You can fly a drone at a Fiji wedding, but almost certainly not the way you are imagining. A guest flying their own drone needs a recreational permit from the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji. A videographer being paid for the footage is a commercial operator and needs written authorisation before the flight. And the resort can refuse either, whatever the regulator allows.
Here is what CAAF actually publishes, what resorts publish, and the three things nobody publishes at all.
Guideline only. Aviation rules change and CAAF's own pages are not always internally consistent. Confirm your position with the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji before you book a drone operator, and confirm filming permits with Film Fiji. Last reviewed 13 September 2026.
Is a paid wedding videographer recreational or commercial?
Commercial, and CAAF says so in words that could have been written for this exact case. Its definition of recreational use is operating an unmanned or model aircraft "for personal interest and enjoyment", and it goes on: using the same device to take photographs or videos "for compensation or sale to another individual or entity would be considered a commercial operation or business use".
So the two paths diverge before you start.
| Guest flying their own drone | Videographer you are paying | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Recreational | Commercial |
| Licence | Not required | Qualification required by weight class |
| Registration | Required — CAAF form OP-137 | Authorisation required — CAAF form OP-138 |
| Before the flight | Permit issued | Written authorisation must be held |
| Insurance | Not stated | Third-party liability insurance from a recognised broker |
| Fee | Not published | From FJ$365.63, charged per assessment man-hour |
Tourists can apply on the recreational path — OP-137 has a "tourist" field and an accommodation address field. Applications run through CAAF's online drone portal.
On the commercial side the requirements scale with weight. Under 2 kg needs a basic drone course certification or equivalent, a letter of intent and liability insurance. From 2 to 7 kg adds a remote pilot licence or evidence of competence. Above 7 kg adds maintenance records, a flight manual, ground and flight test reports, a maintenance inspection programme and a company operations manual with hazard identification and risk assessment. A typical wedding drone sits in the first band; a cinema-grade rig does not.
Two things about that fee, because CAAF's own pages conflict. The drones page reads "fees apply (from $365.63)". The official fee schedule lists it as "$365.63/mhr" — per man-hour. Treat it as an open-ended assessment charge, not a fixed price, and ask CAAF what the assessment is likely to run to.
Processing time is not published anywhere. Neither form, nor the drones page, nor the FAQs state a number of days. The only firm rule is that written authorisation must be held before flying. Apply early, and do not let a supplier tell you it is a formality.
What are the actual flying limits?
CAAF publishes these for all operators.
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Maximum altitude | 200 feet (about 61 m) above ground level |
| Line of sight | Visual line of sight at all times unless specifically approved |
| Distance from people and buildings | At least 30 m for drones under 2 kg; stricter requirements above |
| International aerodromes | No flying within 5 km of the aerodrome reference point |
| Domestic aerodromes and airstrips | No flying within 3 km |
| Water landing sites and helipads | Same exclusions apply |
| Prohibited locations | Public gatherings, sporting events, populous areas, moving vehicles, national parks and conservation areas, and government or sensitive sites |
| Night | Permitted only where the Authority authorises it |
Two of those bite hard at weddings.
The aerodrome exclusions apply by category, not by name. CAAF publishes no list of airports, so the 5 km rule attaches to Nadi and Nausori as international aerodromes and the 3 km rule to island airstrips. It also covers water landing sites — which matters because seaplane and helicopter transfers serve many Fiji island resorts, and the pad may be closer to your ceremony lawn than you think. Ask the resort where its landing sites are before planning a shot list.
Sunset is the problem. The recreational OP-137 declaration contains no night permission at all, and CAAF's FAQ says night operations "may be authorised" for approved operators. The golden-hour aerial over a beach ceremony is usually fine. The reception fly-through after dark is not, unless your operator holds specific authorisation.
Will the resort even allow it?
This is the decisive question, and CAAF hands the resort the power. The OP-137 declaration requires recreational operators to avoid "resorts without permission from management". That is an aviation condition, not just a house rule.
Two Fiji resorts publish explicit policies, and they are opposites in tone but not in effect.
Tropica Island Resort prohibits unauthorised operation of drones within or above the resort and its immediate surroundings, requires prior written approval from resort management for any launch, landing or operation from resort property, and states that approved operations must comply with Fiji aviation law and respect guest and employee privacy. Its policy expressly names weddings among the covered activities.
