea Kutako Airport, only returned when you leave the country.

    Brief id V15. Editorial guide, not a pilot report; published 21 July 2026 and updated 22 September 2026. It cites no official source. Shared between the legal and practice passes, which is why it keeps the legal verifier's secondary type rather than a practice type. It is also the only page naming Deadvlei as inside the banned area, and it asserts a general NCAA fine power with possible permanent confiscation.

  19. S16secondary

    Drone license

    Namibia Drone Services (commercial operator) · opened 2026-10-07

    recreational operation of RPA which refers to a RPA operation for individual, personal, casual and private purposes

    Brief id V16. Reproduces NAMCAR Part 101 text and states Part 101 was gazetted 27 March 2020, which no official page fetched in either pass confirms.

  20. S17officialcould not be opened

    NamRA customs sources: temporary import permit, ATA Carnet guide, importation of goods

    Namibia Revenue Agency · opened 2026-10-07

    Brief id V17. Official but UNREACHABLE: connect ECONNREFUSED 197.234.71.229:443 on every attempt, three URLs and four tries. The other two are /documents/cms/uploaded/ata-carnet-guide-0da07ee560.pdf and /customs-excise/page/importation-of-goods/. Every customs claim therefore stays unverified and unpublishable.

  21. S18community

    Drone Laws in Namibia: Complete 2026 Guide

    Propel RC · document dated 2026-02-14 · opened 2026-10-07

    A German tourist had his DJI Mavic 3 confiscated at Etosha's Anderson Gate despite having it sealed in its case.

    Practice pass id P1. Drone-enthusiast aggregator guide. It carries the only two specific anecdotes and the only money figure in the practice set, all unsourced and undated, plus the claim that Hosea Kutako does not specifically search for drones. It writes Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA), the authority's former name, which is a currency warning for everything on it.

  22. S19community

    Drone en Namibie : autorisation, regles et parcs ou c'est interdit

    Visiter la Namibie · document dated 2026-08-21 · opened 2026-10-07

    dans la majorite des cas, le drone doit desormais etre depose au poste d'entree et n'est restitue qu'a la sortie, par la meme porte.

    Practice pass id P2. French editorial travel guide and the most specific gate-practice description found. It also says les controles a l'entree des parcs les plus visites (Etosha, Sesriem) sont reguliers. The research report used it in its prose but never listed it as a dated report. Accents removed here for plain-string storage. No airport or customs content.

  23. S20press

    Etosha rolls out drone ban

    East African Policy Observer · document dated 2026-02-16 · opened 2026-10-07

    visitors are now prohibited from bringing drones into the park boundaries under any circumstances

    Practice pass id P4. Treat with care. Bylined News Room; the masthead reads Tracking Policy, Power and Change in East Africa, and the site publishes no editor, no registered publisher, no address and no about page, yet this article reports a Southern African ministry's decision. It quotes Colgar Sikopo, Deputy Executive Director for Natural Resource Management, and unnamed spokespersons, but cites no published MEFT or NCAA notice, and MEFT's own news listing carries none.

  24. S21press

    NAM NEWS: DRONES AT NIGHT WORRISOME

    ProAgri · document dated 2026-03-13 · opened 2026-10-07

    Drones have become an increasing nuisance across the country, with more farmers and rural residents reporting sightings, especially at night.

    Practice pass id P5. Farming trade press, the only conventional press item and the only confirmed dated report in the practice set. It publishes reporting channels rather than penalties: NamPol on +264-81-222-2883 and the NCAA at incidents@ncaa.na. It is also the only page in either pass that attributes the night-flying prohibition to the NCAA directly; a practice source may not upgrade a legal rule, so rule NA-10 keeps its secondary source and partial verdict and this is logged as an open question instead.

  25. S22owner

    Etosha Photography & Drone Rules

    Alux Travel, a private booking agent registered with the Namibia Tourism Board · opened 2026-10-07

    You may not even bring one in - any drone must be handed in at the entry gate and collected on exit

    Practice pass id P6. The .com.na domain and the park's name make this read as official; it is not, and it is not MEFT. The page carries no date of its own, so the 2026-06 on the incident is the search index's value. It gives the clearest statement of the gate hand-in, the anti-poaching reason, and that confiscation and fines are possible at checkpoints or on patrol.

  26. S23community

    Namibia Travel & Photography Guide

    Chasing Hippoz (Vito L Tanzi) · opened 2026-10-07

    At Etosha specifically, drones have historically been confiscated at the gate and held until departure.

    Practice pass id P7. Personal travel-photography blog. General advice rather than the author's own experience, and the page prints July 31 without a year, so the incident is dated to month precision from the search index.

  27. S24owner

    Sossusvlei permits, gates and park rules

    Sossusvlei.com · opened 2026-10-07

    since the application has to run well before your trip, most visitors to Sossusvlei leave the drone at home.

    Practice pass id P8. Destination travel site, not a park authority; the page carries only a 2026 copyright. It also says: For ordinary travellers that amounts to a practical no, because the process has to start long before departure. No enforcement content, which is why the research report's row for it was dropped from the incident list.

  28. S25owner

    Drone Photography in Namibia: Rules and Best Locations

    MAT Travel · document dated 2026-10-07 · opened 2026-10-07

    Portions of the Skeleton Coast National Park that adjoin Damaraland's western boundary are similarly restricted.

    Practice pass id P9. Tour operator. This quote is narrower than the research report's Skeleton Coast reading, which described the whole park. The page also names Messum Crater as one of the more straightforwardly permissible locations, and contains no enforcement action, confiscation or dated incident of any kind.

  29. S26owner

    Are Drones Allowed in Namibia? Rules and Travel Advice

    Namibia Dune Eagle Tours · opened 2026-10-07

    Rangers may stop or confiscate drone use in restricted areas.

    Practice pass id P10. Tour operator, undated. No dated incident and no first-person account; it offers no fine information at all.

  30. S27community

    Namibia - arrival information

    First Day Abroad · document dated 2026-09-10 · opened 2026-10-07

    A drone needs a permit from the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority to be imported or flown, and approval can take several weeks.

    Practice pass id P12. Arrival-information reference, in its laws-that-catch-visitors-out section. It explicitly says nothing about what happens to an undeclared drone at arrival, which is the question it looks like it should answer.

  31. S28presscould not be opened

    How I Shot Aerial Photos of the Namib Desert from a Helicopter

    PetaPixel · opened 2026-10-07

    Practice pass id P14. HTTP 403 to both a plain fetch and a browser user agent. Its search snippet describes a No Drones Allowed sign at Sossusvlei and a photographer choosing a helicopter instead, which would have made it the only first-person photographer account in the practice set. Kept unverified and counted as unreachable; nothing rests on it.

  32. S29presscould not be opened

    SA Youth

    Daily Maverick · opened 2026-10-07

    Practice pass id P15. HTTP 403. It is a South African newspaper's author index page rather than an article, and its own search snippet is a login prompt, so it was never capable of carrying a Namibian drone claim. Counted as unreachable; nothing rests on it.