Renewal
Drone certificate expired or about to expire?
Your A1/A3 and A2 certificates are valid for five years. The first certificates from 2021 are expiring now. In the Netherlands alone, more than 12,000 expired in the first quarter of 2026.
Before it expires
Under the European rules you can renew your certificate by demonstrating your knowledge again (an exam) or through refresher training with the authority or an appointed body. In the Netherlands renewal works through a new exam with an appointed examination body. You then apply for the certificate again with the RDW, which costs €10.
After it has expired
Once your certificate has expired, there is only one way back: sitting the exam again. Until then you may not fly in the situations for which you needed the certificate.
Five years is a long time. Quite a lot has changed since your exam: since 1 January 2024 a new drone must carry a class label, and the European rules were amended again in 2024. So practise the full syllabus again, not just what you still remember.
Refreshing with DroneTheoryPrep
Start with a free A1/A3 mock exam. For each subject you’ll see straight away where your knowledge has faded, so you only practise what you need.
Sources: UAS.OPEN.070 and AMC (EASA Easy Access Rules, June 2026); rdw.nl/drone/verlengen-vliegbewijs-en-exploitantnummer; RDW figures via Dronewatch. Last checked: 16 September 2026.
Please note: DroneTheoryPrep is a practice platform. We do not hold exams, do not issue certificates and are not affiliated with or recognised by EASA or any national aviation authority. You take the real exam with an examination body appointed by the authorities. Our questions are our own, written from the official European syllabus; they are not exam questions.