Wyoming
Wyoming Drone Laws (2026): Trespass, Infrastructure & Hunting
Wyoming overrode a governor's veto in 2025 to criminalize drone flights over critical infrastructure and to add a new penalty for flying a drone low enough to interfere with a landowner's use of their property, on top of a long-standing ban on using drones to hunt.
This guide is part of our Drone Laws by State series.
Information last verified on 2026-07-09. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses Wyoming state law governing drones: the 2025 critical-infrastructure statute at W.S. 19-13-503, the amended low-altitude interference penalty at W.S. 10-4-303, the hunting restriction at W.S. 23-3-306, 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 sets the airspace rules; Wyoming's 2025 law targets specific ground-level harms
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. Wyoming had almost no drone-specific statute layered on top of that federal baseline until 2025, when a wave of unexplained drone sightings over energy infrastructure pushed the legislature to act twice in a single bill: once to protect critical infrastructure directly, and once to add real teeth to an existing aviation-trespass statute that already covered unmanned aircraft.
Wyoming's new critical-infrastructure drone law
Senate File 132, enacted as Wyoming Senate Enrolled Act No. 58 for the 2025 general session, created W.S. 19-13-503. The statute bars operating a drone over or near "critical infrastructure" or a defined "critical system" to intentionally photograph it, intentionally loiter over or near it, or further any other criminal offense, and separately bars flying a drone carrying an explosive device near one. "Critical system" covers petroleum refineries, electric generation facilities and substations, transmission lines of 69,000 volts or more, water treatment facilities, natural gas infrastructure, railroads, courts, jails, military installations, hospitals with air ambulance service, and mining or chemical manufacturing sites. A first violation is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine; a second or subsequent violation is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The law exempts FAA-authorized operators, government entities using their own drones, the facility owner or the owner's agent, emergency responders, and private landowners flying over their own property.
Law enforcement and the National Guard can disable a violating drone
Unusually among state drone statutes, W.S. 19-13-503(e) authorizes a peace officer to take or authorize "reasonable actions," expressly including disabling, damaging, or removing a drone, to stop a violation of the critical-infrastructure statute. Subsection (f) lets the governor order the Wyoming National Guard to assist, and subsection (g) requires the attorney general to represent guard members and officers in any resulting litigation. Governor Mark Gordon vetoed the bill in February 2025, warning that federal law preempts this kind of state-authorized drone interdiction. The legislature overrode his veto by a 23-8 Senate vote on March 4, 2025, and the law took effect immediately. The dispute has not been tested in court as of this writing, and it illustrates a live tension between a state's interest in protecting its infrastructure and the federal government's exclusive authority over the airspace.
A new penalty for low-altitude drone flights over private land
The same 2025 act also amended W.S. 10-4-303, Wyoming's long-standing statute on low or dangerous aircraft flight, which already defined "aircraft" to include unmanned aircraft. Subsection (a) has for years made it unlawful to fly at such a low altitude that the flight interferes with a landowner's existing use of their land or water, or to fly in a manner imminently dangerous to people or property lawfully present. The 2025 amendment added subsection (d), a criminal penalty specific to unmanned aircraft: a person who operates a drone in violation of subsection (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $750 fine. This is a different, and now enforceable, standard from the bright-line 200-foot altitude threshold a separate 2022 bill, HB0128, would have created; that bill was not considered for introduction and never became law, even though some sources online describe a 200-foot rule as if it were enacted.
Mystery drones over the Jim Bridger Power Plant drove the 2025 law
The 2025 legislation did not emerge in a vacuum. Beginning in late 2024, the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office started fielding reports of coordinated, lighted, drone-like objects flying in formation over the Jim Bridger Power Plant and the surrounding Red Desert at night, sightings that continued into 2025 and 2026 without a confirmed explanation. Sheriff John Grossnickle's office worked with state and federal partners but told local media that no agency had provided answers about the objects' origin. At least six other Wyoming county sheriffs reported similar unexplained drone activity near sensitive sites in the same period. State Senator Stacy Jones, who represents Sweetwater County, sponsored Senate File 132 after her local sheriff's office raised the sightings with her, giving the statute a direct origin story in an unresolved local incident rather than a generic policy trend.
Can you use a drone to hunt in Wyoming?
