Texas Commercial Drone Laws (Not Just FAA)

Federal Part 107 tells you how to operate an unmanned aircraft in the national airspace. It does not wipe Texas’s own rules on what you may capture, possess, or publish with that aircraft. For commercial pilots working real estate, construction, energy, insurance, or survey jobs in Texas, the controlling state chapter is Texas Government Code Chapter 423 (Use of Unmanned Aircraft).

This article is an explainer of the statute text, not legal advice. Read the official chapter, confirm current language before a job, and talk to counsel when a flight plan sits near private property, critical infrastructure, or a large sports venue.

Chapter 423 is about images and conduct, not a second FAA certificate

Chapter 423 centers on image capture with intent to conduct surveillance, downstream possession and use of those images, selected overflight offenses, and a civil remedy for owners and tenants. Holding a remote pilot certificate and flying under Part 107 does not, by itself, authorize conduct that Chapter 423 makes unlawful. Treat the federal rules and the Texas chapter as separate layers that both apply to a commercial flight.

Federal Remote ID still applies on Part 107 jobs; see what Remote ID requires on a Part 107 flight.

§ 423.003: illegal capture for surveillance

Under Texas Government Code § 423.003(a), a person commits an offense if the person uses an unmanned aircraft to capture an image of an individual or privately owned real property in this state with the intent to conduct surveillance on the individual or property captured in the image. § 423.003(b) states that an offense under that section is a Class C misdemeanor.

§ 423.003(c) provides a defense if the person destroyed the image as soon as the person knew it was captured in violation of the section, and without disclosing, displaying, or distributing it to a third party. § 423.003(d) ties “intent” to the definition in Penal Code § 6.03.

The offense is not any commercial photo; it is capture of a person or private real property with surveillance intent. Confirm whether a § 423.002 lawful-use provision covers the capture.

§ 423.004: possession and downstream use of an illegally captured image

Texas Government Code § 423.004(a) makes it an offense to capture an image in violation of § 423.003 and possess, disclose, display, distribute, or otherwise use that image. Under § 423.004(b), possession is a Class C misdemeanor; disclosure, display, distribution, or other use is a Class B misdemeanor. § 423.004(c) treats each image as a separate offense.

Defenses in § 423.004(d)–(e) turn on destroying a possessed image, or stopping disclosure, display, distribution, or use, as soon as the person knew the capture violated § 423.003. Client deliverables are the risk surface when the upstream capture was unlawful.

§ 423.002: lawful-use carve-outs (not a blanket commercial exemption)

Texas Government Code § 423.002(a) lists when it is lawful to capture an image with an unmanned aircraft. It is not a general commercial exemption. A Part 107 job fits only if it matches a listed carve-out. Commercial-relevant examples include:

• Property-owner consent — § 423.002(a)(6): with the consent of the individual who owns or lawfully occupies the real property captured in the image.
• Electric / gas / telecom utility work — § 423.002(a)(5): capture by or for an electric or natural gas utility or a telecommunications provider for listed operations, maintenance, inspection, vegetation clearance, and routing/siting.
• Pipeline inspection and related safety — § 423.002(a)(16) (owner/operator inspection, maintenance, or repair of pipelines or related facilities, without surveillance intent) and § 423.002(a)(17) (oil pipeline safety and rig protection).
• Texas licensed real estate broker marketing — § 423.002(a)(13): broker capture for marketing, sale, or financing, provided no individual is identifiable in the image.
• Registered professional land surveyor — § 423.002(a)(19): RPLS capture in connection with professional surveying, provided no individual is identifiable.
• Licensed professional engineer — § 423.002(a)(20): PE capture in connection with the practice of engineering, provided no individual is identifiable.
• Insurance underwriting / adjusting — § 423.002(a)(21): insurance employee capture for underwriting, rating, or adjusting, and the operator is FAA-authorized for that airspace.
• Public real property — § 423.002(a)(15): images of public real property or a person on that property.

If the job does not match a listed carve-out, do not invent one. Consent, a qualifying professional role, or a utility/pipeline path are the usual doors—not a Part 107 certificate alone.

§ 423.0045 and § 423.0046: critical infrastructure and sports venues

Separate from the image-surveillance offenses, Chapter 423 also creates overflight offenses.

Critical infrastructure — § 423.0045. A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly (1) operates an unmanned aircraft over a critical infrastructure facility at not higher than 400 feet AGL, (2) allows contact with the facility (including any person or object on the premises), or (3) comes close enough to interfere with operations or cause a disturbance. “Critical infrastructure facility” is defined in § 423.0045(a)(1-a) (refineries, electric facilities, chemical plants, water/wastewater sites, compressor stations, LNG terminals, telecom switching, ports/freight terminals, gas processing, certain dams, CAFOs, enclosed oil/gas/chemical pipeline and production sites, and other listed facilities).

§ 423.0045(d): Class B misdemeanor, or Class A with a prior conviction under § 423.0045 or § 423.0046. § 423.0045(c) nonapplicability includes government/law-enforcement actors, owners/operators and contractors, prior written consent, and a commercial-purpose operator who complies with applicable FAA rules and required authorizations (§ 423.0045(c)(5)). That clause does not rewrite §§ 423.003–423.004 image rules.

Sports venues — § 423.0046. A “sports venue” is an arena, racetrack, coliseum, stadium, or similar facility with seating capacity of 30,000 or more primarily used for sports or athletics events. § 423.0046(b): intentionally or knowingly operating over such a venue at not higher than 400 feet AGL is an offense. § 423.0046(d): Class B, or Class A with a prior under § 423.0046 or § 423.0045. Nonapplicability under § 423.0046(c) again includes a commercial FAA-compliant path (§ 423.0046(c)(5)), plus owners/operators, contractors, written consent, and government/law-enforcement actors.

§ 423.006: civil action by owner or tenant

Criminal exposure is not the only risk. Under § 423.006(a), an owner or tenant of privately owned real property may sue a person who, in violation of § 423.003, captured an image of the property or of the owner or tenant while on the property. Relief includes an injunction; a civil penalty of $5,000 for all images captured in a single episode in violation of § 423.003, or $10,000 for disclosure, display, distribution, or other use in a single episode in violation of § 423.004; and actual damages if disclosure, display, or distribution is with malice (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 41.001).

§ 423.006(d) requires the court to award court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. § 423.006(f) sets a two-year limitations period from capture (for § 423.003) or from initial disclosure, display, distribution, or use (for § 423.004).

Practical takeaway for Texas commercial flights

Map the job to a § 423.002 lawful-use path before launch. Do not treat Part 107 alone as permission under §§ 423.003–423.004. Near listed critical infrastructure or large sports venues, read §§ 423.0045–423.0046, including the commercial nonapplicability clauses that still require FAA compliance. Remember the § 423.006 civil track for owners and tenants.

Official statute text: Texas Government Code Chapter 423. Confirm the current chapter before relying on any summary, including this one.