Drone Laws in Mexico (updated in 2020)

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mexico-drone-laws

Line of sight (1500feet)

wieght limit of 500g for registration

Register over 250g

can't fly in city

No landing in cities

can't fly over crowds of people

Don't fly over people/animals

Mexico Drone Laws in 2020 (Ultimate Guide)

If you want to ensure a safe flight in any country you are, you can never be too safe. Drone laws in Mexico can be quite tricky, especially if you're not a mexican and want to fly a heavier drone. More about these details bellow.
 
Contents

Can I fly my drone in Mexico?

I will cut to the chase. Yes for a Mexican national and No for a foreigner. Legally you must be a Mexican citizen to get a drone license to operate. There are few cases where the rules may be relaxed, for instance in a case where bilateral agreements between the respective agencies are involved.

 

In this article, I share an overview of the most recent drone laws in Mexico. Some new changes were introduced back in November 2019 and kicked in this January. If you traveled to Mexico before 2020, a few rules might have changed.

mexico photo

Who do I contact?

If you have any burning questions on drone use in Mexico, contact the Civil Aviation Federal Agency, AFAC. The new body replaced the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil, DGAC following a decree passed on 16 October 2019 but still shares the same website for now. You can inquire in English or Spanish. To get a quick reply, send your message during office hours. AFAC will remain in charge of drones, drone registrations, drones policymaking, and enforcement. 

 

Here is the contact information:

gobmx@funcionpublica.gob.mx  

Tel +52 5 687 7660

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What are the drone laws in Mexico?

The new laws classify drones into 3 categories:

  • Micro  weighing less than 2 Kg
  • small between 2 Kg and 25 Kg
  • large drones weighing over 25 Kg

 

Turns out there is no medium-sized category for now.

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Recreational drone use in Mexico

mexico san miguel photo

If you do not have a Mexican ID, you do not qualify. As a Mexican national you only need:

  • Proof of person
  • Attached ownership documents for the drone
  • The Registration RPAS form

If all goes well, the process should be done in 5 days. You can complete the RPAS form here.

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What to do if your drone is confiscated

A confiscation definitely sucks, especially when flying in a foreign country. From what I hear, the bureaucratic process in Mexico is quite slow. 
The risk of confiscation is high if you fly close to an aerodrome, restricted area or go against resorts with a no-drone policy. Hotel chains such as Four Points, St Regis, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, and several others prohibit drones use in or over their property. 
 
If your drone was just confiscated, the process of retrieval is much easier if had taken the following steps:
 
  • Have your drone ID attached to its case.
  • Maintained a record of the drones serial numbers
  • Have a plan B on where you can store your drone in case the hotel denies its entry. Your concierge should know a place.
It’s worth noting that the drone laws tend to vary depending on the unique circumstances in a given municipality. That’s why I advocate for research beforehand. In Mexico, drones are very popular attracting all sorts of users – both good and bad. To shield yourself from trouble, try your best to abide by the rules. 
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What drones can I fly without registration in Mexico (under 250g)?

  • no need to pay the tax or wait for registration
  • smaller in size, so you'll draw much less attention to yourself
  • easier to carry around as a traveller
  • will be able to fly in many other countries that also have similar weight limits

1.Dji Mavic Mini - The best international travel drone (under 250g)

 2.7k

30min battery

4km

No follow me

DJI has surprised us with this incredible camera drone under 250g, which is half of the weight required for registering in Romania in the first place.

 

I have covered it much more in depth in my article review and even compared it with the DJI Spark and Mavic Air.

Check Price and reviews

Advantages

  • 30 min battery life
  • under 250g
  • super portable
  • 4km range
  • can edit videos in the app

DISAdvantages

  • no obstacle avoidance
  • no settings for iso and shutter speed

How do you make money with your drone, though?

Okay, so you got your new and fancy drone, but how do you stand out from any dad out there who has the same drone and watched some tutorials online?

I did exactly that and barely had any success. 

But now I’m charging 5x as much as before and even have to refuse clients from time to time.

I even bought about 7 online courses… and I didn’t make much progress.

So how did I finally make it to this level?

If you want the short answer, I learned everything from this guy Alex, who’s making $200 per hour with his drone. And he’s even teaching exactly how to do that.

This is pretty much what you need to know:

how-to-make-money-with-drones

1. Make sure you have a proper drone.

If you have any of the latest DJI Drones, like the Mavic Air 2, for example, you’re ready to start making money.

No need to overthink this, but if it’s any help, check this comparison of the best camera drones compared in 2020.

types of drones

2.Learn how to create the best content to stand out

You won’t stand out from the next dad who bought a DJI drone for Cristmass in the eyes of your clients if you don’t do this.

It’s WAY more important to know what you’re doing than the gear you have.

You’ll need to learn and master the following:

  1.  
  • Flying your drone(to stand out from people with basic drone shots)
  • Preparing for the flight and weather in advance
  • Learn the best drone settings (you need a proper setup template)
  • Create the Video Script (it's way easier if you know what to shoot)
  • Have a set of great cinematic shots you know how to do
  • Know how to edit the video so it stands out
  • Learn how to color grade

This is why you HAVE to invest in a proper way to learn things (instead of watching tutorials here and there).

3.Find clients that pay 5x more than regular

But not so fast.

You won’t make a penny if you don’t know how to find your clients.

I have struggled finding clients even when my videos were getting pretty good.

Until I learned a few tricks and how to find and approach them so they won’t be able to say no.

And what’s best, I learned how to get the price I asked for.

How can you do the same?

I have tested quite a few courses online and watched tons of videos on youtube, but frankly, I have learned more from one single course than from everything else… and all that in like a weekend.

Made back the money from this investment in myself in a single week and then much more.

 

How do I learn all of this? From youtube?

You could simply go online and learn everything in terms of video from youtube, forums, facebook groups etc.

However, let me tell you, it’s the worst way to learn all of this(and the slowest).

You won’t have a Complete Step By step guide on how to do everything.

I found myself frustrated, even after I learned how to do most of the video stuff that I still lacked some knowledge and I didn’t know why my shots weren’t standing out.

I got some general promotion ideas from some articles online, but again… I didn’t have much success and was charging too little for my time.

This is exactly where I learned how to make $200 per hour with my drone (From A to Z)

This course is hold by Alex Harris, who’s an international video creator, director, and drone operator with tons of experience.

And I had a great time stealing his know-how(and greatly profited from it, lol).

I recommend you watch his video presentation bellow and check out the course sales page. It’s quite cheap, considering you’re getting 320+ minutes of everything you need to know, step by step and 80+ minutes on how to actually find the ideal clients for you.

Click Here to Get $50 off the course

I'm a big drone enthusiast, the owner of DronesGator.com and I also make weekly videos on my drone YouTube channel.

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