Interpretation of the Beijing Unmanned Aircraft Management Regulation

As a megacity with a large population and complex environment, Beijing faces significant challenges in managing unmanned aircraft. The capital has busy air routes, dense clusters of historical and cultural heritage sites, a high concentration of public service facilities (water, electricity, gas, heat, oil), and extensive radio applications. Unmanned aircraft that lose control can easily cause injury or property damage, interfere with normal radio communications, and the consequences of collision with civil aviation aircraft or military aircraft are unthinkable. Strengthening unmanned aircraft management through local legislation has become extremely urgent. (Source: Explanation on the Beijing Unmanned Aircraft Management Regulation (Draft))

This regulation is based on three key practical foundations:

(Source: Central Air Traffic Control Office, MIIT, MPS -- Beijing-Wide Drone Electronic Fence to Be Launched; Source: Explanation on the Beijing Unmanned Aircraft Management Regulation (Draft))

According to Beijing police reports, since the municipal government issued the restricted airspace notice on August 3, 2025, a total of 51 cases of illegal black flight have been investigated, with 49 individuals receiving administrative penalties, and 52 citizens who reported illegal black flight activities have been rewarded. These enforcement practices provide substantial empirical support for local legislation. (Source: 49 Administrative Penalties! Beijing Police Urgent Reminder)

(Source: Explanation on the Beijing Unmanned Aircraft Management Regulation (Draft))

The core approach can be summarized as "Three Fulls":

• Full-chain management: Covering registration, flight, sales, transport, storage, production, and modification across the entire lifecycle
• Full-area control: The entire Beijing administrative area designated as restricted airspace
• Full-subject coverage: Covering owners, sellers, transporters, storers, operators, and e-commerce platforms

This regulation is a local regulation formulated by the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, with a legal hierarchy higher than local government rules. Its superior legal basis includes:

This regulation applies to unmanned aircraft management activities within the Beijing administrative area, specifically covering:

• Registration and information verification of unmanned aircraft
• Application and approval of outdoor flight activities
• Sales, transport, and storage of unmanned aircraft and their core components
• Production, assembly, and modification of unmanned aircraft
• Special safeguards and temporary control during major events

Article 5, paragraph 3 of this regulation authorizes the Municipal Economic and Information Technology Department, in conjunction with relevant departments, to formulate the core components catalog for unmanned aircraft. This catalog serves as the basis for determining the scope of objects subject to the sales prohibition, transport prohibition, and storage restrictions. The specific catalog shall be based on the official version published by the municipal economic and information technology department.

Interpretation: This article clearly states that the legislative purpose is to "maintain the safety of the capital," reflecting Beijing's special position as the capital. The superior legal basis includes three laws/administrative regulations, of which the Interim Regulation on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft is the most direct superior law. The phrase "taking into account the actual conditions of Beijing" provides legal space for the city to adopt stricter management measures than national regulations.

Interpretation: This article establishes a three-tier management system of "government coordination + public security leadership + departmental collaboration":

It is noteworthy that the public security authorities are not only responsible for law enforcement and penalties but also bear the responsibility of "policy publicity and guidance services," reflecting the integration of management and service.

Interpretation: This article establishes a dual registration requirement:

Key points:

• The deadline for registration and information verification is three months from the effective date, i.e., May 1 to July 31, 2026
• Entity owners must designate a dedicated manager, assigning management responsibility to an individual
• Specific information verification measures will be formulated by the municipal public security authorities in conjunction with relevant departments (supporting document)

Interpretation: This article is the most core provision of this regulation, establishing three key systems:

1. City-wide restriction: The entire Beijing administrative area (16 districts) is designated as restricted airspace, with no approved flight airspace. This differs from the national Regulation's general rule of "airspace outside restricted areas is approved flight airspace" -- Beijing has achieved city-wide control.
2. Full approval required: All outdoor flight activities require an application, regardless of UAV type (micro, light, small, medium, large) or flight purpose. This is currently the strictest UAV flight control regulation nationwide.
3. Dedicated flight sites: The government may designate dedicated flight sites for needed flight activities, reserving an institutional outlet for legitimate needs such as scientific research, teaching, and sports.

