A revoked update is not the same thing as a revoked safety system.

UK drone operators may have seen two apparently conflicting messages in 2026: new UK SORA guidance was published in July and marked to take effect on 1 October, but the Civil Aviation Authority later revoked it. The easy—but wrong—conclusion is that the UK abandoned SORA.

It did not. UK SORA remains the accepted risk-assessment route for many operations in the Specific Category. What the CAA withdrew was one particular package of changes to the Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material, known as ORS9 Decision No. 60.

On 17 September 2026, the CAA issued ORS9 Decision No. 61. It says that, after feedback and in light of wider planned improvements to UK SORA, the authority would not proceed with the Decision 60 changes that had been due to enter into force on 1 October. None of those changes took effect. The versions in force immediately before 3 July 2026 continue to apply.

What Decision 61 actually did

Decision 61 is a regulatory housekeeping action with real operational consequences. It superseded and revoked Decision 60 before the latter’s planned effective date. The CAA’s consolidated regulatory library records the September 2026 revision and identifies Decision 61 as the instrument that removed the July amendment.

That means operators should not build an application, operations manual or compliance case on the assumption that the Decision 60 text became mandatory on 1 October. Material that was merely marked for a future effective date can remain visible in an old download, screenshot or internal working document even after the legal position changes.

The controlling question is not “Which PDF did we download first?” It is “Which consolidated regulation, AMC and GM are currently in force?” For this change, the CAA’s answer is explicit: return to the versions effective immediately before 3 July 2026, pending further improvements.

What Decision 61 did not do

Decision 61 did not remove the Specific Category. It did not turn complex operations into Open-category flights. It did not cancel the need for an operational authorisation, and it did not restore the old Operating Safety Case application route for new applicants.

The CAA says UK SORA replaced the OSC method on 23 April 2025 as the way to apply for many Specific-category operational authorisations. Operators proposing flights beyond the limits of the Open category still need to identify the correct route and obtain the necessary authorisation before operating.

Examples that can require a UK SORA-based authorisation include beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, dropping items, flying near crowds, operating at increased height, swarm operations and other activity not covered by PDRA01. The exact route depends on the proposed operation, aircraft, environment and risk controls.

PDRA01 and UK SORA are different routes

The Specific Category is not a single application form. The CAA describes two main routes: a pre-defined risk assessment, currently PDRA01, and UK SORA.

PDRA01 provides a defined operating envelope for qualifying visual-line-of-sight operations. It is commonly used for work such as roof inspection, building photography and surveys in areas that are not available under the basic Open-category rules. An operator must comply with the PDRA’s stated limits rather than redesigning the risk assessment.

UK SORA is used when the proposed operation is more complex or falls outside PDRA01. The applicant describes the operation, calculates the applicable Specific Assurance and Integrity Level and containment requirements, then provides evidence for the mitigations and operational safety objectives that apply.

Decision 61 changes neither of those basic distinctions. It changes which version of the supporting AMC and GM should be treated as current after the July update was withdrawn.

Why a revoked amendment matters to a live application

A UK SORA application is an evidence case, not a box-ticking exercise. The CAA’s application service uses the operation details to calculate SAIL and containment levels. Assessment 1 examines the proposed risk classification and selected mitigations. Assessment 2 examines the compliance approach and evidence for the applicable requirements.

If an organisation copied a requirement, evidence template or definition from the revoked amendment, it may be working to a provision that never entered into force. That can waste effort, introduce inconsistency between an operations manual and the application service, or cause an applicant to overlook the version the CAA is actually assessing.

The answer is not to delete every document dated after July. Some CAA web guidance and application-service instructions remain current. Instead, trace each regulatory requirement to the current consolidated library and distinguish binding regulation, acceptable means of compliance, guidance material and general explanatory web pages.

A five-step document check

1. Record the source and version. Note the title, decision number, publication date and retrieval date for every regulatory document used in the application.
2. Check the consolidated library. Confirm that the provision is shown as current, rather than relying on a cached PDF or a page preserved in an internal folder.
3. Search for future-effective markings. Text labelled “in force from” a later date may never become current if it is superseded before that date.
4. Map evidence to the current requirement. Review operations-manual sections, technical substantiation and third-party evidence against the version the CAA now applies.
5. Ask the CAA when scope is uncertain. Operations outside UK SORA policy limits, activities needing an airspace change, dangerous-goods carriage and policy areas not yet developed may require contact before applying.

Existing authorisations are not generic permission

An operational authorisation defines the scope, conditions and limits under which its holder may operate. The CAA says UK SORA-based authorisations last 12 months, with reapplication available from 28 days before expiry. An operator should work to the authorisation actually granted, not assume that a change in general guidance silently expands its privileges.

If a holder needs an administrative modification or a variation, the correct process depends on the authorisation type. A new regulatory decision is not permission to alter operational volumes, containment, procedures or aircraft configuration without following the applicable process.

Decision 61 also should not be treated as a promise that the pre-July wording will remain indefinitely. The CAA explicitly linked the withdrawal to planned wider improvements. Any future amendment must be assessed when it is actually issued and, where relevant, reaches its effective date.

The practical answer for operators

If your team prepared for Decision 60’s planned 1 October changes, pause and verify every affected requirement against the current consolidated material. Do not state that UK SORA was cancelled; it remains central to many Specific-category applications. Do not state that Decision 60 took effect temporarily; Decision 61 says none of its AMC or GM entered into force.

For a new operation, first ask whether it fits the Open category. If not, check whether PDRA01 covers it. If neither applies, UK SORA may be the route—but only within the method’s policy limits and with a CAA operational authorisation before flight.

The broader lesson is useful beyond this one decision: publication, planned commencement and actual legal effect are three different events. A professional compliance system must track all three.

Official references checked 29 October 2026

• UK Civil Aviation Authority, ORS9 Decision No. 61, version dated 17 September 2026.
• UK CAA Regulatory Library, List of revisions to UK Regulation (EU) 2019/947.
• UK Civil Aviation Authority, Specific Category overview.
• UK Civil Aviation Authority, UK SORA-based Operational Authorisations.
• UK Civil Aviation Authority, Step-by-step guide to applying.