What Drone Safe Register does

Drone Safe Register Limited is a UK-based two-sided marketplace founded in 2015 by Mark Boyt that connects customers seeking commercial drone services with certified, fully insured, CAA-approved drone operators. The company's platform provides a postcode-based instant quote system, an interactive UK operator map, tiered membership subscriptions (Hobby, Advanced A2 CofC, Gold Certified, Training Provider), and a 4K aerial stock footage library (Drone Safe Stock) offering single-use and unlimited-use licensing. The marketplace spans 500+ vetted operators across 150+ UK towns and cities and addresses verticals including construction and property inspection, agriculture and land management, media and entertainment, emergency services, and individual homeowner use cases.

The business operates three revenue streams: recurring annual membership subscriptions paid by operators for directory inclusion and lead access, transactional commissions on stock footage sales through DSR Stock (£15 per single-use license up to £50 per unlimited-use license), and ancillary unit-priced products such as CAA Operator ID stickers (£5+VAT) and a regulated Operations Manual Update Service (£125+VAT) for PFCO operators. Go-to-market relies on a self-serve instant quote funnel, the operator map, content marketing through blog resources, and earned media from a 2015 appearance on BBC's Dragon's Den. The firm also maintains an affiliated international brand network (Drone Safe World, USA, Spain, Italy, France), a Drone Safe Training subsidiary site, and a Drone Safe Store e-commerce channel.

Drone Safe Register is incorporated as Drone Safe Register Limited (company number 09809154) in England and Wales, with registered offices in Marlow and operational offices in Chichester. The company is founder-controlled and family-influenced, with no disclosed institutional investment, parent company, or subsidiary structure. Leadership consists of a small core team of four — CEO & Founder Mark Boyt, Sales Director Tom Boyt, Operations Manager Harrison Green and Trainee Store Supervisor Wojciech Rygielski — and the technology stack centres on a web-based platform with PayPal processing for stock transactions and member dashboards for self-service profile management.

Name

Drone Safe Register

Legal name

Drone Safe Register Limited

Website

https://dronesaferegister.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Drone Safe Register is a UK two-sided marketplace founded in 2015 that connects customers with CAA-approved, fully insured commercial drone operators via tiered membership subscriptions, a postcode-based instant quote system and an operator map across 150+ UK locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Drone Services Marketplace

NAICS

Other Nonscheduled Air Transportation (481219), Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing (5321)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Equipment Rental & Leasing (7350)

akta.pro primary industry

Helicopter Passenger Services Brokerage, Booking & Aggregation Platforms (THABAGAJ)

Keywords

• Drone operator directory
• Commercial drone services
• Aerial photography marketplace
• Drone pilot network
• CAA approved operators

Headquarters

HQ city

Chichester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Operator Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership fees charged to drone operators for inclusion in the approved operator directory, access to job leads, company profiles, and member discounts on DJI products. Membership tiers include Amateur Flyer, Advanced A2 CofC, Gold Certified, and Training Provider.
2. Stock Footage Sales: Commission from sale of aerial footage and photography through the DSR Stock library. Platform offers One Use License (£15 per item) and Unlimited Use License (up to £50 per item). Members upload content; users purchase licenses; DSR takes platform commission.
3. Shop Products: Sale of branded merchandise including Operator ID stickers (£5 + VAT) and Operations Manual Update Services (£125 + VAT) for PFCO operators needing CAA document updates.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Drone Safe Register is a UK-based two-sided marketplace that connects customers seeking commercial drone services with a network of 500+ CAA-approved, fully insured drone operators. The platform provides an instant postcode-based quote system, an interactive operator map, and a stock aerial footage library, monetizing primarily through annual operator membership subscriptions, stock footage licensing commissions, and ancillary shop products.

Product overview

Drone Safe Register is a UK-based network platform connecting customers with certified, insured commercial drone operators. The offering consists of the core Drone Safe Register Platform for hiring drone pilots (featuring an Instant Quote System and Operator Map), the Drone Safe Stock Library for purchasing aerial footage, and multiple membership tiers (Gold Certified, Advanced A2 CofC, Amateur Flyer, and Training Provider) for drone operators. Additional products include Drone Operator ID Stickers and an Operations Manual Update Service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Drone Safe Stock: UK's first dedicated 4K aerial footage portal offering the nation's largest selection of aerial photography and video for instant download with single-use and multi-use license options.