No. W.S. 23-3-306 bars using an aircraft, other than to take predatory animals, to harass, pursue, hunt, shoot, or kill Wyoming wildlife, and separately bars using an aircraft to aid in taking wildlife by spotting, locating, or communicating with a hunter on the ground. According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, a 2023 law, SF0033, updated the statute's aircraft definition, effective July 1, 2023, to state expressly that "aircraft" includes "any machine or device capable of atmospheric flight including but not limited to an airplane, helicopter, glider, dirigible or unmanned aerial vehicle," closing any ambiguity about whether the older statute reached drones. A violation is classified as a high misdemeanor under W.S. 23-6-202(a)(ii), which can carry license suspension in addition to standard criminal penalties. The statute exempts government agencies, employees, and contractors performing lawful duties.
Shooting down a drone is a federal crime, not a Wyoming right
Even with Wyoming's new critical-infrastructure and low-altitude statutes, no state law gives an ordinary landowner the right to shoot down or disable a drone over their own property; that authority under W.S. 19-13-503(e) belongs only to peace officers responding to a critical-infrastructure violation. 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 applies even over the shooter's own ranch or property, because the FAA, not the landowner, controls the airspace, regardless of how low the drone was flying or whether it violated Wyoming's own statutes.
Disclaimer
This article provides general legal information about Wyoming 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 Wyoming for advice about a specific incident or dispute.
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Last updated: 2026-07-09. Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-09.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to fly a drone over private property in Wyoming?
It can be. W.S. 10-4-303(d), added in 2025, makes it a misdemeanor to fly a drone at such a low altitude that it interferes with the landowner's existing use of the property, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $750 fine.
Does Wyoming have a 200-foot drone trespass law?
No. A 2022 bill that would have created a bright-line 200-foot altitude threshold, HB0128, was not considered for introduction and never became law, despite some online sources describing it as enacted. No confirmed successor bill has passed since.
What is Wyoming's critical-infrastructure drone law?
W.S. 19-13-503, created in 2025, makes it a misdemeanor, and a felony on repeat, to fly a drone over critical infrastructure like a power plant, refinery, or jail to photograph it, loiter over it, or carry an explosive near it.
Can Wyoming police shoot down a drone?
Yes, in a narrow circumstance. W.S. 19-13-503(e) lets a peace officer take reasonable action, including disabling or damaging a drone, to stop a violation of the critical-infrastructure statute, and the governor may deploy the National Guard to assist under subsection (f).
Can I shoot down a drone over my own property in Wyoming?
No Wyoming law gives an ordinary landowner that authority, 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.
Is it illegal to use a drone to hunt in Wyoming?
Yes. W.S. 23-3-306 bars using a drone, defined as an aircraft since a 2023 update, to locate, herd, or otherwise aid in taking wildlife, other than predatory animals. A violation is a high misdemeanor.
Why did Wyoming pass its 2025 drone law?
Unexplained, coordinated drone sightings over the Jim Bridger Power Plant and other sensitive sites in Sweetwater County and elsewhere, beginning in late 2024, prompted Senator Stacy Jones to sponsor Senate File 132 after her local sheriff's office raised the issue.
Did the governor support Wyoming's 2025 drone law?
No. Governor Mark Gordon vetoed Senate File 132 in February 2025, citing federal preemption concerns, but the legislature overrode the veto by a 23-8 Senate vote on March 4, 2025, and the law took effect immediately.
Updates
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Reviewed and approved by an editor
Sources and References
- Wyoming Senate Enrolled Act No. 58 (Senate File 132, 2025 General Session), creating W.S. 19-13-503 and amending W.S. 10-4-303 and 19-9-207(wyoleg.gov).gov
- National Agricultural Law Center, States' Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Laws: Wyoming (reproducing W.S. 10-1-101, 10-3-201, 10-3-301, and 10-4-303)(nationalaglawcenter.org)
- Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Several new laws will have an impact on wildlife and hunting (SF0033 aircraft/UAV definition update to W.S. 23-3-306, effective July 1, 2023)(wgfd.wyo.gov).gov
- Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Wyoming Harassment Statutes (W.S. 23-3-306 high misdemeanor classification under W.S. 23-6-202(a)(ii))(fishwildlife.org)
- Cowboy State Daily, Wyoming Legislature Overrides Governor's Mystery Drone Veto(cowboystatedaily.com)
- Cowboy State Daily, Mystery Drones, Or Maybe UFOs, Over Sweetwater County Are 'The New Normal'(cowboystatedaily.com)
- 18 U.S.C. section 32, Aircraft Sabotage Act (destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities)(law.cornell.edu)