Utah Drone Laws

Requires visual line of sight; prohibits operation in Class B, C, D airspace or Class E surface area without ATC authorization; prohibits flight over 400 feet AGL except within 400 feet of a structure; prohibits operation from public transit platforms or within 50 feet of transit guidelines; prohibits overflight of critical infrastructure facilities without facility authorization. Penalty escalation: first violation triggers written warning; subsequent violations are infractions; further violations are Class B misdemeanor.

Third-degree felony to operate drone to carry, drop, or remove items to/from a correctional facility. Class B misdemeanor to operate drone in manner that interferes with a correctional facility's operations or security. Carve-out for mosquito-abatement-district staff acting within their job (added 2026).

Class B misdemeanor to attach a weapon to a drone or operate a weaponized drone. Weapon includes firearms and any object capable of causing death, injury, or property damage. Exceptions: FAA certificate of authorization, state or federal government contract, Department of Defense airspace with permission.

Law enforcement generally prohibited from obtaining, receiving, or using drone-acquired data without a search warrant, recognized warrant exception, data from nongovernment source (with limits), or effort to locate missing person with no reasonable expectation of privacy. Agencies must destroy data as soon as reasonably possible and document drone use in official records. 2026 amendment (Chapter 118) narrowed the catch-all exception to data obtained without violating reasonable expectation of privacy.

Cities, counties, and political subdivisions are prohibited from enacting laws, ordinances, or rules governing private drone use. Supersedes any local drone ordinance enacted before July 1, 2022. Narrow exceptions: airport operators may regulate operations on airport property; land managers may set rules on property they control (state parks, federal lands).

Prohibited from operating drone in area under FAA wildfire temporary flight restriction or area designated as wildfire scene without incident commander permission. Four-tier penalty based on severity: baseline reckless operation; operation disrupting firefighting aircraft water/retardant drop or preventing takeoff; drone physical contact with manned aircraft; drone causing manned aircraft collision. Incident commander or chief law-enforcement officer may neutralize (disable, damage, jam, or take control of) violating drone.

Class B misdemeanor to use device (including drone) to observe, record, or broadcast events in private place without consent. Carve-out: not a violation if device is drone operated for legitimate commercial or educational purposes consistent with FAA rules and any capture is solely incidental to lawful use.

Class A misdemeanor to secretly record or photograph a person who has reasonable expectation of privacy. Applies to any technology including drones.

Third-degree felony to distribute, sell, or publish images obtained through voyeurism.

Defines critical infrastructure: petroleum and alumina refineries; electric generating facilities, substations, switching stations, control centers, power lines and equipment; chemical, polymer, rubber plants; water facilities; natural gas compressor stations, LNG terminals, storage; telecommunications and wireless infrastructure including cell towers; gas processing plants; ports; railroad switching yards, tracks, freight facilities; crude oil and refined-products production and pipeline facilities.

Unlawful to operate drone over private property that is not open to public without authorization from property owner.

Prohibited from intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly chasing, actively disturbing, or harming livestock through drone use.

Pre-empts local regulation of private drone use (see 72-10-701); exempts UAS from state aircraft registration; establishes LE warrant requirement and exceptions; criminalizes weapons-equipped drones (Class B misdemeanor); modifies criminal trespass to include drones; modifies voyeurism to include UAS; allows LE to use drones for missing person location and non-criminal investigation purposes; allows legitimate commercial/educational drone use to incidentally capture private areas without privacy violation.

Permits law enforcement agencies to use unmanned aircraft system to collect data at testing sites and to locate lost or missing persons in areas where no reasonable expectation of privacy exists.

Requires warrant for law enforcement agency to obtain, receive, or use data derived from drone/UAS operations.

Requires law enforcement to obtain warrant before using drone in place where individual has reasonable expectation of privacy.

Prohibited from using aircraft, drone, or airborne device between July 31 and January 31 to locate or attempt to locate protected wildlife. Prohibited from taking wildlife that has been chased, harassed, herded, or driven by drone.

Written permission or special-use permit required from park manager before operating unmanned aircraft in state park system. Commercial use requires separate Special Use Permit.

As of January 1, 2025, commercial unmanned aircraft system operators must obtain state registration certificate from UDOT Division of Aeronautics in addition to FAA registration. Fee structure determined by UDOT.

Prohibits Utah government entities and contractors from purchasing or operating drones made by covered foreign entities (manufacturers from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, including DJI and Autel) for critical infrastructure inspection. Allows use under specific data sanitization protocols (drone disconnected from internet during inspection, data removed before reconnecting, only NDAA-authorized software). Does not restrict private or commercial operators.