There is no 250 g exemption in Chile
This is the first assumption to drop. The 250-gram threshold is a US and European idea. It does not exist in Chilean regulation. No article of DAN 151 Edition 3 opens a lighter category by weight — the rule covers aircraft up to 9 kg of maximum take-off weight, with no tiers below that.
The only weight-based exemption in the Chilean system sits in DAN 91, article 91.102(j), and it is narrower than it looks. It allows flights over populated areas without DGAC authorisation for aircraft built from expanded polyethylene or equivalent material, up to 750 grams, for private or recreational use, no higher than 50 metres above the tallest obstacle in the area, on private property, with the operator liable for any damage to third parties.
Five conditions, and they apply together. The material one is what rules out almost everything: expanded polyethylene is foam. A DJI Mini clears the weight easily and, being rigid polycarbonate, very probably fails the material test. That reading is not confirmed — there is no published resolution, circular or ruling interpreting "equivalent material". Nobody can tell you with certainty either way.
Your foreign drone licence is not recognised
There is no published recognition procedure for foreign drone certificates.
The document that governs validation of foreign licences is DAP 01-12, "Procedimiento Convalidación Licencias Aeronáuticas Extranjeras". We read it in full: zero mentions of RPAS, zero of drones, zero of remotely piloted aircraft. It covers private pilot and commercial licences only, and it states that validations may only be used on flights of a private nature.
The reason is structural. The RPAS Operator Credential is not a licence under DAR-01 or ICAO Annex 1. It was created by DAN 151 itself, which puts it outside the scope of DAP 01-12.
So a pilot holding a US Part 107 or a European A1/A3 certificate takes the Chilean course and exam from scratch. To be fair to the evidence: this is an absence of a published procedure, not an express ban. What does not exist is the channel to ask.
The credential and the registry run on Chilean documents
Article 151.303 lists what the credential requires: being 18, a sworn statement signed with a fingerprint plus a photocopy of the identity card (or signed with an Advanced Electronic Signature), a training certificate from a company holding an AOC or CEO, a written exam on DAN 151, DAN 91, NOTAM, meteorology (METAR) and aerodynamics with a minimum of 75%, an application through the SIPA platform, and payment of the fee.
Nationality is not on that list. Neither is residence, a visa or a RUT. But the identity card is, and the training certificate has to come from a Chilean certified school.
The SIPA login screen accepts two forms of ID. Its own wording: the RUN must be entered without dots, with a hyphen and check digit, and "the Passport must be entered as shown on the document and without spaces". The system clearly contemplates passport holders — the strongest sign that a foreigner can at least start the process. What we could not verify is whether DGAC accepts a passport in place of the photocopy of the cédula that article 151.303(b) requires. Ask in writing before you travel.
Registration has the same shape. Article 151.201 requires every owner of an RPA who intends to operate under the rule to register it with DGAC before starting operations, with no weight threshold. Article 151.203(a) asks for a photocopy of the identity card and does not mention a passport; the registration card records a RUT and an address; and the payment process asks for name, RUT, address and phone number to issue the invoice. It is not confirmed whether DGAC will currently register an aircraft to a non-resident foreigner without a RUT.
One more thing worth knowing: the draft DAN 151 Edition 4 would close this expressly, with a registration article limited to natural or legal persons resident in Chile — while the same draft widens the scope of the rule to operators of "national or foreign" origin. That contradiction sits inside the draft itself, and the draft is not in force.
National parks: the rule visitors break most
If you came to Chile for the landscape, read this twice. Flying is banned across SNASPE, Chile's national protected areas system, for tourism or recreation, regardless of drone weight. Law 21.600, article 108(t), lists "flying drones" among the prohibited conducts. This is not a park ranger's preference; it is the statute.
Torres del Paine puts it bluntly: anyone caught "will be expelled from the park and reported to the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil". On Rapa Nui, flying without permission is a serious offence of 16 to 50 UTM, and the fine is collected on the spot. CONAF administers most of these areas and the ban is enforced. The park-by-park detail is in our Spanish guide, drones en parques nacionales.
Since 17 November 2025 DJI drones no longer geofence in Chile. The former No-Fly Zones became advisory warnings you dismiss with one tap. Your drone letting you take off does not mean flying there is legal. If you were counting on the aircraft to keep you out of trouble, that safety net is gone. Details in zonas geo de DJI en Chile.
The same applies to the hard prohibitions: no flying of any take-off weight over military installations, naval units, air force bases, prisons or strategic facilities defined by the State, and no flying in published prohibited, restricted or dangerous zones. Aerodromes have their own buffer: no operating within 2 km of the extended runway centreline from the threshold, or within 1 km parallel to it. NOTAM must be checked before every flight.
Bringing the drone into the country
There is no drone-specific customs rule in Chile. We searched for the word in the National Customs Service traveller pages and FAQs: zero occurrences. General rules apply.
The traveller's franchise covers personal-use items, new or used, plus other goods whose quantity does not make them commercial — no declaration and no duty. Duty Free allowance is US$675 per passenger. Outside the franchise, goods without commercial character up to US$4,050, and commercial goods up to US$1,000 invoiced, can be brought in without a customs broker.
For professional equipment there is the Temporary Admission Declaration for Tourist Effects, valid for a maximum of 90 days. It applies to goods outside the concept of luggage, such as new items used exclusively for a profession or trade, laptops, new professional television equipment and high-value digital cameras. A SAG-ADUANA declaration is completed on arrival.
Our reading — and we give it as a reading, not a rule — is that a used consumer drone in your luggage falls under the traveller's franchise, while new high-value professional gear or several units probably belongs under temporary admission. The specific treatment of drones is not confirmed, because Customs never names them. We also could not verify whether SUBTEL, the telecoms regulator, requires anything for the radio transmitter.
One myth to retire while you pack: the rule about flying within 10 km of the border with DIFROL authorisation is not in force. It appears only in the draft Edition 4. Neither DAN 151 Edition 3 nor DAN 91 contains any border-distance rule, and DIFROL has no drone procedure. What DIFROL does regulate is expeditions: anyone domiciled abroad, Chilean or foreign, planning a scientific, technical or mountaineering expedition in the Chilean border zone needs its authorisation — based on where you live, not on your nationality.
What to ask DGAC before you travel
Four questions we cannot answer for you. Send them in writing and keep the reply.
- Will DGAC accept a passport instead of the photocopy of the Chilean identity card required by article 151.303(b)? SIPA contemplates passports; the article says cédula.
- Can an RPA be entered in the special registry under the name of a non-resident foreigner with no RUT?
- Will the Operations Sub-department process an Annex D flight authorisation request filed by a foreign natural person who is not resident, and how long does it take?
- Is there any route to have a foreign drone certificate recognised? DAP 01-12 does not cover RPAS and we found no other published procedure.
If you are coming to work — survey, film, inspect — the short path is the Chilean credential. It takes three days of in-person training and the exam is in Spanish. For companies bringing a crew, we run in-company programmes across Chile: see cursos para empresas.