Drone Rules in Uzbekistan: Leave It at Home
Bringing a drone to Uzbekistan is a criminal matter, not a paperwork one. What the law says, what happens at customs, and what to do instead.
Do not bring a drone to Uzbekistan. This is not the usual travel-blog caution about needing a permit; unauthorised import and use of unmanned aircraft here has been treated as a criminal offence, and customs officers look for them in luggage.
If you take one thing from this page, take that. The rest is detail.
What the rules are
Importing, selling or flying a drone in Uzbekistan requires authorisation, obtained through the Civil Aviation Agency, and drones must be registered. Permissions have in practice been issued to media organisations, film production companies and government projects rather than to individual tourists.
Penalties have been severe. Uzbek law has provided for prison terms of up to three years for unauthorised import, sale or use, rising to ten in aggravated cases. That framework was softened in March 2024, when the rules were changed so that first-time offenders face a fine rather than imprisonment. Gazeta.uz reported the change at the time (last checked: September 2026).
A fine instead of a jail term is an improvement. It is still a criminal process in a country where you don't speak the language, at the start of a holiday.
What happens at the airport
Reports from travellers are consistent: drones are identified in hand and checked luggage, and confiscated where the paperwork isn't there.
Declaring it does not help, because the issue is the authorisation rather than the declaration. Hiding it is worse, because x-ray screening finds drones reliably and an undeclared one moves the conversation from a confiscation to something more serious.
Some travellers report equipment being held and returned on departure; others report permanent seizure. Neither outcome is one to plan around. Our guide to Uzbek customs rules covers what else the declaration form asks about.
Is this changing?
Slowly, and not yet in a way that helps a tourist.
In February 2026 Uzbekistan announced plans to lift the ban on drone imports and production for legal entities, meaning companies, as part of a wider technology programme, reported by Kun.uz. That is a liberalisation aimed at business and manufacturing, not at visitors with a camera drone in a backpack.
The direction of travel is towards a more open regime. The sensible assumption for anyone planning a trip in the next year or two is that nothing has changed for individuals unless you can find an official source saying otherwise.
Where flying is prohibited regardless
Even with authorisation, the standard exclusions apply and are enforced:
- Within roughly 3 km of airports
- Anywhere near the state borders, which in the Fergana Valley and around Termez covers a lot of ground
- Over or near military and strategic installations
- Over crowds and public events
The border and military exclusions matter more here than in most countries, because Uzbekistan has a long, sensitive frontier and a security culture that predates drones.
Why the rules are this strict
Worth understanding, because it explains why the restriction is unlikely to loosen for tourists as fast as it might elsewhere.
Uzbekistan is doubly landlocked, shares borders with five countries including Afghanistan, and inherited a Soviet security apparatus with strong instincts about aerial observation. Photography of the Tashkent metro was prohibited until 2018 on the grounds that the stations were defence installations. A flying camera sits in exactly the category that framework was built to control.
None of which is aimed at you personally. It does mean that "but I was only filming a mosque" is not an argument that lands, and that a friendly conversation is not the likely outcome of being caught.
If you genuinely need aerial footage for professional work, the route is an application through the Civil Aviation Agency, made well in advance through a local fixer or production company who has done it before. Budget weeks rather than days, and do not buy flights on the assumption it will be granted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can tourists fly drones in Uzbekistan?
In practice, no. Authorisation is required through the Civil Aviation Agency and is not realistically obtainable by an individual visitor. Permissions go to media crews, production companies and official projects. Assume your drone cannot legally be brought in or flown.
Will customs confiscate my drone in Uzbekistan?
Reports indicate that drones found in luggage without authorisation are seized. Screening is thorough and officers are looking for them. Some equipment is reportedly held and returned on exit, but permanent confiscation is also reported, so neither should be counted on.
What is the penalty for flying a drone in Uzbekistan?
Unauthorised import, sale or use has carried criminal liability with prison terms of up to three years, and longer in aggravated cases. Since March 2024 first-time offenders face a fine rather than imprisonment. This is a criminal matter rather than an administrative one, and it is not worth testing.
Are the drone rules in Uzbekistan changing?
A February 2026 announcement set out plans to lift import and production restrictions for companies as part of a technology programme. That does not extend to individual travellers at the time of writing. Check current official guidance before assuming anything has changed.
Can I fly a drone in the desert away from everything?
The rules are national rather than site-specific, and much of the remote country you'd want to fly over is near a border or a strategic facility. Being far from a city does not make an unauthorised flight legal or unobserved.
What to do instead
The aerial shots you were planning mostly exist without a drone, because Uzbekistan is full of things to climb.
The Islam Khoja minaret in Khiva and the city walls, the Kunya Ark watchtower, rooftop terraces across Bukhara's old town, and the Tashkent TV tower all give you height legally. In Samarkand, the stepped approach at Shah-i-Zinda and the elevation at the Ulugh Beg Observatory do similar work.
A wide lens and an early start will get you more usable images here than a drone would, and our photography guide and our notes on shooting in the Tashkent metro cover the light, the rules around photographing people, and the handful of places where any camera attracts attention.
Caravanistan maintains a regional page on drone rules across Central Asia, which is the best single place to check the current position before you pack. And our guide to Uzbek laws and local customs covers the other rules that catch visitors out.
Featured image: Doris Ingeborg Lohse (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia Commons.