Interpretation: This article establishes a comprehensive sales prohibition for drones and their core components within Beijing:

This prohibition means that ordinary consumers and entities cannot legally purchase or lease new drones or their core components within the Beijing area. The only legal channel to obtain them is through the special safeguard channel under Article 9.

Interpretation: This article imposes strict restrictions on drones entering Beijing:

Note that three conditions for the exception must all be met simultaneously:

1. Must be an "existing" drone (i.e., one that existed before the regulation took effect)
2. Must have completed real-name registration and information verification
3. Must be carried by the owner or a designated manager

This article is particularly important for out-of-town tourists -- bringing a drone into Beijing for tourism is a violation, even if it has been legally registered in the tourist's home city.

Interpretation: This article establishes a three-tier storage control system:

This means existing storage sites inside the Sixth Ring Road must be closed and disposed of within a deadline; existing storage sites outside the Sixth Ring Road must pass a safety assessment to continue operation; and no new drone storage sites of any kind are permitted anywhere in the city.

Interpretation: This article establishes two categories of prohibited acts: hardware-related (illegal production, assembly, building, or modification) and software-related (illegal cracking of operation control systems; changing出厂 performance or parameters). This targets common violations such as "cracking prohibition programs" and "flashing firmware to remove height restrictions." (Source: Six Questions on Drone Black Flight)

Interpretation: This article serves as the statutory exemption channel from the sales prohibition, transport prohibition, and storage restrictions, providing an institutional outlet for legitimate needs. Special safeguards require approval through a security assessment by the municipal public security authorities in conjunction with relevant departments.

Interpretation: This article grants the public security authorities temporary control powers during major events. Historical practices include: In July 2025, 9 districts (Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai, Shijingshan, Tongzhou, Changping, Mentougou) were designated as airspace restriction zones; in August 2025, 7 additional districts were added. These controls were implemented for the 80th anniversary commemoration of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. (Source: Central Air Traffic Control Office, MIIT, MPS -- Beijing-Wide Drone Electronic Fence)

Interpretation: This article establishes a formal reporting reward system. As of October 2025, 52 citizens who reported illegal black flight activities have been rewarded. Reporters' identity information is strictly protected by law. (Source: 49 Administrative Penalties! Beijing Police Urgent Reminder)

Interpretation: This article establishes differentiated penalties for four categories of violations. Notably, illegal modification and violation of major event controls carry the most severe penalties -- direct confiscation without a prior "order to correct" step.

Interpretation: Entity fines (5,000-50,000 yuan) are significantly higher than those for other violations (1,000-10,000 yuan), reflecting a stricter penalty approach for storage safety violations.

Interpretation: This article connects this regulation with the Public Security Administration Punishments Law (2025 Revision, effective January 1, 2026). Article 46 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law explicitly stipulates: "Flying civil unmanned aircraft in violation of airspace management regulations, where circumstances are relatively serious, shall result in detention of between 5 and 10 days and a fine of up to 500 yuan." In severe cases, it may also constitute crimes such as the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means (Article 114 of the Criminal Law), the crime of negligently causing a serious accident (Article 233), and the crime of interfering with the operation of a radio communication system (Article 288).

Interpretation: This article delegates the regulation of flying toys (such as certain types of toy aircraft, model helicopters) to the municipal government to formulate measures based on actual needs. At present, specific management measures for flying toys have not yet been issued.

Interpretation: The regulation takes effect on May 1, 2026. Existing drone owners must complete registration and information verification within three months (i.e., by July 31, 2026).

As a local regulation, the Beijing regulation only applies within its jurisdiction. However, due to its special status as the capital, the Beijing management model is expected to have a demonstration effect on other cities.

(Source: 49 Administrative Penalties! Beijing Police Urgent Reminder)