Know These Drone Rules in Cao Bang Before Getting Trouble

Picture Cao Bang above: mountain ridges folding one another, and a river cutting a gorge far below. It is easy to see why travellers want that footage, and why some arrive with a drone already in the bag. But Vietnam's drone rules are strict, and they are strict in a very specific way along the Cao Bang border. Here is the honest picture, before you travel rather than at a checkpoint on the loop. Vietnam changed these rules several times between 2025 and 2026. We checked this page against official sources on 17 October 2026, name the rule behind each statement and mark what we could not confirm.

Where is drone flying restricted in Cao Bang?

It is not a handful of spots. Restricted airspace in Cao Bang follows the whole border: Decision 18/2020/QĐ-TTg defines a strip 25 km deep along the China border at every altitude, and the official map shows a continuous orange band along the north, east and west of the province, with red no-fly squares inside it.

Red marks a prohibited zone. Under Decree 288/2025/NĐ-CP (Article 19(7)(a)), a flight permit in a prohibited zone applies only to official flights, so a tourist flight is not an option there. Orange marks a restricted zone, where you may only fly with the right permit. A common misreading is that orange means ''be careful''. It means ''ask first'', and flying there without a permit is still an offence. Outside the border strip, two more rules the same decision can still make airspace restricted: anything more than 120 m above the terrain, and areas where large crowds gather.

In every restricted row, the answer is the same: no flight without a permit, whatever the drone weighs.

How to check your own location

1. Open cambay.mod.gov.vn, the Ministry of National Defence site for prohibited and restricted UAV areas, and choose English.
2. Cao Bang, then the district and commune if the menu offers them, and switch to the satellite layer.
3. Read the legend: red is ''No fly zone'' and orange is ''Restricted area''. An unshaded area is not marked as restricted, but the 120 m limit and the crowd rule still apply.
4. Take a dated screenshot. The page states that administrative data is being updated and that the basemap is for reference only.

Does the under-250g exemption apply in Cao Bang?

No, not on the border strip, where Ban Gioc and Ngoc Con sit. Vietnamese law exempts recreational drones under 0.25 kg a flight permit, but only outside prohibited and restricted zones and within your sight. A 249 g mini and a 900 g camera drone need the same permit at Ban Gioc.

The rule sits in Article 30(3)(a) of the 2024 Law on People's Air Defence, which sets all four conditions: under 0.25 kg, recreational, in sight, and outside prohibited and restricted zones. Article 21(1)(b) of Decree 288/2025/NĐ-CP repeats the weight, purpose and zone conditions. Even when all hold, the exemption removes only the flight permit. Registration is still required before use (Law, Article 29(1); Decree, Article 19(1)).

What do you need to fly legally: registration, a pilot licence and a flight permit?

You need three separate documents, and none replaces another: registration for the aircraft, a pilot licence for the person flying, and a flight permit for a flight in a stated area and time. A licence your home country does not by itself replace the Vietnamese requirements.

A certificate such as the EU A1/A3 or the US Part 107 is a pilot qualification, not a flight permit, and the decree accepts international certificates only where the Ministry of National Defence has recognised them (Article 19(3)). Nor does unlocking a DJI geofence help: it changes what the drone will let you do, not what the military has permitted.

Foreign pilots need a Vietnamese agency, organisation or individual as sponsor (Article 19(6)), and a foreign applicant needs the same for the permit file (Article 22).

Why we say 15 days for the border strip

The 15 days is our planning margin, not a figure in the decree. For flights in border airspace, the decree counts its 7 days back the date the neighbouring country has to be notified, not the day you fly. Add 5 working days for the decision, and up to 3 working days if the file comes back incomplete, and a week is rarely enough.

What is not certain

We found no official statement that a visitor's permit application for a restricted zone along the border would be approved, and the decree text we reviewed sets no separate rule for tourists there. On registration, Vietnamese outlets summarising Circular 78 report that a foreign individual can register if they live or temporarily reside in Vietnam or have a competent authority's approval, and they do not address short-stay visitors. The circular lists tourism among the purposes of temporary registration, but we found no official guidance on how a visitor uses it for a drone bought abroad. Treat these points as uncertain, and do not plan a trip around a flight you do not yet have permission for.

What happens if you fly without permission?

