New Hampshire Drone Laws: RSA 644:23 & Privacy Rules (2026)

New Hampshire's first drone-specific criminal statute, RSA 644:23, took effect January 1, 2026. It layers state penalties for FAA violations, weaponized drones, and flights over correctional facilities on top of the state's older, general privacy law, which already reaches a drone's camera.

This guide is part of our Drone Laws by State series; for the broader rules on recording people and property in New Hampshire, see our surveillance camera laws guide.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses New Hampshire law governing drones under RSA 644:23, RSA 644:9, and RSA 207:57. It does not address FAA registration, Remote ID, or Part 107 pilot certification, which apply the same way nationwide regardless of state law.

How Federal and New Hampshire Law Divide Drone Authority

The FAA regulates where a drone may fly. Under 49 U.S.C. section 40102, it treats any unmanned aircraft as an "aircraft," pulling it into the national airspace system regardless of size. A commercial or government flight generally needs a Remote Pilot Certificate under 14 C.F.R. Part 107, and a hobbyist flight falls under the separate statutory exception at 49 U.S.C. section 44809. Most registrable drones must also broadcast Remote ID.

None of that answers what a New Hampshire drone operator may record, or whether New Hampshire police need a warrant. Until 2026, New Hampshire had no drone-specific statute at all, and conduct fell entirely under general privacy, trespass, and hunting-interference law. RSA 644:23 changed that, but its focus is narrower than a comprehensive privacy code, and understanding what it does and does not cover matters for anyone trying to figure out their rights.

New Hampshire's New Drone Statute: RSA 644:23

RSA 644:23, "Unlawful Operation or Use of Small Unmanned Aircraft System," came out of House Bill 468 in the 2025 session, was signed into law as Chapter 278 on August 1, 2025, and took effect January 1, 2026. It borrows its definitions of "aircraft," "small unmanned aircraft," and "small unmanned aircraft system" from the New Hampshire Aeronautics Act at RSA 422:3.

The statute's core provision, paragraph II, makes operating a drone in violation of FAA rules, including 14 C.F.R. Part 107, a violation for a first offense and a misdemeanor after that, giving New Hampshire prosecutors a state charge for what had been a purely federal matter. Paragraph III makes it a misdemeanor to interfere with law enforcement, firefighting, or emergency-response operations by drone, with an exemption for news media that hold FAA authorization and follow safety directives.

Paragraph IV addresses manned aircraft: negligently disrupting a human-occupied aircraft or airport is a Class A misdemeanor, a Class B felony if it causes damage, and a Class A felony if it causes a fatal or injurious crash. Paragraph V makes flying in restricted airspace over a correctional facility a misdemeanor, a Class B felony if meant to deliver contraband or aid an escape, the same prison-drone problem several other states have faced. Paragraph VI makes it a Class B felony to knowingly possess or operate a drone equipped to fire a projectile or otherwise cause serious injury, death, or property damage, with narrow bomb-squad and law-enforcement exemptions. Paragraph VII exempts officers acting under lawful authority from the statute generally.

Can a Private Citizen Legally Fly a Drone Over My Property in New Hampshire?

RSA 644:23 does not answer this question directly. Read closely, its provisions address FAA compliance, emergency-scene interference, manned-aircraft safety, correctional facilities, and weaponization; it does not include a general prohibition on using a drone to surveil a neighbor's private property, and it does not cross-reference New Hampshire's privacy statute.

That gap is filled by RSA 644:9, New Hampshire's older violation-of-privacy law, last substantively amended in 2024. It is not drone-specific, but its language is technology-neutral: it is a Class A misdemeanor to install or use a "device" to observe, photograph, or record someone's intimate body parts, or to observe or record inside a "private place" (a restroom, locker room, dwelling interior, or anywhere else a person reasonably expects privacy) without consent. A drone-mounted camera fits that definition the same way a hidden camera would. A second offense is a Class B felony, rising further if the person recorded is under 18.

Outside RSA 644:9's specific scenarios, a New Hampshire property owner bothered by a drone that does not capture anything intimate or occur inside a private place is generally left to ordinary trespass, nuisance, or harassment law, the same as in a state with no drone statute at all.

Does Police Need a Warrant to Fly a Drone Over My Property in New Hampshire?

No statute currently requires one. New Hampshire has not enacted a law-enforcement drone warrant statute comparable to those in states like Maine and Virginia. RSA 644:23 paragraph VII exempts officers acting under lawful authority from that statute's restrictions rather than adding a warrant requirement, and RSA 644:9 paragraph V separately allows officers to gather visual or audio evidence based on articulable suspicion during an investigation. Absent a specific state warrant statute, ordinary Fourth Amendment doctrine, and each department's internal policy, governs when a warrantless police drone flight becomes an unreasonable search.

The New Hampshire Legislature has considered, but not passed, bills that would have required a warrant before law enforcement could fly a drone over private property to record; readers should not assume such a requirement exists in New Hampshire simply because similar bills have been debated or because neighboring states have enacted one.

Hunting, Fishing, and Wildlife Rules for Drones

New Hampshire's hunter-harassment statute, RSA 207:57, in effect since 2016, bars using a drone to conduct video surveillance of a private citizen who is lawfully hunting, fishing, or trapping, without first getting that person's written consent; violating it is a violation, roughly equivalent to a traffic ticket, and law enforcement and Fish and Game personnel are exempt when acting in their official duties. Separately, a New Hampshire Fish and Game administrative rule, Fis 312.02, bars using a drone to locate or attempt to locate game for the purpose of taking it, addressing drone-assisted scouting rather than surveillance of other people.

Watch out: Do not assume RSA 644:23 is a general drone-privacy law just because it is New Hampshire's newest and most-publicized drone statute. It is aimed at FAA compliance, weaponization, and safety around manned aircraft and correctional facilities. A dispute about a neighbor's drone camera pointed at your yard or window is analyzed under RSA 644:9, New Hampshire's general privacy statute, not RSA 644:23.

Can I Shoot Down a Drone Over My New Hampshire Property?

No. Federal law makes it a serious crime to damage, destroy, or disable any drone, including one hovering low over your own yard. 18 U.S.C. section 32, the Aircraft Sabotage Act, criminalizes willfully damaging an "aircraft," a category the FAA has applied to drones since 2012. A conviction carries up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine up to $250,000, and the permanent loss of Second Amendment rights that follows any federal felony. The FAA's position is that it controls the national airspace, not the landowner below, so owning the ground does not create a right to fire on what is above it. No New Hampshire statute, including RSA 644:23, authorizes a landowner to disable or shoot down a drone as a matter of right.