Indiana drone laws

What Indiana actually regulates, what federal law settles before the state gets a say, and what that leaves you to check before a commercial flight.

State drone law changes every legislative session. This page cites the statutes as read on the date shown below and is not legal advice — verify against the current statute before you fly.

Indiana is often written up as a state whose drone statutes are aimed at somebody else. That is half true and badly misleading. The two best-known provisions really do target other people: the warrant requirement in IC 35-33-5-9 restricts police, and IC 35-46-8.5-1 — routinely mislabeled online as Indiana's "drone privacy law" — is mostly about placing an unattended camera or a tracking device on someone's property.

But Indiana also has three offenses written specifically for civilian drone operators, and those are the ones a working pilot needs: remote aerial voyeurism, remote aerial harassment, and public safety remote aerial interference. All three are Class A misdemeanors that become Level 6 felonies on a prior conviction. Add the hunting restriction in IC 14-22-6-16 and a Department of Natural Resources rule that bars taking off from or landing on DNR property, and you have Indiana's real map: what you point the camera at, how you behave around people and property, and where you put the aircraft on the ground.

State drone law changes frequently. This page was last checked on 25 August 2026; verify against the current statute before you fly.

What federal law settles before Indiana gets a say

The FAA holds exclusive authority over aviation safety and the efficient use of the navigable airspace. Its 2023 fact sheet on state and local regulation of UAS explains the split. A state or city may not set flight altitudes, prescribe flight paths, designate aerial routes, mandate geofencing, or impose a pilot licensing regime of its own.

Outside those fields, states retain real authority. The fact sheet's own list of permissible subjects includes land use and zoning, privacy, voyeurism, harassment, trespass, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, delivery of prison contraband, wildfire suppression, search and rescue, and photography of particular facilities. States may also decide where an aircraft may take off and land, and where the operator may stand — which is exactly the authority Indiana's DNR exercises on its own properties.

Commercial operators are more exposed to preemption, not less. The Airline Deregulation Act preempts state laws related to the prices, routes or services of an operator with economic authority to provide interstate transportation, so a restriction lawful against a hobbyist can be preempted as applied to a paid Part 107 job. The practical question in Indiana is rarely "may I fly here." It is "may I take off here, and what am I pointing the camera at."

Indiana's drone-specific laws

Citations below are to the 2026 edition of the Indiana Code as published by the Indiana General Assembly.

IC 35-31.5-2-342.3 — definition. "Unmanned aerial vehicle" means an aircraft that does not carry a human operator and that is capable of flight under remote control or autonomous programming. It expressly includes an unmanned aircraft and an unmanned aircraft system as defined in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, and a small unmanned aircraft and small unmanned aircraft system as defined in 14 CFR 107.3. If you fly under Part 107, you are inside this definition.

IC 35-45-4-5 — remote aerial voyeurism. Subsection (g) makes it a Class A misdemeanor to operate a UAV, with the intent to peep, in a manner intended to bring the aircraft into the space above or surrounding another person's occupied dwelling, to capture images, video or audio of that person inside the dwelling, or on the land or premises where the dwelling sits and in a location not visible from an area open to the general public or where a member of the public has the right to be. "Peep" is defined in the section as any looking of a clandestine, surreptitious, prying or secretive nature, or using a concealed camera with intent to capture an intimate image. Subsection (h) raises the offense to a Level 6 felony on a prior unrelated conviction under the section, or if the operator publishes, posts online, transmits or disseminates the images.

IC 35-45-10-6 — remote aerial harassment. A Class A misdemeanor, and a Level 6 felony on a prior unrelated conviction, committed by operating a UAV in a manner intended to subject another person to harassment; over another person's property without consent and with intent to harass, disturb or injure an individual or animal or to damage or disturb a crop; by dispersing any substance from a UAV onto another person's property without consent; or by recklessly, knowingly or intentionally operating over another's property without consent in a manner that interferes with or endangers another aircraft or UAV. It is a defense that the act resulted from a mechanical or electronic failure or was necessary to avoid a greater harm; for the substance-dispersal limb there is a further defense of unintentional overspray where reasonable good faith precautions were taken.

IC 35-44.1-4-10 — public safety remote aerial interference. A Class A misdemeanor, and a Level 6 felony on a prior unrelated conviction, committed by operating a UAV in a manner intended to obstruct or interfere with a law enforcement officer (including a correctional officer), a firefighter, an emergency medical person, or a member of a search and rescue team or mission, while that individual is performing or attempting to perform official duties. If you cover breaking news or incident scenes, read this one before you launch.

IC 35-33-5-9 and IC 35-33-5-10 — police warrant requirement. An officer must obtain a search warrant to use a UAV on or over private property, or to search, surveil, photograph or video private property or the individuals, items or structures on it, without the owner's consent. No warrant is required where one would not be required for an equivalent non-drone search. Evidence obtained in violation, and evidence derived from it, is inadmissible. This constrains police, not you.

IC 35-46-8.5-1 — unlawful surveillance. Under the heading "Unlawful photography, surveillance, and tracking on private property," subsection (c) makes it a Class A misdemeanor to knowingly or intentionally place a camera or electronic surveillance equipment that records images or data while unattended on the private property of another without the owner's or tenant's consent, or to place a tracking device on an individual or on property they own or use without their knowledge or consent. Subsection (d) raises it to a Level 6 felony on certain prior convictions or where the person is subject to a protective order; subsection (a) exempts a list of situations, including warranted or consented law enforcement placements. Worth knowing: IC 35-31.5-2-337.6 defines "tracking device" to include an unmanned aerial vehicle. The operative verb is still "places," which does not naturally describe an aircraft in flight — but do not treat a drone as categorically outside this section.

