Updated 11 September 2026 · 4 min read
Drone licence in Spain: the A1/A3 and A2 exams
What AESA asks, what you need to pass, how the two open-category exams differ and which parts of the rules are European rather than Spanish.
Flying a drone in the European open category needs a theory exam, and in Spain both open-category exams are run by AESA, the national aviation safety agency. They are free, they are online, and what they ask is set mostly by European law rather than Spanish law.
The two exams side by side
| A1/A3 | A2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 40 | 30 |
| Time | 40 minutes | 30 minutes |
| Options per question | 4 | 4 |
| To pass | 75 % → 30 correct | 75 % → 23 correct |
| Penalty for a wrong answer | None | None |
| Attempts | 2 per registration | 2 per registration |
| Subjects | 9, general | 3, technical |
| Prerequisite | None | A1/A3 plus practical self-training in A3 |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Validity | 5 years | 5 years |
The forty questions, the 75 % threshold, the nine subjects and the five-year validity all come from Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947, which applies directly and which member states cannot alter. The forty-minute limit does not: the regulation sets no time limit at all, and AESA publishes that figure itself.
A1/A3: nine subjects
Air safety, airspace restrictions, aviation regulation, human performance limitations, operational procedures, general knowledge of UAS, privacy and data protection, insurance, and security.
AESA does not publish how the forty questions are distributed across them, so any specific breakdown you find is someone's estimate. Two of the nine — airspace restrictions and insurance — are filled with national law, in Spain mainly Royal Decree 517/2024. Those are exactly the two where study material from another EU country teaches you answers that do not apply here.
A2: three subjects, and a strict order
Meteorology, UAS flight performance, and technical and operational ground-risk mitigation. None of them appears in the A1/A3 list: the two exams do not overlap, so a question bank for one does not prepare you for the other.
The regulation lists the conditions for the A2 certificate "in the order indicated": pass the A1/A3 online course and exam, complete practical self-training in A3 operating conditions, then sit the additional exam. AESA enforces that as an admission filter — without proof of the A1/A3 training you cannot register for A2.
The A2 exam is remotely proctored with the SMOWL system on AESA's training platform, so the machine you sit it on must allow access to its webcam, microphone and screen.
You may be exempt from A2
If you already hold the remote pilot theoretical knowledge certificate for standard scenarios in the specific category, AESA's registration guide says the system detects it, exempts you from registering for and passing the A2 exam, and issues the A2 competency certificate automatically. Worth checking your file in AESA's electronic office before you study — or buy — anything.
Registration and deadlines
Registration goes through AESA's electronic office using Cl@ve or a digital certificate; people without either use the route provided for foreign nationals. Once access is granted you get 30 working days to complete the course and the exam. Miss it and the file closes with a withdrawal decision, and you start the registration again.
On "official question banks"
There is no publicly available official AESA question bank. Anything advertised as "the real AESA exam questions" cannot substantiate that claim. What can be substantiated is the source of each question, which is the approach we take: write the question from the regulation and keep the article it comes from stored next to it.
Our apps
Drone A1/A3 covers the nine subjects with 218 questions; Drone A2 covers the three with 122. Both quote the article behind every answer and both run mocks in the real format — 40 in 40 minutes and 30 in 30 minutes, 75 % to pass, no penalty. The questions themselves are in Spanish, because that is the language of the exam.
Sources
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947, consolidated text of 1 May 2025, Annex Part A, UAS.OPEN.020, UAS.OPEN.030 and UAS.OPEN.070. Exam conditions and registration: AESA, FOR-UAS-P01-GU09 Ed.06 and FOR-UAS-P01-GU02 Ed.07. National rules: Royal Decree 517/2024.
Frequently asked
Do I need A1/A3 before A2?
Yes. The regulation sets the order: the A1/A3 online course and exam first, then practical self-training in A3 conditions, and only then the additional A2 exam.
What do the exams cost?
Nothing. Registration and both exams are provided free of charge by AESA through its own training platform.
How long are the certificates valid?
Five years from issue, for both. Renewal is either a fresh demonstration of competence or refresher training; once expired, only the fresh demonstration works.
Are the exams in English?
AESA runs them in Spanish. Part of the underlying material — the EASA AMC/GM guidance — exists only in English, which cuts both ways if English is your first language.
218 questions across the nine subjects, each quoting the regulation.
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