Singapore does not have one drone rule. It has a set of thresholds, and which ones apply to you depends on how much your drone weighs and where you plan to fly it.
Over 250 grams, you must register and broadcast your identity
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore states two separate requirements at the same weight line: “Register your UA if the total weight exceeds 250g” and “Equip your UA with Broadcast Remote Identification if the total weight exceeds 250g.” Both trigger at the same 250g mark, so a drone that needs one needs the other.
Between 1.5kg and 7kg, a big public event changes what you need
This is a narrower rule than it first sounds. It applies to drones “exceeds 1.5kg but weighs less than or equal to 7kg” and only in a specific situation: “in a place that is publicly accessible for an event that is attended by more than 50 individuals at any time during the event.” In that combination — a drone in that weight band, at a publicly accessible event with more than 50 people present — you need a UA Basic Training Certificate or a UA Pilot Licence.
Over 7 kilograms, nothing less than a full licence will do
At the top of the weight scale, the requirement is unconditional: “You must have a UA Pilot Licence if the total weight of your UA exceeds 7kg.” There’s no event-size or location qualifier attached to this one — the weight alone triggers it.
Big events need permits too, on top of any certificate
Separately from the training certificate above, flying at a large public event carries its own permit requirement: “You must have an Operator Permit and a Class 1 Activity Permit to fly your UA for an event that is attended by more than 50 individuals at any time during the event.” Depending on your drone’s weight, this can sit alongside the training certificate requirement rather than replace it — they are two separate published rules that can both apply to the same event.
Altitude, restricted zones, and airports each trigger a different permit
For drones up to 25kg, a Class 2 Activity Permit is required if you’re flying in any of these situations:
at an altitude exceeding 200 feet above mean sea level within any restricted/danger area within 5km of any airport or military airbase
That’s three separate triggers as published — altitude, restricted or danger areas, and proximity to an airport or military airbase. Any one of them on its own is enough to require the permit; you don’t need all three at once.
Prohibited areas are prohibited, full stop
There’s no permit that overrides this one: “UA activities are not allowed within prohibited areas at all times.” No weight, licence, or permit changes that.
No map of restricted zones or airbase locations here
Our verified claims don’t include a map or list of Singapore’s actual restricted areas, danger areas, or the locations of airports and military airbases the 5km rule refers to — for that, you need CAAS’s own maps and resources, not this article.
The page does not say whether an ordinary small drone flown recreationally in an unrestricted, non-event location needs any permit at all below the 250g registration line. The rules we have are all framed as “if weight exceeds X” or “if you’re flying in situation Y” — the absence of a stated obligation below those lines is not the same as an explicit statement that nothing is required. If you’re flying a small consumer drone in an ordinary spot, that’s still worth confirming directly with CAAS.