If you operate drones commercially in the UK, CAP 722 is the document that quietly governs almost everything you do — from the paperwork on each job through to the rules on how close to a person you can fly. The CAA's revised Edition 9 has now been in force long enough to draw a clean line between how things were done in 2023 and how operations are run today.

This briefing summarises the changes that matter most to surveyors, roofers and insurance evidence work — the operations where the rules really bite.

What CAP 722 actually is

CAP 722 — “Unmanned Aircraft System Operations in UK Airspace — Guidance and Policy” — is the CAA's master reference for everything to do with non-recreational drone flying. It sets out the three operational categories (Open, Specific, Certified), the rules for each, the competency standards expected of pilots, and the procedures for getting and holding an Operational Authorisation.

Edition 9 is not a regulatory document in the strict legal sense — the underlying law sits in the Air Navigation Order. But because the CAA references CAP 722 in every Operational Authorisation, in practice it functions as the rule book.

What's actually different

1. The Specific Category is the gravity well

The big shift is structural: more and more of what used to sit at the edge of the Open category — flying near uninvolved people, over congested areas with sub-25 kg craft — has been pulled into the Specific Category. That means it now needs an Operational Authorisation, a written Operations Manual, and a documented risk assessment using a recognised methodology.

For most commercial roof and building surveys in a UK town, you're now firmly in Specific Category territory unless you're flying a C0-class drone (sub-250 g) — which most professional survey rigs are not.

2. SORA is recognised as the default risk method

Edition 9 formally accepts SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment) as the recognised methodology for justifying a Specific Category operation. SORA was developed under JARUS and produces a numerical “SAIL” rating that drives the mitigations you need to apply.

This is mostly good news. SORA is structured, internationally recognised, and gives a defensible audit trail. The bad news: it's a meaningful piece of work for each new operation type. Operators with a pre-canned, well-documented PDRA (Pre-Defined Risk Assessment) — particularly PDRA-01 for routine VLOS — will move faster than those building bespoke SORAs for every site.

3. Operator competency is no longer just “the pilot has a GVC”

Edition 9 lays out competency expectations across the entire operator, not just the pilot. The Accountable Manager, the operations manager and the safety manager (which can be the same person on small ops) each have a role and a set of expected competencies. The Operations Manual now needs to evidence these.

For a single-pilot operation, this looks like more paperwork than it really is — once your Ops Manual is up to scratch it's mostly maintenance. But it does close off the “I've got a GVC, that's everything” shortcut some smaller operators were running.

4. OA renewals and amendments are tighter

The CAA now expects amendments to your Operational Authorisation to be requested earlier and supported by evidence — not just submitted on the form with a covering email. Renewal cycles are typically 12 months and the CAA wants to see a recent flight log, evidence of currency, and any incident records.

What it means for clients

If you're hiring a drone operator for any kind of work in or near a town — roof, elevation, thermal, construction progress, claim evidence — ask for two things: their Operational Authorisation reference, and confirmation that the specific job you're commissioning falls inside the scope of that OA. A GVC and an OA are not interchangeable, and an OA for “rural agricultural inspection” does not cover a B-class town roof.

It's also worth asking about insurance — public liability cover should be at least £5 million, and operators should be able to provide an insurance certificate on request.

Bottom line

CAP 722 Edition 9 is not a revolution — it's a tightening. The category boundaries are clearer, the documentation expectations are higher, and the CAA is more explicit about the difference between an operator and a pilot. For clients, the headline is that the operator you hire should be able to articulate exactly which category and which authorisation covers your job. If they can't, find one who can.