This is a buyer's checklist, not a regulator's. Tick off what your drone contractor has already given you in writing — the items you leave unticked are the ones to ask for before anyone mobilises to your site.
It checks whether your bid package is complete. It does not tell you what the rules require for a particular flight: that is Transport Canada's, and our 2026 Alberta RPAS compliance guide explains how the pieces fit together.
Every pilot on the job holds a current Transport Canada RPAS pilot certificate at the level the planned operation requires.
Each pilot's recurrent training is current and dated.
Every aircraft that will fly your site is registered to the operator and marked with its registration.
The aircraft being brought to your site meet the Remote ID requirements applicable to the operation.
Any authorisation the planned flight needs — controlled airspace, beyond visual line of sight, operations near people — is identified and in hand before mobilisation.
The operator carries aviation liability insurance at the limit your contract requires, evidenced by a certificate.
The operator is registered in whichever contractor prequalification system your site uses.
A site-specific flight plan, hazard assessment and emergency procedure exist for your location, not a generic template.
Who owns the deliverables and the raw data, how long it is kept and whether it can be published are settled in writing.
The scope names the deliverables, the coordinate system and how accuracy will be demonstrated.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent anywhere — this runs entirely in your browser. It is a completeness check on your bid package, not legal or regulatory advice; Transport Canada is the authority on what any given operation requires.
Why these ten
Each item is a document a legitimate commercial operator can produce the same day it is asked for. Nothing on the list requires a contractor to reveal anything commercially sensitive, and nothing on it is unusual to ask for.
The items that most often come back empty are recurrent training currency, the authorisations for the specific flight, and the data clauses — not because the operator is unqualified, but because nobody asked and it was never written down. That is exactly why the checklist is worth running before mobilisation rather than after a finding is challenged.
What a complete package looks like
Pilot certificates for the named crew with current recurrent training. Registration numbers for the specific aircraft. A confirmation of Remote ID status. A statement of which authorisations the flight needs and who holds them. A certificate of insurance showing aviation liability at your required limit. Prequalification registrations. Site-specific flight plan and hazard assessment. Written data ownership, retention and publication terms. A deliverables list with a coordinate system and an accuracy statement.