United States
Part 107 covers commercial operation: a knowledge test, registration of the aircraft, and rules on altitude, line of sight, airspace and flying over people. Listing marketing is commercial even if the agent flies their own drone for free.
Canada
Transport Canada requires a pilot certificate for drones in the regulated weight class, with basic and advanced levels depending on where and how you fly; urban and near-airport airspace is restricted.
What most agents do
Hire a licensed drone photographer for stills — often part of the photo package — and build the aerial clips from three of those photos. Villenza's drone moves (reveal, orbit, fly-over, top-down and more) need only stills taken along one line, not aerial video.
Questions
Can I use my hobby drone for my own listings?
Not in the US without Part 107: marketing a listing is commercial use regardless of who owns the drone or whether money changes hands for the flight.
What if I have no aerial photos at all?
Use the ground-level exterior moves — a front-door approach, a façade glide, a crane from a step or a pole.
Read next
- How to Make a Drone Reveal Real Estate VideoIt starts with where the house is and flies in to what it is. Location is half of a listing's value, and this move shows both in one clip.
- How to Make a Video for Land, Lots and AcreageListing video for vacant land and acreage: which drone moves show boundaries, access and lay of the land, what ground-level photos add, and how to keep it honest about what is and is not included.
- How Many Photos Do You Need to Make a Listing Video?The number of photos a real estate video needs when it is generated from stills: three to five per room, why three is the floor, what each photo does, and how many rooms a listing usually takes.