Missouri Commercial Drone Laws (Beyond the FAA)

Federal 14 CFR part 107 is the national floor for commercial small UAS. Missouri does not issue a separate state commercial drone license beyond a remote pilot certificate. What it adds—and what operators miss when they stop at Part 107—are criminal statutes near open-air entertainment venues, critical infrastructure, and correctional centers: RSMo §577.800, RSMo §217.850, and RSMo §569.086. This summarizes revisor.mo.gov text pulled 16 Sep 2026. It is a statute explainer, not legal advice. Confirm the current section before a job, and consult counsel when a flight sits over a stadium, plant, pipeline corridor, jail, or similar site.

Part 107 is the federal floor; Missouri adds place-based criminal rules

A remote pilot certificate, registration where required, Remote ID, and airspace authorization remain the federal baseline. Missouri commercial work still runs under Part 107 unless another FAA path applies. See Part 107 waiver basics and the sister post Arkansas commercial drone laws.

What changes the Missouri job file is not a state “drone license.” It is whether the flight intersects an open-air facility, a critical infrastructure facility, or a correctional center—and whether an exception or commercial carve-out covers the operator.

RSMo §577.800: open-air facilities and critical infrastructure

Section 577.800 creates the offense of unlawful use of unmanned aircraft over an open-air facility or critical infrastructure facility. On the revisor page pulled 16 Sep 2026, effective updates are listed as 6/12/2026 (H.B. 2637 & 3155) and 7/09/2026 (S.B. 1421).

Under §577.800.1, a person commits the offense if he or she purposely:

1. Operates an unmanned aircraft within a vertical distance of four hundred feet from the ground and within the property line of an open-air facility;
2. Uses an unmanned aircraft with the purpose of delivering to a person within an open-air facility any object described in subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection 4;
3. Uses an unmanned aircraft within the boundary of any critical infrastructure facility; or
4. Operates an unmanned aircraft within a vertical distance of four hundred feet from the ground and within the property line of a critical infrastructure facility in furtherance of any violation of criminal law.

Open-air facility means any sports, theater, music, performing arts, or other entertainment facility with a capacity of five hundred people or more and not completely enclosed by a roof or other structure (§577.800.2). Critical infrastructure facility has the same meaning as section 569.086 (§577.800.2).

Offense level (no invented dollar fines)

Under §577.800.4, the offense is an infraction unless the person uses an unmanned aircraft for:

• Delivering a gun, knife, weapon, or other article, including any explosive device or material, that may be used to endanger the life of an employee or guest — class B felony; or
• Delivering a controlled substance as defined under §195.010 — class D felony.

The statute text states those class labels. It does not set a dollar fine amount in §577.800 itself; this article does not invent one.

Signage

§577.800.5 requires each open-air facility or critical infrastructure facility to post a warning sign: at least eleven inches by fourteen inches, in a conspicuous place.

Permissible acts (§577.800.3)

The section does not prohibit operation by:

1. An employee, owner, or operator of the facility for monitoring, inspecting, operating, or maintaining it;
2. A person with written consent from the president or chief executive officer of the facility;
3. Law enforcement, fire department, or EMS employees in official duties;
4. A government official or employee in official duties;
5. A public utility or rural electric cooperative, subject to notice (except emergencies), inspection/repair purpose limits, and escort rules before physically entering the prohibited space;
6. A railroad employee in official duties on land owned or operated by a railroad corporation regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Commercial carve-out (§577.800.6)

Subsection 6 is the line commercial Part 107 operators should read carefully: the section shall not apply to an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is being used for a commercial purpose that is otherwise operating lawfully, provided the operator is authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct lawful operations in that airspace. That is a statutory carve-out for lawful commercial FAA-authorized work—not a license to ignore facility owner rules, airspace, or other crimes. Keep FAA authorization and job records with the flight file when this carve-out matters.

