Côte d'Ivoire CI
Côte d'Ivoire regulates all civil drones under RACI 3009 (Règlement Aéronautique de Côte d'Ivoire), administered by ANAC-CI. Every RPAS must be identified/registered with ANAC, and flying one — including 'occasional use' — requires prior ANAC authorisation after a formal application. Unlike a simple registration, ANAC's remote pilot licence needs a French-language theory exam (70% pass mark), a supervised skills test, and a Class 3 medical certificate; a separate operating agrément (reported at 3 million FCFA, roughly €4,570, for the first year) applies to exploitation of a drone. This is a heavy process for a short-term visitor — realistically only achievable with significant lead time, French proficiency, and possibly a local partner, so most tourists should not expect to fly casually.
Your plan
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2 things to sort out before you fly
- Register your drone in Côte d'Ivoire
Registration/identification with ANAC is required for every RPAS up to 25 kg before any use, in addition to — not instead of — the separate remote pilot licence and, for occasional/visitor use, ANAC's case-by-case flight authorisation. No online portal or fee schedule for basic registration was found publicly; ownership transfer requires re-registration within two months.
- Pass the ANAC remote pilot licence (théorie + test pratique)
Online and in person. Requires minimum age 18, French language proficiency, a written theory exam (70% minimum score), a practical skills test supervised by ANAC, and a Class 3 medical certificate. Licence valid 5 years; the RPA type rating attached to it is valid 24 months. No public fee schedule was found. This is a substantial barrier for a short-stay foreign tourist, particularly the French-language and in-person testing requirements.
- Bringing your drone in
No specific customs duty-free allowance or drone import ban was confirmed. The binding constraint is regulatory rather than customs: a drone cannot legally be registered or flown without ANAC identification, a remote pilot licence, and (for anything beyond occasional personal use) an operating agrément. ANAC identification/registration is required before any use, functioning as a de facto precondition for bringing a drone into active use in Côte d'Ivoire, though no separate drone-specific customs import licence was confirmed on an official page. Batteries: No Côte d'Ivoire-specific lithium-battery rule was found; standard international air-travel limits apply.
- Before each flight
No person may operate a remotely piloted aircraft in Côte d'Ivoire unless ANAC has identified it and issued the owner an identification certificate (RACI 3009) · Any RPAS with a maximum take-off weight up to 25 kg must be registered with ANAC; registration is mandatory regardless of intended use · 'Occasional use' (utilisation ponctuelle) of a drone — the category most relevant to a visitor — is permitted only after ANAC reviews and approves a specific application submitted by the individual or company
Flying
- No person may operate a remotely piloted aircraft in Côte d'Ivoire unless ANAC has identified it and issued the owner an identification certificate (RACI 3009)
- Any RPAS with a maximum take-off weight up to 25 kg must be registered with ANAC; registration is mandatory regardless of intended use
- 'Occasional use' (utilisation ponctuelle) of a drone — the category most relevant to a visitor — is permitted only after ANAC reviews and approves a specific application submitted by the individual or company
- Flight altitude must not exceed 300 ft (about 91 m) above ground
- All RPAS operations must occur between sunrise and sunset; night operations are prohibited nationwide
- A remote pilot licence issued by ANAC is required to fly: minimum age 18, French language proficiency (read/speak/write/understand), a theory exam (70% minimum pass mark), a skills test supervised by ANAC, and a Class 3 medical certificate; the licence is valid 5 years with a type rating valid 24 months
Commercial use: Exploiting a drone commercially/professionally requires an ANAC operating agrément reported at 3 million FCFA (~€4,570) for the first year, renewable at 1.5 million FCFA (~€2,285) — a cost structure aimed at established operators and businesses, not individual visitors.
