West Virginia
West Virginia Drone Laws (2026): Privacy & Penalties
West Virginia has made it a crime since 2018, expanded in 2023, to fly a drone to spy on someone or their property without permission, with separate felony penalties for arming a drone or using one near critical infrastructure like a power plant or prison.
This guide is part of our Drone Laws by State series.
Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses West Virginia state law governing drones: the civilian privacy offense and critical-infrastructure restrictions in W. Va. Code section 61-16-2, the armed-drone and aircraft-interference felonies, and the federal shoot-down prohibition. It does not address FAA registration, Remote ID, or Part 107 licensing, which apply the same way nationwide; see the Drone Laws by State hub for that baseline and how other states compare.
The FAA controls the sky; West Virginia law controls what a drone operator does with it
The FAA is the exclusive regulator of where a drone may fly nationally, through registration, Remote Pilot Certification under 14 CFR Part 107 for most non-hobby flights, and Remote ID broadcast requirements. None of that answers the questions a West Virginia resident actually has: can a drone legally film into my backyard, and what happens if one flies near a prison or power plant. West Virginia answers both through W. Va. Code Article 61-16, Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, first enacted in 2018 and substantially expanded by a 2023 amendment. Those state provisions regulate conduct and intent, not altitude or airspace, which is why they sit alongside, rather than conflict with, the FAA's separate operating rules.
Can someone legally fly a drone over your house in West Virginia?
Not to spy on you. W. Va. Code section 61-16-2(a) makes it a crime to operate a drone to knowingly and intentionally capture photographs, video, or audio of another person or their private property without permission, in a manner that invades a reasonable expectation of privacy, and the statute expressly covers recording through a window or other structural opening. The same subsection separately bars using a drone to view, follow, or contact someone without permission in a way that invades their privacy, to harass a person, to violate a restraining order, to operate with willful wanton disregard for the safety of people or property, or to interfere with law enforcement or emergency medical personnel performing their duties. A violation is a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of $100 to $1,000, up to a year in jail, or both. The law does not reach a drone that merely passes overhead without capturing anything, and it exempts a property owner, the owner's agent, or a contractor hired by the owner who is surveilling the owner's own land, along with news organizations gathering news from at least 400 feet above ground.
West Virginia's targeted-facility rule: drones near critical infrastructure
A second layer of Article 61-16, added by the 2023 amendment, protects a defined list of sensitive sites. W. Va. Code section 61-16-1 defines a "targeted facility" by cross-reference to section 61-10-34's 23 categories of critical infrastructure, which include petroleum refineries, electrical power facilities, natural gas compressor stations, water intake and treatment plants, chemical manufacturing sites, military installations, health care facilities, commercial service airports, and rail yards, among others. The list does not include prisons, jails, or other correctional facilities. Under section 61-16-2(b), it is unlawful to operate a drone over or near a targeted facility to intentionally deploy any substance, material, projectile, or object; to conduct surveillance of the facility with intent to cause harm to it, the public, or any person; or to obtain the facility's trade secrets or other legally protected proprietary or government information. A violation carries the same misdemeanor penalty as the privacy offense: a $100 to $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. The 2024 discovery of a drone-based contraband-smuggling operation at a federal prison in McDowell County, which led to eleven arrests, shows the real-world drone-contraband problem West Virginia lawmakers have grappled with. It is not an example of the targeted-facility statute at work, though: section 61-10-34's critical-infrastructure list does not include prisons, jails, or other correctional facilities, so section 61-16-2(b) would not reach a drone flown over one. Alongside the federal guilty pleas for introducing contraband into FCI McDowell, McDowell County authorities also brought state charges, including unauthorized use of an unmanned aerial vehicle, introduction of contraband into a correctional facility, terroristic acts, and felony conspiracy, resting on West Virginia's general contraband and UAV statutes rather than the targeted-facility provision.
