Air Law - CARs Part IX, Certification, Registration and Safety Assurance
Two categories, several stacked requirements
Part IX of the Canadian Aviation Regulations governs RPAS operations between 250 g and 25 kg and splits them into basic and advanced. Basic means visual line of sight, Class G airspace only, at least 30 m horizontally from every bystander and never over one. Advanced covers everything else inside Part IX. Anything outside the rules - BVLOS, above 400 ft AGL, over 25 kg - requires an SFOC.
An advanced operation needs four things at once: an Advanced RPAS Pilot Certificate (minimum age 16, 80% on the exam, plus a flight review with a Transport Canada-approved flight reviewer within the previous 24 months); a registered aircraft; the RPAS Safety Assurance declarations matching the conditions flown (controlled airspace, near people, over people, near aerodromes); and the operational permissions - ATC authorization for controlled airspace and for flight within 3 NM of an aerodrome. The Basic certificate requires a 65% pass and a minimum age of 14, with no flight review.
Traps
- A pilot certificate is not a permission. Holding an Advanced certificate does not by itself let you enter controlled airspace.
- Safety assurance attaches to the aircraft, not the pilot.
- The registration threshold is 250 g; the Part IX ceiling is 25 kg. Answers using 1 kg or 2 kg are wrong.
- "Near" and "over" bystanders are separate privileges.
- Section 900.06 (no reckless or negligent operation endangering aviation safety) applies to every flight, even under 250 g.
Rule of thumb
"Register 250 g–25 kg. Basic = Class G, 30 m, never over. Advanced = certificate + declared aircraft + permission." Worked example: a 1.2 kg quadcopter flown 2 NM from a Class C airport, above a crowd, is advanced on three counts - airspace, aerodrome distance, over people - and needs an authorization plus an over-people declaration.