The draft Drone Bill will require users of drones weighing more than 250 grams to be registered, and for those operators to "use apps" to "access the information needed to make sure any planned flight can be made safely and legally", the government said. Drone users will also be obliged to "sit safety awareness tests".
The new laws might also prevent drones being flown "above 400 feet" in the air or near airports, it said.
Police will also be given new powers to "prevent the unsafe or criminal use of drones" under the Bill, the government said.
"We will look to include in our draft bill new police powers where drone users would need to produce registration documents on request, ground a drone safely in certain circumstances and the ability to seize and retain a drone’s components if there is reasonable suspicion of it having been involved in an offence," Baroness Sugg, the UK's parliamentary under secretary of state for transport, said in a ministerial statement.
The UK's Civil Aviation Authority issued new guidelines in July 2015 to recreational drone users in the UK, reminding them to fly "safely and legally" and not use cameras within 50 metres of people, buildings or vehicles.
Both Germany and the UAE introduced new regulations for the use of drones earlier this year.