New Chinese Drone Rules Enter Force from 1 May 2026

China is introducing new regulations to manage its rapidly growing civil drone industry more safely and effectively. The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has approved two compulsory national standards that will take effect on May 1, 2026.

The first standard requires real-name registration and activation for all civil drones. Drones cannot fly until they are registered and activated, and they will be disabled if deactivated. This answers the question of "who is allowed to fly."

The second standard mandates operational identification, meaning drones must automatically broadcast their identity, location, speed, and status to regulators from startup through the entire flight. This enables real-time monitoring and answers "who is currently flying."

These measures respond to the explosive growth in drone usage: by mid-2025, over 2.726 million drones were registered (up sharply from 2.213 million at the end of 2024), and flight hours surged 149 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025.The standards will support the Interim Regulations for Managing UAV Flight, which came into force on January 1, 2024, and established China's first comprehensive rules for drone production, sales, operations, and safety(Source: "Civil drone standards to bolster industry" by Li Jiaying, China Daily, updated 2025-12-11)