Louisiana drone laws

Louisiana has one central drone crime, La. R.S. 14:337, built around a list of protected places rather than around privacy in general. It also has something most states lack: an express statewide preemption statute, La. R.S. 2:2, which gives the state exclusive jurisdiction to regulate unmanned aircraft and supersedes conflicting parish and municipal rules. For a Part 107 operator that combination is unusually workable — one body of law, not a parish-by-parish patchwork.

The detail that matters most sits in subsection D of § 337. The section "shall not apply to" any person operating an unmanned aircraft system in compliance with federal law or FAA authorization or regulations. That is a broad carve-out written into the offense itself, and lawful Part 107 work sits outside much of the statute by its own terms. It is not a license to fly over a prison or a refinery without asking: the statute still sets out separate written-consent regimes for those places, and written consent is what you want in the file.

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 Louisiana gets a say

The FAA holds exclusive authority over aviation safety and the efficient use of the navigable airspace. Its State and Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fact Sheet (14 July 2023) sets the boundary: states and localities may not prescribe flight altitudes, flight paths, aerial routes, mandatory geofencing, or any pilot licensing regime on top of the federal certificate.

What states may do is regulate in their ordinary police-power fields — land use and zoning, privacy, voyeurism, harassment, trespass, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, prison contraband, and photography of particular facilities such as water treatment plants, prisons, refineries and energy infrastructure. That list reads like the table of contents of La. R.S. 14:337. States may also regulate where an aircraft takes off and lands and where the operator stands.

Commercial operators are more exposed to preemption than hobbyists, 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. Louisiana acknowledges the federal framework in R.S. 2:2, which provides that nothing in the section preempts the exclusive sovereignty of United States airspace under 49 U.S.C. 40103, and that any provision preempted by federal law is null. The state's "exclusive jurisdiction" is therefore exclusive as against parishes and cities, not as against the FAA.

Louisiana's drone-specific laws

La. R.S. 14:337 — unlawful use of an unmanned aircraft system. The offense has three branches. First, intentionally using a UAS to conduct surveillance of, gather evidence about, or record a "targeted facility" without the prior written consent of its owner — meaning petroleum and alumina refineries, chemical and rubber manufacturing facilities, nuclear power electric generation facilities, schools and school premises as defined in R.S. 14:40.6(B), critical infrastructure as defined in R.S. 14:61(B), and grain elevators and grain storage facilities. Second, intentionally using a UAS over the grounds of the governor's mansion or any state or local jail, prison or other correctional facility, without the express written consent of the person in charge. Third, using a UAS to surveil, record or interfere with a federal or state military installation, facility, aircraft, ship, vehicle or weapon system without prior written consent from the commander.

Penalties are graded by branch. A first targeted-facility conviction carries not more than five hundred dollars or six months, or both, rising on a second to five hundred to four thousand dollars or six months to two years, with or without hard labor, or both, plus forfeiture. A first correctional-facility conviction carries not more than two thousand dollars or six months, or both; a second, two thousand to five thousand dollars or up to one year, with or without hard labor, or both. The military-installation offense carries two thousand to five thousand dollars and hard labor for not more than five years, plus forfeiture. Subsection A(2) provides that the aircraft is seized on arrest or summons, or by court order.

Four exclusions are worth knowing. Subsection C protects using a drone to record your own property, on your own immovable property or on property held under a valid lease, servitude, right-of-way, right of use, permit or license, and extends that to third persons retained by the owner — which is how contracted inspection and survey work over a client's property fits. Subsection D excludes anyone operating in compliance with federal law or FAA authorization or regulations, anyone engaged in agricultural commercial operations as defined in R.S. 3:41, and higher-education research and teaching under university-sanctioned initiatives. Subsection F excludes motion picture, television and similar production where the property owner authorizes the filming.

Subsection G lets law enforcement take mitigation measures — detection, tracking, jamming, hacking or physical capture — against a UAS operating in a "nefarious manner," but only on reasonable suspicion that it is involved in criminal activity, threatens public safety, or is otherwise operating unlawfully. The section's history note records amendments through Acts 2025, Nos. 23 and 170, so check it each season.

La. R.S. 2:2 — statewide preemption. The state has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate all unmanned aircraft systems and unmanned aerial systems, and state law supersedes any rule, code or ordinance of a political subdivision, subject to the federal savings clauses above. This is why you will not find enforceable parish drone codes layered on § 337.

La. R.S. 14:283 — video voyeurism. Louisiana wrote drones into its voyeurism statute explicitly. Video voyeurism includes using "an unmanned aircraft system equipped with any camera, videotape, photo-optical, photo-electric, or any other image recording device" to observe, view, photograph, film or videotape a person who has not consented, where the act is for a lewd or lascivious purpose or involves the intimate conduct described in subsection B(3) somewhere an identifiable person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. A first conviction carries not more than two thousand dollars or imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for not more than two years, or both, with heavier grades for the conduct in B(3) and B(4). A violation is also a sex offense under R.S. 15:541, carrying registration. Subsection H exempts any bona fide news or public interest broadcast, website, video, report or event, and preserves the rights of news-gathering organizations.