IC 35-46-1-15.1 — invasion of privacy. Violating a protective order is invasion of privacy, and subsection (b) provides that it is not a defense that the accused used or operated a UAV in committing the violation. A drone does not put distance between you and a no-contact order.

Prisons and sex offender conditions. IC 35-44.1-3-5 makes trafficking with an inmate expressly cover delivering, carrying or receiving articles at a penal or juvenile facility "through the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle" — a Class A misdemeanor, and a Level 5 felony where the article is a controlled substance, chemical intoxicant, deadly weapon or wireless communications device. IC 35-44.1-3-6 carries the same UAV language for trafficking with an inmate outside a facility. IC 35-42-4-12.5 separately makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a sex offender to operate a UAV to follow, contact or capture images of individuals while subject to a supervision condition prohibiting that conduct.

IC 14-22-6-16 — drones and hunting. From fourteen days before the hunting season for a particular wild animal species until legal hunting hours expire on the last day of that season, a person may not knowingly use a UAV to search for, scout, locate or detect a wild animal of that species as an aid to taking it. Subsection (d) permits using a UAV with infrared abilities to locate and recover a legally taken animal, but does not authorize entering another person's property, or recovering an animal from it, without the landowner's permission. The section exempts the DNR and its designees, government employees and agents on official duties, educational and research institutions acting for bona fide purposes, veterinary assistance to a specific wild animal, and monitoring of agricultural production or nuisance wild animals.

Where you can and cannot take off

The rule that matters most day to day is administrative, not statutory. Under 312 IAC 8-2-8(i), a person must not land, taxi, take off, park or moor an airborne human transportation device, and must not knowingly land, taxi, take off, park or moor on DNR property an unmanned motor-driven airborne device. The Department of Natural Resources summarizes it on its own site: motor-driven airborne devices including drones may not be operated at DNR properties except at sites designated for that purpose. Licenses to launch and film may occasionally be granted by DNR or a specific division, an FAA license and proof of insurance may be required, and requests go to the property manager at the site concerned.

Note the shape of that rule. It is about landing, taxiing, taking off, parking and mooring — the ground contact — which is precisely the authority the FAA fact sheet says a state may exercise on its own land. It does not purport to close the airspace above a state park.

On local ordinances, be careful. Indiana has no express statewide preemption of local drone rules. A search of the 2026 Indiana Code for "unmanned aerial" and "unmanned aircraft" returns matches only in Title 35 (criminal law) and Title 14 (natural resources); Title 36 (local government) and Title 8 (utilities and transportation) contain none. Check the municipal code where you are working rather than assuming a city rule is void.

What still applies everywhere

Indiana changes none of the federal baseline. You need a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating and a registered aircraft. The 400-foot ceiling, visual line of sight, three statute miles of flight visibility and the Part 107 cloud clearances are unchanged. Controlled airspace still needs authorization — see airspace classes explained and LAANC authorization, and check TFRs and special use airspace. If you do not hold the certificate yet, start with how to get a drone license.

Frequently asked questions

Does Indiana have a law against flying a drone over my neighbor's yard?

It has two that could reach it. IC 35-45-10-6 makes it remote aerial harassment to fly over another person's property without consent with intent to harass, disturb or injure a person or animal. IC 35-45-4-5(g) makes it remote aerial voyeurism to fly above or around an occupied dwelling with the intent to peep. Ordinary overflight without those intents is not covered.

Can Indiana police use a drone to look at my property?

Only with a warrant or consent, in most cases. IC 35-33-5-9 requires a search warrant to use a UAV on or over private property, or to search, surveil, photograph or video private property or people and structures on it, unless a warrant would not have been required for an equivalent non-drone search. Evidence gathered in violation is inadmissible under IC 35-33-5-10.

Can I launch a drone from an Indiana state park?

Generally no. 312 IAC 8-2-8(i) prohibits knowingly landing, taxiing, taking off, parking or mooring an unmanned motor-driven airborne device on DNR property, and DNR states that drones may not be operated at DNR properties except at designated sites. Licenses to launch and film are occasionally granted; ask the property manager at that specific site.

Can I film a fire or a crash scene in Indiana?

Be careful. IC 35-44.1-4-10 makes it public safety remote aerial interference — a Class A misdemeanor, and a Level 6 felony on a prior conviction — to operate a UAV in a manner intended to obstruct or interfere with a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical person, or search and rescue team member performing official duties. Check for a temporary flight restriction as well.

Does Indiana require its own drone license or registration?

No. Indiana has not created a state remote pilot certificate or a state drone registry, and its statutory definition of "unmanned aerial vehicle" borrows directly from 14 CFR 107.3. Your FAA remote pilot certificate and FAA aircraft registration are what you carry.

Return to the state drone law index.

Sources

Neighboring states

Ohio Illinois Michigan

Federal rules are the ones tested.

No state changes the 400-foot ceiling, visual line of sight, or the certificate itself. Those are what the Part 107 exam asks about.

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