Products and services

• Drone Safe Register Platform Two-sided UK marketplace connecting customers seeking commercial drone services with 500+ CAA-approved, fully insured drone operators. Includes postcode-based instant quote request, interactive operator map, and direct booking facilitation.
• Drone Safe Stock Library
• Gold Certified Operator Membership Top annual membership tier for professional drone operators; includes access to exclusive job leads, bespoke OSC, and exclusive member discounts on DJI drones and accessories.
• Advanced A2 CofC Operator Membership Annual membership for operators holding the A2 Certificate of Competency, providing access to the professional directory and member benefits.
• Amateur Flyer Hobbyist Membership Entry-level annual membership for hobbyist and recreational drone pilots, providing basic directory and community access.
• Training Provider Membership Annual membership for drone training providers, giving them visibility alongside the Drone Safe Register operator directory.
• Drone Operator ID Stickers Custom-printed UAV stickers displaying the operator's CAA Operator ID, supplied as a pack of 2 for £5 + VAT with P&P included.
• Operations Manual Update Service Service for PFCO operators to update their operations manuals to current CAA requirements, priced at £125 + VAT per manual update (standard permission renewals only; reduced distance OSC documents and additional airframes excluded).

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ fully qualified and fully insured CAA Approved commercial drone operators available for hire
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Drone Safe WorldminorOthersInternational brand extension network covering Drone Safe World, Drone Safe USA, Drone Safe Espana, Drone Safe Italia, and Drone Safe France. Related directories applying similar operator certification and directory model in other markets.
• DJIminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExclusive member discounts on DJI drones and accessories offered to Drone Safe Register professional members as part of membership benefits package.
• CoverdroneminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDrone insurance provider recommended and partnered with for member insurance coverage. Individual operators such as PMCS use Coverdrone for aviation insurance.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• FlyGuys: North American drone services network that matches customers with FAA-certified drone operators for aerial imaging, inspections, mapping and data capture. Closest US analogue to DSR's vetted-operator marketplace with nationwide coverage.
• DroneBase (Zeitview): US-based drone services marketplace and managed-data platform that connects enterprises with a network of vetted commercial drone pilots for inspections, mapping and aerial data. Direct comparison to DSR's two-sided marketplace model for hiring certified drone operators.

Broad incumbents

• AgEagle Aerial Systems: Drone solutions provider (acquired Measure) offering drone hardware, software and a nationwide network of drone pilots for agriculture, construction and inspection services. Comparable to DSR's agriculture and inspection verticals with a scaled operator network.
• Skydio: US autonomous drone manufacturer and software company serving enterprise inspection, public safety and defense. Represents the broader incumbent risk of a vertically integrated drone OEM offering its own operator network or service marketplace.
• DJI Enterprise: World's largest drone manufacturer with a partner/finder directory of commercial operators and a dealer ecosystem offering enterprise platforms. A broad incumbent that could compete with DSR's operator marketplace and undercut it via bundled hardware-software-service offerings.

Emerging players

• Hovr Insurance: Drone insurance marketplace with operator discovery features; comparable to DSR's Coverdrone insurance partnership angle and operator directory positioning for commercial pilots.
• SkyWatch.ai: Drone insurance and pilot marketplace combining on-demand aviation insurance with operator discovery. Comparable to DSR's Coverdrone partnership and operator directory model, with stronger insurance-tech integration.
• DroneDeploy: Drone software platform for mapping, inspection and analytics with a marketplace for connecting customers to professional drone service providers. Overlaps with DSR's drone-survey, mapping, and inspection service categories.

Others

• Coverdrone: Specialist UK drone insurance provider partnered with DSR for member coverage. Adjacent ecosystem participant serving the same operator base and reinforcing DSR's compliance/insurance value proposition.
• UAV Coach: Drone training, education and resource hub with a directory of training providers and operators. Comparable to DSR's Training Provider membership tier and content-marketing/blog-led customer acquisition strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DroneSafeReg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Drone Safe Register