La. R.S. 3:43 to 3:47 — agricultural drone work is licensed. If you fly in the course of an agricultural commercial operation, Louisiana runs a separate scheme through the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. R.S. 3:43 requires a license from the department, conditioned on completing an agricultural education and safety training course administered by the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service or the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and requires each aircraft to be registered; licenses and registrations last three years. R.S. 3:44(B)(2) adds that contracted or hired personnel may fly on private property only with the landowner's written permission, and (B)(3) and (4) restrict the resulting data to the agricultural operation or associated university research and leave it the landowner's property absent written approval for other uses. Under R.S. 3:47 the commissioner may impose a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars per violation after an adjudicatory hearing, each day counting separately.

Where you can and cannot take off

State parks. The Louisiana Office of State Parks states that personal drone usage is allowed at state park properties, asks operators to be mindful of other guests, and asks you to contact historic sites in advance so a flight does not interfere with programming. Crucially for this audience, it states that "commercial drone usage at Louisiana State Parks properties must be approved in advance by the Assistant Secretary." Build that into the schedule; it is not arranged at the gate. The agency also has a 2018 Drone/UAV Policy, but do not cite it at a ranger: it restricts drone use "to OSP employees over land and facilities managed by the Office of State Parks." I did not locate a codified state parks drone rule in the Louisiana Administrative Code, so treat the Assistant Secretary's written approval as the operative permission.

Wildlife management areas and refuges. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries states plainly that "operation of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is prohibited on refuges, WMAs, and WCAs." The department has also published a notice of intent that would codify the same sentence for department-administered lands at LAC 76:III.113; this page could not confirm whether that rule is final, so rely on the department's stated prohibition and ask the district office before planning a launch on LDWF land.

Private property. Because R.S. 2:2 removes local drone ordinances from the picture, the ground rules are mostly ordinary property law: you need permission to stand and launch where you stand and launch, and much of § 337 turns on the property owner's written consent in any event.

What still applies everywhere

Louisiana changes none of the federal rules. You still need a remote pilot certificate, an FAA-registered aircraft, and compliance with Part 107: 400 feet above ground level or within 400 feet of a structure, visual line of sight, three statute miles of flight visibility, cloud clearance of 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally, and authorization before operating in controlled airspace. Given how much of § 337 turns on being "in compliance with federal law or Federal Aviation Administration authorization or regulations," staying inside Part 107 does double duty here. New to it? Start with how to get a drone license, then LAANC authorization and TFRs and special use airspace.

Frequently asked questions

Can a parish or city in Louisiana write its own drone ordinance?

Generally no. La. R.S. 2:2 gives the state exclusive jurisdiction to regulate unmanned aircraft systems and provides that state law supersedes and preempts any rule, regulation, code or ordinance of a political subdivision or other unit of local government. The section also states it does not preempt federal airspace sovereignty under 49 U.S.C. 40103.

Does the Part 107 exemption in § 337 mean I can film a refinery?

Read it narrowly. Subsection D says the section does not apply to a person operating in compliance with federal law or FAA authorization or regulations, but subsection A still frames refinery surveillance as an offense absent the owner's prior written consent. If a refinery, school, grain elevator or critical infrastructure site is the subject of the flight, get written consent.

What about filming for television or a film production?

La. R.S. 14:337(F) provides that the section does not apply to unmanned aircraft systems used for motion picture, television or similar production where the filming is authorized by the property owner. The authorization is the condition, so keep the property owner's written permission with the production paperwork rather than relying on the exclusion alone.

Do I need a Louisiana license to fly agricultural jobs?

If the work is an agricultural commercial operation, yes. R.S. 3:43 requires a license from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry after completing an agricultural education and safety training course through the LSU or Southern University extension services, and requires the aircraft to be registered with the department. Licenses and registrations run three years.

Can I fly a job on a Louisiana wildlife management area?

No. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries states that operation of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles is prohibited on refuges, wildlife management areas and wildlife conservation areas. That is a land-management rule about where you may launch and operate on department property, and it is separate from anything in § 337. Ask the district office before planning around it.

Return to the state drone law index, or check your federal knowledge with the Part 107 practice test.

Sources

• FAA, State and Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Fact Sheet, 14 July 2023
• La. R.S. 14:337, Unlawful use of an unmanned aircraft system
• La. R.S. 2:2, Regulation of unmanned aerial systems and unmanned aircraft systems; preemption
• La. R.S. 14:283, Video voyeurism; penalties
• La. R.S. 3:43, 3:44 and 3:47, Unmanned aerial systems in agricultural commercial operations
• Louisiana Office of State Parks, Frequently Asked Questions
• Louisiana Office of State Parks, Drone/UAV Policy, 5 March 2018 — an internal policy for agency employees
• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, State Wildlife Refuge — drone prohibition on refuges, WMAs and WCAs
• Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, Notice of Intent: Responsibilities, Duties, and Regulations — Access and Permits (LAC 76:III) — proposed §113, Prohibited Activities