Armed drones and interfering with manned aircraft are felonies
Article 61-16 escalates sharply for two categories of conduct. Under W. Va. Code section 61-16-2(g), it is a felony to equip a drone with a deadly weapon or to operate an armed drone, other than for a lawful military purpose, punishable by a $1,000 to $5,000 fine and one to five years in a state correctional facility. Section 61-16-2(h) imposes the identical felony penalty range on anyone who operates a drone with the intent to cause damage to, or disrupt in any way, the flight of a manned aircraft. Both provisions apply regardless of whether the drone is also being used to violate the privacy or targeted-facility rules, so a single flight can trigger multiple charges.
Does West Virginia restrict drones for hunting?
Unlike a handful of neighboring and western states, West Virginia has not enacted a drone-specific hunting or wildlife-interference statute. A drone used to harass game, or to give a hunter an unlawful advantage, would be analyzed under the state's general wildlife and hunter-interference law rather than a provision written specifically for unmanned aircraft. Anyone considering using a drone in connection with hunting in West Virginia should confirm current Division of Natural Resources regulations directly, since agency rules can change independently of the criminal statutes discussed here.
Shooting down a drone is a federal crime, not a West Virginia right
Even where a drone is trespassing on private airspace or violating section 61-16-2's privacy rule, West Virginia law gives a landowner no authority to shoot it down or otherwise disable it. 18 U.S.C. section 32, the Aircraft Sabotage Act, makes it a federal felony, punishable by up to twenty years in prison, to willfully damage, destroy, or disable an aircraft, and the FAA has classified drones as aircraft within the National Airspace System since 2012. That exposure exists even over the shooter's own property, because the FAA, not the landowner, controls the airspace. Publicized cases in other states where local prosecutors declined to pursue state charges after a drone was shot down reflect discretionary charging decisions in those jurisdictions, not a legal right to disable a drone, and no state, including West Virginia, has enacted a law creating one.
Disclaimer
This article provides general legal information about West Virginia law governing drones, as verified on 2026-07-09. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Readers should consult a lawyer licensed in West Virginia for advice about a specific incident or dispute.
Related articles
Last updated: 2026-07-09. Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-09.
More West Virginia Laws
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to fly a drone over someone's house in West Virginia?
Flying over private property alone is not automatically illegal. W. Va. Code section 61-16-2(a) prohibits using a drone with intent to photograph, follow, or otherwise observe a person or their property without permission in a way that invades a reasonable expectation of privacy, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Can my neighbor use a drone to record into my windows in West Virginia?
No. Section 61-16-2(a) specifically covers capturing images, video, or audio through a window or other structural opening without permission, in a manner that invades a reasonable expectation of privacy.
What is a 'targeted facility' under West Virginia's drone law?
It is any critical infrastructure facility defined in W. Va. Code section 61-10-34, a list of 23 categories including power plants, water treatment facilities, refineries, health care facilities, commercial airports, and military installations. The list does not include prisons or jails. Flying a drone over a targeted facility to deploy objects, surveil with intent to harm, or steal trade secrets is a misdemeanor under section 61-16-2(b).
Is it a felony to arm a drone in West Virginia?
Yes. W. Va. Code section 61-16-2(g) makes equipping a drone with a deadly weapon a felony punishable by a $1,000 to $5,000 fine and one to five years in a state correctional facility, unless the operator is acting for a lawful military purpose.
Can I shoot down a drone flying over my property in West Virginia?
No West Virginia law authorizes this, and doing so risks a federal felony charge under 18 U.S.C. section 32 for damaging an aircraft, since the FAA controls the airspace regardless of who owns the land below.
Does West Virginia require police to get a warrant before using a drone?
Article 61-16 does not include a dedicated law-enforcement warrant provision comparable to some neighboring states. Section 61-16-2(d) exempts law enforcement acting within constitutional limits, meaning ordinary Fourth Amendment warrant requirements, rather than a separate state statutory warrant floor, govern police drone use.
Are there drone rules for hunting in West Virginia?
West Virginia has no drone-specific hunting statute. A drone used to harass wildlife or gain a hunting advantage would fall under the state's general wildlife and hunter-interference law; check current Division of Natural Resources regulations for specifics.