RSMo §217.850: correctional centers

Section 217.850 addresses unlawful use of unmanned aircraft over a correctional center. A person commits the offense if he or she purposely:

1. Operates an unmanned aircraft within a vertical distance of four hundred feet over a correctional center’s secure perimeter fence; or
2. Allows an unmanned aircraft to make contact with a correctional center, including any person or object on the premises of or within the facility.

“Correctional center” includes a correctional center as defined in §217.010, a private jail as defined in §221.095, and any county or municipal jail (§217.850.2).

Exceptions in §217.850.3 parallel the facility list in §577.800 (facility employee at the direction of the chief administrative officer; written consent from that officer; LE/fire/EMS; government officials; public utility/REC with notice rules; railroad employees) and add a person operating pursuant to and in compliance with any waiver issued under 14 C.F.R. §107.200 (the statute’s wording).

Under §217.850.4, the baseline offense is an infraction, with upgrades to:

• Class B felony for delivering a gun, knife, weapon, or other article that may endanger the life of an offender or correctional center employee;
• Class C felony for facilitating an escape from confinement under §575.210;
• Class D felony for delivering a controlled substance as defined under §195.010.

§217.850.5 again requires an 11×14 warning sign in a conspicuous place. As with §577.800, this summary does not invent dollar fines not stated in the section text.

RSMo §569.086: what “critical infrastructure facility” means

Section 569.086 both defines “critical infrastructure facility” and creates a trespass offense. Because §577.800 incorporates that definition, commercial operators mapping plants, corridors, and yards need the list—not a marketing paraphrase.

Under §569.086.1 (revisor.mo.gov, pull date 16 Sep 2026), the term covers facilities that are under construction or operational, including petroleum or alumina refineries; critical electric infrastructure (generation, substations, switching stations, control centers, lines); chemical, polymer, or rubber manufacturing; water and wastewater facilities; natural gas compressor stations; LNG terminals or storage; telecom switching and wireline/wireless networks (including cell towers and fiber); ports, rail yards/tracks, trucking terminals, and other freight facilities; gas processing plants; federally licensed radio/TV transmission facilities; electric-arc steelmaking; CFATS facilities; regulated dams; natural gas distribution facilities; crude oil or refined products storage and distribution; grain mills/processing; broadband networks and facilities; and listed aboveground oil, gas, hazardous-liquid, or chemical pipeline/tank/railroad/storage portions that are fenced, barriered, or clearly marked against trespassing. Read the full statutory list on the revisor page—do not invent facilities that are not in the text.

§569.086.2: purposely trespassing or entering property containing a critical infrastructure facility without the owner’s or lawful occupant’s permission is a class B misdemeanor. §569.086.3 preserves conduct protected under the U.S. or Missouri Constitutions or a state or federal law or rule. Confirm the current effective text on the revisor page before relying on any summary—including this one—especially around any listed effective-date updates on that page.

Practical takeaways for Missouri commercial operators

1. There is no separate Missouri commercial drone license beyond FAA Part 107 (and any other federal authorization that actually applies). Do not invent one in a bid or SOW.
2. Map the site type before launch. Stadium/theater/music venue capacity 500+ and not fully enclosed → open-air facility analysis under §577.800. Plant, pipeline, electric, water, telecom, port/rail, CFATS, dam, etc. → §569.086 definition and §577.800. Jail or correctional center → §217.850.
3. Read the commercial carve-out and the exceptions. §577.800.6 and the §577.800.3 / §217.850.3 lists are text-limited; written CEO/CAO consent and utility notice rules matter when they apply.
4. Do not invent fines. Cite offense classes as the statute states them. Dollar amounts belong only where the statute itself states them.
5. Keep Part 107 hygiene. Airspace authorization, Remote ID, and operational rules still apply. See Part 107 waiver basics.

Official sources (pull date 16 Sep 2026): §577.800, §217.850, §569.086, and 14 CFR part 107. Confirm the current text on revisor.mo.gov before relying on any summary. This article is not legal advice.