Drone Laws by State
Drone law splits cleanly along one line: the Federal Aviation Administration controls the airspace, and states control what happens to the people and property below it. This guide explains that split, then links to the specific privacy, trespass, law enforcement, and critical-infrastructure rules in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Federal: Controls the Airspace
FAA registration, Part 107, Remote ID, and altitude rules govern where and how a drone may fly. States cannot regulate the flight path itself.
State: Controls the Consequences
Privacy, trespass, harassment, hunting interference, and flights near critical infrastructure are governed by state law, and the rules vary widely.
State Privacy and Trespass Laws
A growing number of states have enacted a drone-specific privacy or trespass statute, criminalizing flights intended to surveil a person on private property, capture images inside a place they expect privacy, or hover low enough to interfere with the landowner's use of the property. Where no drone-specific statute exists, general trespass, nuisance, voyeurism, or wiretap law often fills the gap, with outcomes that depend more heavily on the specific facts and the state's existing case law. This is a genuine patchwork: the same flight can be lawful in one state and a criminal offense in the state next door.
Law Enforcement Drone Use
Some states go further and require police to obtain a warrant before using a drone to surveil a person or private property, subject to exceptions for emergencies, active pursuit, search and rescue, or public events. Where no such statute exists, whether a warrant is required depends on ordinary Fourth Amendment case law, which has not settled on a single national rule for aerial surveillance the way it has for some other investigative techniques.
Hunting and Critical Infrastructure
Two narrower but consequential rules appear in most states. Many prohibit using a drone to scout, hunt, or harass wildlife, treating it as an unfair-chase or game-law violation. Separately, a large and growing number of states criminalize flying a drone over a correctional facility, power plant, water treatment facility, or other designated critical infrastructure, often as a felony carrying substantially higher penalties than an ordinary trespass or privacy offense.
Can You Shoot Down a Drone?
No, anywhere in the United States. Destroying, damaging, or disabling a drone is a federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 32, the same statute that protects any other aircraft, regardless of who owns the land beneath it. Several publicized incidents where a landowner shot down a drone were charged only under state law, and those state charges were sometimes dismissed or reduced, which has created a widespread and incorrect impression that shooting down a drone carries little real risk. Federal prosecution remains possible in any of these cases.
Find Your State's Drone Law
Select your state below for its specific rules on privacy, trespass, law enforcement warrants, hunting, and critical infrastructure.
All 50 States + D.C.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it legal to fly a drone over someone else’s property?
The FAA controls the airspace itself, so simply passing overhead in navigable airspace is not, by itself, illegal anywhere. What states regulate is what happens next: hovering low enough to interfere with the owner’s use of the property, capturing images of a private area with intent to surveil, or repeated flights that amount to harassment can all be illegal under a state privacy, trespass, or nuisance statute, even though the flight itself was FAA-compliant.
Can states ban drones or regulate where they fly?
Not the airspace itself. Federal law preempts state and local regulation of flight paths, altitude, and airspace access, a boundary confirmed in litigation over local drone ordinances. States can, and increasingly do, regulate the privacy and safety consequences of a flight: what a drone operator records, whether it flies over a prison or power plant, and whether officers need a warrant to use one, without regulating the airspace itself.
Do police need a warrant to use a drone?
It depends on the state. A number of states have enacted a specific warrant requirement for law-enforcement drone surveillance, with exceptions for emergencies, search and rescue, or public events. Where no specific statute exists, ordinary Fourth Amendment case law applies instead, which is less predictable and still developing.
Can I shoot down a drone flying over my property?
No, in every state. Destroying, damaging, or disabling any aircraft, including a drone, is a federal felony under 18 U.S.C. Section 32, regardless of who owns the land beneath it or how low the drone is flying. No state has enacted a law giving a landowner the right to shoot one down. Several widely publicized shoot-down cases were charged only under state law and were later dismissed or reduced, which has created a common misconception that the practice is low-risk. It is not: federal prosecution remains a real possibility.
Is it illegal to fly a drone near an airport, prison, or power plant?
Often yes, and frequently a felony. Most states restrict drone flights near correctional facilities, and a growing number restrict flights near power plants, water treatment facilities, and other critical infrastructure, sometimes with penalties far higher than a general trespass or privacy violation. Airport and other FAA no-fly zones are a separate, federally enforced restriction on top of any state critical-infrastructure law.