Registration & classes
| Registration | Yes (all drones) Registration/identification with ANAC is required for every RPAS up to 25 kg before any use, in addition to — not instead of — the separate remote pilot licence and, for occasional/visitor use, ANAC's case-by-case flight authorisation. No online portal or fee schedule for basic registration was found publicly; ownership transfer requires re-registration within two months. |
|---|---|
| Pilot test | Yes (mixed) ANAC remote pilot licence (théorie + test pratique). Requires minimum age 18, French language proficiency, a written theory exam (70% minimum score), a practical skills test supervised by ANAC, and a Class 3 medical certificate. Licence valid 5 years; the RPA type rating attached to it is valid 24 months. No public fee schedule was found. This is a substantial barrier for a short-stay foreign tourist, particularly the French-language and in-person testing requirements. |
| Remote ID | No No Remote ID broadcast requirement was found; secondary sources explicitly describe it as not required for any operator category. |
| Insurance | No Not required for any operator category per secondary sources, though recommended for hobbyists and tourists. |
| Foreign registration accepted | No Foreign visitors are described in secondary sources as needing to obtain an ANAC remote pilot licence and register their drone under the same rules as residents — there is no lighter visitor-specific track confirmed publicly. The French-language theory exam and ANAC-supervised skills test make this impractical for most short tourist trips; start the process (or contact ANAC directly) well before travelling if you intend to fly. For a single planned shoot, engaging a Côte d'Ivoire-licensed telepilot/operator is likely more realistic than obtaining your own licence as a visitor. |
Weight classes
| Class | Weight | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | ≤ 5 kg (including payload) | Registration and pilot licence required; VLOS and 300 ft ceiling apply. |
| Class 2 | > 5 kg – 25 kg | Same registration/licence requirements as Class 1; exempt from full airworthiness certification but still must be identified/registered with ANAC. |
| Class 3 | > 25 kg | Falls outside the simple registration exemption — treated closer to manned-aircraft-style airworthiness requirements; not relevant to typical tourist drones. |
Import & export
- No specific customs duty-free allowance or drone import ban was confirmed. The binding constraint is regulatory rather than customs: a drone cannot legally be registered or flown without ANAC identification, a remote pilot licence, and (for anything beyond occasional personal use) an operating agrément.
- ANAC identification/registration is required before any use, functioning as a de facto precondition for bringing a drone into active use in Côte d'Ivoire, though no separate drone-specific customs import licence was confirmed on an official page.
- Batteries: No Côte d'Ivoire-specific lithium-battery rule was found; standard international air-travel limits apply.
- Treat ANAC registration, pilot licensing and occasional-use authorisation as prerequisites to legal flying, independent of ordinary customs clearance for the physical item.
- The cited 3 million FCFA agrément fee appears tied to commercial/professional exploitation rather than simple personal possession, but this was not confirmed on an official ANAC fee schedule — verify directly with ANAC before travelling.
- Given the French-language pilot exam and in-person testing, budget significant lead time or consider working with a locally licensed operator instead.
Export
- No drone-specific export rule was found; general Ivorian customs and export-control rules would apply to registered equipment.
Costs
| Operator registration | Unknown Validity: Not specified for the identification/registration certificate itself. The associated remote pilot licence is valid 5 years, with the RPA type rating on it valid 24 months. |
|---|---|
| ANAC remote pilot licence (théorie + test pratique) | Unknown |
| Import taxes | ? % duty + ? % VAT Usually only for drones you buy abroad and bring in to keep. |
Guides
Flying a drone in Côte d'Ivoire as a visitor Visitors
- Contact ANAC well before your trip
Occasional/personal drone use requires ANAC to review and approve a specific application in advance — this is not a same-day process. Open
- Plan for the remote pilot licence requirements
You'll need to be 18+, proficient in French, pass a 70%-minimum theory exam and an ANAC-supervised skills test, and hold a Class 3 medical certificate.
- Register the drone with ANAC
Any RPAS up to 25 kg must be identified/registered with ANAC before it can legally be flown, separate from the pilot licence.
- Fly within the basic limits
Stay within visual line of sight, at or below 300 ft (about 91 m), and only between sunrise and sunset — night flights are banned nationwide.
- Consider hiring a local telepilot instead
Given the language and testing requirements, a short-term visitor is often better served by hiring an ANAC-licensed Ivorian drone operator for photography or video needs.
Sources
- Côte d'Ivoire Drone Academy — Informations sur la réglementation (RACI 3009) · accessed 24 Sept 2026
- ANAC-CI — Autorité Nationale de l'Aviation Civile de Côte d'Ivoire · accessed 24 Sept 2026
- drone-laws.com — Ivory Coast Drone Laws 2026 · accessed 24 Sept 2026
- KOACI — Côte d'Ivoire : réglementation pour l'utilisation des drones civils, agrément fixé à 3 millions FCFA · accessed 24 Sept 2026
How the score is built
- Operator registration−15
- Pilot test (mixed)−15
- Night flight banned−8
- Low ceiling (91 m)−5
- Visitors need a flight permit−20
- Visitors must register locally−10
- Import restricted−25
- Duty + VAT ≈ 15 %−9
- Radio / type certification−12
Every score starts at 100 and loses points for each requirement. How scoring works