Fines for individuals range VND 2 million to VND 40 million depending on the offence, and organisations pay double. Flying without a flight permit is reported at VND 20 to 30 million, aerial filming without authorisation at VND 8 to 9 million, and the drone can be confiscated.

These brackets come Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP, in force since 15 December 2025, as summarised by Vietnamese legal and news outlets. Check the decree text before you rely on an exact figure. US dollar amounts are rounded, at about VND 26,100 per US dollar, the rate reported in early October 2026. On top of the fine, reports say the drone can be confiscated and a flight permit you already hold can be suspended for three to six months. Losing the drone is part of the cost.

In October 2026 the Ministry of Public Security also published a ''5 Nos'' advisory on drones. It asks people not to lend, rent or provide a place, power or a vehicle for an illegal flight, and not to film the air without permission. It focuses on airports, but the point about helping others applies to anyone who hosts or transports a traveller with a drone.

What is Cao Bang Eco Travel's position on drones?

Our guides and hosts do not accept, approve or allow drone flights at the no-fly points listed above, and we do not register drones, apply for flight permits or act as your Vietnamese sponsor. Only the military can approve a flight, so nobody on the road can give you a permit, ourselves included.

The sponsor rule is why we say this plainly. Decree 288/2025/NĐ-CP requires a Vietnamese sponsor for a foreign pilot (Article 19(6)) and for a foreign applicant (Article 22), but the text we read does not say what that sponsor is responsible for. We will not take on a legal risk we cannot measure on a traveller's behalf.

If anyone tells you ''it's fine here'', whether a driver, a local or another traveller, that is a personal opinion, not a permission, and it does not protect you. If you fly without a valid permit, the fine, the confiscation and any liability fall on the person flying.

None of this is us being difficult. A drone incident near the border can bring in the border guard, and the people travelling with you, such as a guide, a driver or others in your group, may be asked to explain. The Ministry of Public Security advisory above asks people not to provide a place, power or a vehicle for an illegal flight, which is exactly the position they would be in. That is why we are firm about it rather than looking the other way.

We tell you the rule in writing before you travel, and this page is that writing. Still unsure about something here? Ask us before you pack the drone.

What can you do instead of flying a drone in Cao Bang?

Shoot the ground: a phone or a camera on a tripod needs no flight permit. At Ban Gioc, the Truc Lam pagoda on the hillside gives a view over the whole waterfall, and locally run bamboo rafts take visitors to the base of the falls.

a raft you are in the spray, which is a different thing watching the falls on a screen. Bring a waterproof bag for your camera, and carry your passport or ID, because you may be asked to show it at the border checkpoint. On a guided tour, ask your guide where to stop and when the light is best.

The best view of Cao Bang is not always the highest one. More places to stop and look, our own articles:

• Ban Gioc Waterfall
• Angel Eye Mountain
• Photographing nature in Cao Bang: the most magical spots (in French)
• Khuoi Ky stone village
• 7 places to catch the golden rice season in Cao Bang
• Nguyen Binh
• Top 10 things to see and do on the Cao Bang Loop

Check our guide to the Cao Bang border area permit before you fix the route, and see when the light and the weather suit you in our guide to the best time to visit Cao Bang. If you want help planning, look at our Cao Bang Loop tours.

Sources and last reviewed

Ministry of National Defence, map of prohibited and restricted areas for UAVs, cambay.mod.gov.vn. Decree 288/2025/NĐ-CP on the management of unmanned aircraft, in force 5 November 2025. Law on People's Air Defence 2024, Articles 29 and 30. Decision 18/2020/QĐ-TTg on prohibited and restricted flight areas, Articles 3 and 4. Circular 78/2026/TT-BCA on the registration of flying vehicles, in force 20 July 2026, as summarised by Vietnamese legal and news outlets. Administrative procedure ''Thủ tục cấp phép bay'', code 1.014689. Decree 282/2025/NĐ-CP on administrative penalties, in force 15 December 2025, as reported by Vietnamese legal and news outlets. Ministry of Public Security ''5 Nos'' advisory on drones, published on Chinhphu.vn on 14 October 2026. Resolution 1657/NQ-UBTVQH15 on the 2025 reorganisation of communes in Cao Bang.

Last reviewed: 17 October 2026. This page is general information for travellers, not legal advice, and the rules change. Check the official sources above, or ask the authorities directly, before you fly. We will this page promptly when there is new information.