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How to choose a professional drone operator in Romania

Practical checklist for picking a certified drone operator — AACR licence, insurance, ANSP airspace authorisation, experience, reviews.

· Ciprian Mihalache operators verification guide

The short answer

A professional drone operator must hold an AACR licence for the operational category, civil liability insurance for drones, ANSP airspace authorisation and verifiable experience via real reviews. On ProxyDrone all these requirements are validated manually by our team before an operator can accept jobs — so the hard part is done for you. If you book outside the platform, this is the checklist to run.

Verification checklist

1. AACR licence

The Romanian Civil Aviation Authority (AACR) issues UAS operator licences in operational categories: OPEN (consumer, <25 kg, simple scenarios), SPECIFIC (commercial, medium-risk scenarios), CERTIFIED (industrial, high risk). For agriculture and commercial inspections the operator must be registered at least in the SPECIFIC category with an authorisation for the applicable standard scenario (STS-01 or STS-02).

Ask to see: the AACR registration number and expiry date. Ask for a PDF copy of the authorisation.

2. Civil liability insurance

Any commercial operator must hold drone civil liability insurance, with a minimum coverage limit of 750,000 SDR (Special Drawing Rights — ~1 million EUR), per EU regulation 2019/947. The insurance covers third-party damage in case of accident — vital for you as client if the drone hits neighbouring crops, structures or people.

Ask to see: the RC policy in PDF with the company name, validity period and coverage limit.

3. ANSP airspace authorisation

For many Romanian areas (near airports, restricted airspace, military zones), the operator must obtain authorisation from ANSP (Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration) before flying. Without it, operation is illegal and insurance won't cover damage.

Ask to see: the ANSP authorisation for the zone and the job date, or confirmation that the zone doesn't require special authorisation.

4. Verifiable experience

Serious operators have real reviews from executed jobs, not just website testimonials. Ask for references from clients with similar activity to yours (e.g. if you want corn spraying, ask for references from other corn growers, not event photographers).

Ask to see: the last 10 jobs with job type, area, date and, if possible, client contact for reference.

5. Appropriate fleet

An operator spraying with a 900-gram consumer drone is not professional — agriculture needs 20–50 kg drones with 10–40 litre tanks. The right equipment doesn't guarantee quality, but the lack of it rules it out.

Ask to see: drone make and model, max payload, spraying system, RTK GPS (for sub-metre precision).

Red flags

Avoid operators who:

  • Refuse to show documents or answer evasively to direct questions
  • Offer prices well below market (100 RON/ha is the professional floor — 40 RON/ha is a signal of an uninsured operator)
  • Don't leave a written contract or tax invoice
  • Ask for full prepayment in cash
  • Can't provide the application log after execution

Why ProxyDrone simplifies this

On ProxyDrone, every operator in the network goes through manual verification before they can accept jobs:

  • The AACR licence is validated against the AACR registry
  • The RC policy is verified by its unique number
  • Drones and operational scenarios are documented in the profile
  • Reviews are real, left by clients verified through the platform
  • Payment is in escrow — the money reaches the operator only after you confirm the job was executed correctly

Effectively, you don't need to run the checklist above — we do it, once per operator, before they can receive jobs.

Frequently asked questions

Can I see the operator profile before booking? The algorithm automatically assigns the nearest verified operator, but after execution you see the full profile with reviews and history.

What happens if the operator doesn't execute as required? You open a dispute in the app and our team mediates. The money stays in escrow until it's resolved.

How do I see a specific operator's AACR licence? The operator's public profile includes the registration number. You can verify it directly on the AACR website.

Book a verified operator directly in the app or read all the frequently asked questions.