Spraying crops with drones: what you need before you can

Check whether drone spraying is open to you

This guide is for farmers and spraying contractors who want to apply pesticides by drone in England or elsewhere in the UK.

There are currently no commercial authorisations, on-label or extension of authorisation for minor use (EAMU), for applying pesticides by drone in the UK. HSE allows drone application only under a limited number of Extrapolated Trials Permits (ETPs). An ETP lets a named applicant, or their agents, treat a limited area of land under specific restrictions. Its purpose is to produce data for a future commercial authorisation.

This means routine commercial drone spraying is not available today. Unless an ETP covers your job, there is no product you can lawfully apply by drone. If you are a contractor, you can spray only as the agent of the ETP holder and within the permit's conditions.

Find out which ETP covers the product, the crop and the area before you commit. Until you know, do not buy a spray drone or agree drone spraying work with a customer.

Drone spraying needs permission from 2 regulators. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) decides whether and how you may fly. HSE decides whether you may apply a pesticide from the air. Get the CAA permissions first, because HSE asks for your authorisation to fly as part of every permit application.

Work through these steps in order:

Get permission from the CAA to fly

Crop spraying is outside the Open category. It is also outside PDRA01, the CAA's pre-defined risk assessment, because PDRA01 does not allow dropping articles. You must hold a UK SORA-based Operational Authorisation in the Specific category before any spraying flight.

Your business also needs an Operator ID, and each pilot needs a Flyer ID. The Operational Authorisation states which remote pilot certificate your pilots must hold.

Insurance must be in place before you fly, because it is a condition of your authorisation. Tell your insurer you will use the drone to spray pesticides. Ask them to confirm the policy meets the legal requirements.

Before you can spray, you also need an aerial application certificate from the CAA.

Apply to HSE for an Aerial Spraying Permit for every job

HSE treats applying a pesticide by drone as aerial spraying. Aerial spraying is banned unless HSE permits it. Each permit covers the specific spray operations and timings in your Application Plan, so you need a new permit for each set of jobs.

HSE asks for your ETP, your CAA authorisation to fly and your operators' certificates. Have them ready before you start the Application Plan. You also need to explain why ground-based application is not a viable alternative.

Allow extra time for any field in or close to a conservation area. HSE must consult the nature conservation bodies first, and in virtually all cases it reflects their views in the permit. This can add controls beyond those from HSE's own risk assessment.

Make sure your operators are qualified and your sprayer is tested

Everyone who applies a pesticide by drone must hold a specified certificate of competence. Check HSE's list of specified certificates before you book training. A qualification that is not on the list does not meet the legal requirement.

The general rules for professional pesticide use also apply to drone work. The summary below is written for ground spraying. Its PA2 unit covers boom sprayers, not drones.

Drone spraying equipment needs regular inspection in the same way as other sprayers. Count the first inspection deadline from the date you bought the equipment, not the date you first used it.

Keep a record of every drone application, as you would for ground spraying. The Plant Protection Products Regulations 2011 make spray records a legal requirement.

Protect people, water and conservation sites

Your permit sets conditions to protect residents, bystanders and the environment. HSE also expects you to:

• warn the public before you spray and restrict access in and around the area being treated
• keep the drone an appropriate distance, vertically and horizontally, from places where people, livestock and buildings may be
• consider the risks to water, and think about telling the Environment Agency, the local water company or the local council about the treatment
• contact your local environmental health officer where you need to find private water supplies

If pesticide gets into a river, stream or groundwater, you may commit a water pollution offence. In England the Environment Agency enforces this. Natural England is the nature conservation body HSE consults on spraying in or close to protected sites.

The duty to prevent pollution covers how you store, mix and load pesticides, as well as how you spray them.

If you spill pesticide or it gets into water, report it straight away.

Plan your next step

If an ETP already covers your job, contact the CAA about your Operational Authorisation and the aerial application certificate. Then prepare your HSE Application Plan.

If no ETP covers your job, you have these options:

• work as the agent of a business that holds a suitable ETP
• apply to HSE for an ETP yourself, if the active substance is approved in a product already authorised in the UK
• keep using ground-based application until commercial drone authorisations exist

Check HSE's aerial spraying page before each season. HSE has said it will prepare an online permit application when it knows product authorisations may be granted.