Updates
Removed a fabricated entry from the list of W. Va. Code section 61-10-34 'targeted facility' categories: correctional facilities are not on the statute's 23-item critical-infrastructure list. Also corrected the McDowell County drone-contraband case description to note the state charges pursued alongside the federal case, and clarified they rest on general statutes rather than the targeted-facility provision.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Corrected the FAQ on police drone warrants to cite W. Va. Code section 61-16-2(d), the actual law-enforcement exemption, instead of (a), which is the prohibited-conduct list; also fixed a KeyTakeaways citation range that incorrectly folded the law-enforcement exemption (d) and the misdemeanor penalty clause (f) into the owner/news-organization exemptions, which are actually (c) and (e).
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Reviewed and approved by an editor
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on 3 statutory provisions held in our own legal record, each retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
West Virginia Code
§ 34Critical Infrastructure Protection Act; prohibiting certain acts, including trespass and conspiracy to trespass against property designated a critical infrastructure facility; criminal penalties; and civil action.In forcecited in 2 of our articles
(a) This section may be referred to as the "West Virginia Critical Infrastructure Protection Act". (b) For purposes of this section: "Critical Infrastructure" means systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States of America or the State of West Virginia that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, state economic security, national public health or safety, state public health or safety, or any combination of those matters, whether such systems or assets are in operation or are under any state of construction.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-30 · Read the full section at code.wvlegislature.gov
Cited in 1 court opinionsMost recently applied by a court: 2025
Leading cases: Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC v. Wagner (District Court, N.D. West Virginia 2025)
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: How to Charge Someone With Trespassing
§ 1Definitions.In force
As used in this article: (1) "Aircraft" means any device now known or subsequently invented, used, or designed for flight in the air, including, but not limited to, unmanned aerial vehicles; (2) "Targeted facility" means a critical infrastructure facility, as defined in §61-10-34 of this Code. (3) "Unmanned aerial vehicles" means an aircraft that is operated without direct human intervention from inside or on the aircraft and includes the crewmember, the associated support equipment, the control station, data links, telemetry, communications, and navigation equipment necessary to operate the unmanned aircraft, including, but not limited to, drones; (4) "Unmanned aerial vehicle operator" or "operator" means a person exercising control over an unmanned aerial vehicle during flight.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-30 · Read the full section at code.wvlegislature.gov
§ 2Prohibited use of an unmanned aerial vehicle; criminal penalties.In forcecited in 3 of our articles
(a) Except as authorized by the provisions of this article, it is unlawful for any person to operate an unmanned aerial vehicle: (1) To knowingly and intentionally capture or take photographs, images, video, or audio of another person or the private property of another, without the other person’s permission, in a manner that would invade the individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy, including, but not limited to, capturing, or recording through a window; (2) To knowingly and intentionally view, follow, or contact another person or the private property of another without the other person’s permission in a manner that would invade the individual’s reasonable expectation of privacy, including, but not limited to, viewing, following, or contacting through a window; (3) To knowingly and intentionally harass another person; (4) To violate a restraining order or similar judicial order; (5) To act with a willful wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property; or (6) To knowingly and intentionally operate an unmanned aerial vehicle in a manner that interferes with the official duties of law enforcement personnel or emergency medical personnel.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-30 · Read the full section at code.wvlegislature.gov
Also relied on in: West Virginia Surveillance Camera Laws (2026 Guide)
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Sources and References
- W. Va. Code section 61-16-1, definitions (unmanned aerial vehicle, operator, targeted facility)(code.wvlegislature.gov).gov
- W. Va. Code section 61-16-2, prohibited use of an unmanned aerial vehicle; criminal penalties(code.wvlegislature.gov).gov
- W. Va. Code section 61-10-34, definition of critical infrastructure facility(code.wvlegislature.gov).gov
- West Virginia House Bill 3479 (2023), enrolled act amending Article 61-16 to add targeted-facility provisions(wvlegislature.gov).gov
- 18 U.S.C. section 32, Aircraft Sabotage Act (destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities)(law.cornell.edu)
- U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of West Virginia, Two More Defendants Plead Guilty to Roles in Scheme to Transport Contraband into FCI McDowell with Drone(justice.gov).gov
- WVVA, "Eleven charged, one suspect dead, in crime ring involving drones delivering contraband to a federal prison in McDowell County" (Feb. 16, 2024)(wvva.com)