Most drones already in people's hands never got a C-class label. Older Mavics, the first Mini models, anything home-built — none of them carry a C0–C4 mark from the factory. For years that didn't matter, because a transitional period let you fly almost anything by weight alone. That period closed on 31 December 2023. So the practical question for a huge share of pilots is simple: with no class label on the drone, where am I actually allowed to fly?
The answer is short, and once you see it the confusion clears.
First, what a class label even is
The C-class label is a small mark — C0, C1, C2, C3 or C4 — that tells you which Open subcategory a drone was built for. It is defined by Regulation (EU) 2019/945, the product-side rulebook that sits next to the operating rules in 2019/947.
Two things trip people up here:
- The manufacturer affixes it, not you. You cannot label your own drone, and no firmware update you run yourself turns a non-marked drone into a class-marked one.
- A CE mark is not a C-class mark. Nearly every electronic device sold in the EU carries CE — it means the product meets EU safety and EMC rules. The C-class mark is a separate aviation marking. Seeing "CE" on the box tells you nothing about which subcategory the drone belongs to.
If you look your drone over and find no C0–C4 marking, it is a non-class-marked drone — often called a "legacy" drone. That is not a problem. It just means a different, simpler rule applies.
The transitional period — and why it ended
When the EU rules started, drones built to the new technical standards barely existed yet. So the regulation set a transitional measure: until 31 December 2023, you could fly by weight in three bands — A1 up to 500 g, A2 up to 2 kg, A3 up to 25 kg — regardless of any class mark.
From 1 January 2024 the full Open category took over, and EASA confirmed the change plainly: legacy drones placed on the market before that date, without a class mark, may still be operated — but only in A1 or A3, based on their mass. The middle ground disappeared. CAA Latvia states it the same way: the transitional period is closed, and a drone with no C-class mark may now fly only as A1 (under 250 g) or A3 (under 25 kg).
The rule, in one line
For a drone with no class identification label, only the take-off mass matters:
| Maximum take-off mass | Subcategory you may use |
|---|---|
| Less than 250 g | A1 (and A3) |
| 250 g up to 25 kg | A3 only |
That's it. There is no path to A2 for a non-marked drone — A2 requires a C2 mark, which only a manufacturer can give. So the 250 g line is the whole story: cross it, and your drone is an A3 aircraft until the day you replace it with a class-marked one.
Home-built drones follow the same logic. A privately built drone under 250 g (and not exceeding 19 m/s) flies in A1; anything heavier, up to 25 kg, is A3.
Why you have to weigh it yourself
Here is a detail the rule depends on. For class-marked drones, the manufacturer declares the maximum take-off mass — it is part of what the label certifies. A non-marked drone has no such declared figure. EASA's guidance is direct about the consequence: with no declared mass, the remote pilot has to weigh the drone before the flight and confirm it sits within the limit.
This is not bureaucratic box-ticking. Add a heavier battery, a prop guard, a second camera or a payload and a sub-250 g drone can quietly tip over 250 g — and the moment it does, A1 is gone and you are an A3 operation. Weigh it as it flies, with everything attached.
What "A3 only" means on the ground
Landing in A3 is not a punishment, but it does change where you can go. A3 is the "far from people" subcategory: in Latvia you must keep at least 150 m from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas, and you must reasonably expect no uninvolved people in the area at all. No flying over the neighbourhood, no close passes near a crowd. Plenty of open countryside, fields and empty shoreline still work fine — you just have to plan for distance.
One more note, often missed: for a legacy drone over 250 g, EASA recommends fitting a Remote ID module, even though the class rules don't force it on non-marked drones the way they do on C1–C3. The bigger Remote ID picture — and a 2026 proposal that could pull in nearly every camera drone — is its own subject; we cover it in the Remote ID guide.
Why this sits on the exam
The A1/A3 theory test leans on exactly this reasoning, because it is the first thing a new pilot gets wrong: assuming a CE mark, a firmware version or a price tag decides their subcategory. It doesn't. The regulation does, through the class mark — or, when there is none, through mass. Knowing that a non-marked drone is A1 under 250 g and A3 otherwise is a small fact that answers a whole cluster of exam questions.
A 30-second check before you buy or fly
- Look on the airframe for a C0–C4 marking. CE alone doesn't count.
- No class mark? Then weigh it, fully kitted: under 250 g → A1; 250 g–25 kg → A3 only.
- Want A2 (closer to people)? You need a C2 drone from the manufacturer — no legacy drone qualifies.
- Buying second-hand? A class mark on the box is worth real flying freedom; factor it into the price.
New to all this? Start with the A1/A3 licence guide and the Open category explained. When you're choosing hardware, the weight-classes buying guide goes deeper, the category chooser turns a specific drone into its subcategory, and you can drill the rules in the practice sets.