Musket Cove Island Resort & Marina simply prohibits drones, citing safety and privacy. The ban extends to devices launched from resort property, private property, neighbouring resorts or yachts, and it warns of equipment confiscation and liability for trespass, privacy violations, injuries and legal fees.
Those are the two that publish. Most do not, which does not mean permission — it means you have to ask. Get it in writing, from the resort, naming your operator, before you pay a deposit.
What about privacy, land and filming permits?
Three gaps worth knowing, stated as gaps.
CAAF imposes no consent-to-film requirement. There is no privacy clause in the drone rules. Every consent obligation you will face is contractual, from the resort's terms, not regulatory. That is not a licence to film guests who have not agreed — tell your guests there will be a drone, and give anyone who objects a way out.
There is no published iTaukei or village consent rule for drones. No CAAF, iTaukei Land Trust Board or government page states one. The Board does appear as a stakeholder in Film Fiji's permit process, which is about filming rather than drones. If your ceremony is on or beside village land or a qoliqoli, ask through the proper channel because it is right, not because a regulation compels it.
Film Fiji requires a film permit for productions. Its page states that all productions intending to film in Fiji must complete a permit application, and directs drone applicants separately to CAAF. Whether a paid wedding videographer counts as a "production" is not stated, and the page draws no exemption for small or private shoots. Ask Film Fiji rather than assuming. Separately, the National Trust of Fiji charges a FJ$300 film and photography permit for its sites, including Sigatoka Sand Dunes National Park, with rangers accompanying all filming.
Can you bring a drone into Fiji?
Probably, with declarations. Fiji Revenue and Customs does not name drones as prohibited or restricted imports. Two adjacent rules apply.
FRCS states that radio transmitters and telecommunications devices require an import permit from the Telecommunications Authority of Fiji. It does not say whether a drone controller counts. That is unresolved, and worth a direct question to FRCS if you are carrying professional kit.
Traveller concessions cover personal effects owned and used before arrival, and other goods where value does not exceed FJ$2,000. A videographer arriving with professional equipment is carrying working gear rather than personal effects; commercial goods over FJ$1,000 that are not pre-cleared "will be detained pending formal import processing". The customs and carnet route is covered in bringing event equipment into Fiji.
Biosecurity does not name drones but does require used equipment to be declared on arrival. Declare it.
On airline carriage of lithium batteries, we could not retrieve Fiji Airways' published policy and will not guess at a limit. Check directly with the airline.
Is your operator actually authorised?
CAAF publishes a list of authorised commercial RPAS operators and states that "any entity not listed here has not been authorised by CAAF to conduct commercial operations".
Use it with care. The register lists 32 operators, and every authorisation period shown had expired, the latest ending 31 March 2023, on a page last modified in January 2025. Treat the list as a starting point and verify directly with CAAF that your operator's authorisation is current. Ask the supplier for their OP-138 authorisation reference and check it.
On penalties: the recreational declaration states that breaches are an offence of strict liability, and that providing false information in an application is an offence under section 17A(5)(b) of the Civil Aviation Authority Act 1979, with prosecution and revocation among the consequences. We could not obtain any FJD fine amount — the operative penalty text in the Air Navigation Regulations 1981 was not retrievable. Do not rely on a figure you have seen quoted elsewhere.
The verdict
- Paid means commercial. Your videographer needs OP-138 written authorisation, not a tourist permit.
- Ask the resort first. Two Fiji resorts publish policies and one of them is an outright ban with confiscation.
- 200 feet, line of sight, 30 metres from people, 5 km from Nadi and Nausori, 3 km from island strips — and water landing sites count.
- No night flying without specific authorisation, which rules out the after-dark reception shot.
- Verify the operator with CAAF directly. The public register's authorisations all read as expired.
Next step: ask the resort in writing before you contract anyone, then ask your shortlisted videographers for their CAAF authorisation reference. Fiji film and photography suppliers with live published sites include Ocean Studio Fiji, Lia and Stu Photography, Videoticz Fiji and Rolling Moments Fiji. Fiji wedding photography and film covers briefing and delivery, and Fiji wedding suppliers covers contracting. Browse the full list under suppliers.
