Massachusetts drone laws

Massachusetts has no drone statute. Not a narrow one, not a privacy one, not a preemption one. A keyword search of the General Laws on the Legislature's own site returns nothing for "drone" and nothing for "unmanned aircraft"; the only three hits for "unmanned" sit in the banking and credit-union chapters, at c. 167B, § 3, c. 167C, § 12 and c. 171, § 8A, and concern unmanned electronic branches. Bills have been filed and none has become law. So the honest answer to "what does Massachusetts law say about flying commercially" is: almost nothing, directly.

That absence has a consequence, and it is the opposite of freedom. Because there is no state statute, there is also no state preemption clause, so Massachusetts cities and towns write their own drone rules and those rules are live law until somebody challenges them. Massachusetts is also where the first federal court decision on local drone regulation came down — Singer v. City of Newton — which struck four provisions of a municipal ordinance as preempted, and expressly noted that nothing stopped Newton from redrafting. The practical Massachusetts questions are therefore: what does the town where you are launching say, and does the parcel belong to the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

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 Massachusetts 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) marks the line. No state or city may prescribe flight altitudes, flight paths, aerial routes, mandatory geofencing, or a pilot license layered on the federal certificate. It also states that because federal registration is the exclusive means of registering a UAS for operating in navigable airspace, no state or local government may impose an additional registration requirement without first obtaining FAA approval.

Outside those fields the states keep their police powers: privacy, voyeurism, harassment, trespass, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, land use and zoning, emergency medical services, search and rescue, delivery of prison contraband, and photography of particular facilities. States and localities may also regulate where an aircraft takes off and lands, and where the operator stands. A privacy-motivated ban on flight over an entire city would very likely be preempted for foreclosing reasonable use of the airspace; a narrower rule about a specific park is on much firmer ground. 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.

Massachusetts's drone-specific laws

There are none. That is the finding, and it is worth stating plainly rather than dressing up. What applies instead is general law — trespass, harassment, invasion of privacy, nuisance — none of which mentions aircraft, and all of which a plaintiff will happily point at a drone.

Two older aeronautics provisions in M.G.L. c. 90 are worth reading, because their language is broad enough to raise a question nobody in Massachusetts has definitively answered. Section 35(b) defines "aircraft" as "any contrivance now known, or hereafter invented, used or designed for navigation of or flight in the air" — a definition that plainly covers a small unmanned aircraft. Section 48 provides that no aircraft shall be operated or navigated within the commonwealth unless it has an appropriate effective license, permit or certificate issued by "the Civil Aeronautics Authority of the United States or other proper licensing authority" and is registered by that authority, with an express exception for "model aircraft operated in accordance with such regulations as the commission may prescribe." Section 49 requires each resident airman, and each owner and operator of aircraft, to register the relevant federal certificate with the commission — now the MassDOT Aeronautics Division — and lists exceptions in subsection (e), including (e)(8), a non-resident piloting aircraft within the commonwealth, and (e)(9), "a person operating model aircraft."

Sit with that for a moment. A Part 107 flight for hire is not model aircraft operation, so the model-aircraft exemption in § 49(e)(9) does not obviously reach it, though a visiting out-of-state pilot may land inside (e)(8), which exempts "a non-resident piloting aircraft within the commonwealth." Whether MassDOT Aeronautics reads §§ 48 and 49 as applying to small unmanned aircraft, this page could not verify: mass.gov refused every automated request at the last check, so this page has not read the Aeronautics Division's own guidance and does not characterize it. If you fly commercially in Massachusetts regularly, that is a question worth putting to the Division in writing. Note also that a state registration requirement applied to small UAS would run straight into the FAA fact sheet's statement that federal registration is exclusive.

Local ordinances are the real Massachusetts risk. With no state preemption clause, municipal bylaws and ordinances stand until challenged, and they vary enormously. In Singer v. City of Newton, No. 17-10071-WGY (D. Mass. 21 September 2017), Judge Young held four parts of Newton's ordinance § 20-64 preempted: the registration requirements in section (b), which reached owners of all pilotless aircraft; subsection (c)(1)(a), banning use below 400 feet over private property without the owner's express permission; subsection (c)(1)(b), banning operation "beyond the visual line of sight of the Operator"; and subsection (c)(1)(e), banning flight over Newton city property without prior permission. The court found that subsections (c)(1)(a) and (c)(1)(e) "work in tandem, however, to create an essential ban on drone use within the limits of Newton," and that intervening in the FAA's careful regulation of aircraft safety "cannot stand." Two things follow. First, a local rule that dictates altitude, line of sight or registration is vulnerable. Second, the court left the unchallenged remainder of the ordinance standing and wrote that "nothing prevents Newton from re-drafting the Ordinance to avoid conflict preemption" — so Singer is not a license to ignore town bylaws. Read the local code, and if it purports to control how you fly rather than where you launch, get advice.

Where you can and cannot take off

DCR land — parks, beaches, forests and reservations. The Department of Conservation and Recreation's rules at 302 CMR 12.00 do not use the word "drone," but two provisions in 302 CMR 12.04(28) reach a commercial flight. That subsection provides that unless authorized by a special use permit issued in accordance with 302 CMR 12.17(2), no person may, at (g), "except in an emergency, bring, take off, land or cause to descend on DCR property any airplane, helicopter, sea plane, so-called ultra-light aircraft, or any other apparatus," and, at (c), "conduct any commercial use activity or event." A paid flight launched from a DCR beach or reservation therefore needs a permit on both counts. Section 12.04(27) separately bars engaging in or conducting any business, commercial or special activity or event on DCR property without an approved permit. Note what these rules regulate: bringing the aircraft onto the property, putting it down, and doing business there. They are ground and permit rules, which is the space the FAA leaves to a landowner. Apply early, through the site.

MassWildlife land and hunting. this page could not verify any Massachusetts regulation naming drones in the hunting rules. The relevant mass.gov pages refused every automated request at the last check, so they were not read for this page, and are not characterized what they say. Do not read that silence as permission for wildlife work; check with MassWildlife for the specific property.

Everywhere else. Ask who owns the ground. Municipal parks, conservation land, MBTA property, Massport property and university campuses each have their own rules, and none of them are preempted by a state statute, because there isn't one.

What still applies everywhere

Nothing Massachusetts does changes Part 107. You still need a remote pilot certificate, a registered aircraft, and compliance with the federal operating rules: a 400-foot ceiling above ground level or within 400 feet of a structure, visual line of sight, three statute miles of flight visibility, cloud clearances of 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally, and airspace authorization before entering controlled airspace. Greater Boston is dense Class B and Class C airspace with Logan at the center, so LAANC authorization and a solid grasp of the airspace classes matter more here than the state law does. If any of this is new, start with how to get a drone license.

Frequently asked questions

Does Massachusetts have a drone law?

No. A search of the General Laws on the Legislature's website returns no results for "drone" or "unmanned aircraft," and the only three "unmanned" matches sit in the banking and credit-union chapters. Drone-related bills have been filed repeatedly without passing. General trespass, harassment and privacy law applies instead, along with municipal ordinances and agency rules for particular land.

Can a Massachusetts town regulate drones?

Yes, and many do, because there is no state preemption statute. The limit is federal. Singer v. City of Newton held Newton's registration requirement, its 400-foot private-property rule, its visual-line-of-sight rule and its ban on flight over city property preempted. Local rules about launching and landing on town-owned ground stand on much stronger footing.

Do I need a Massachusetts drone registration?

The FAA fact sheet states that federal registration is the exclusive means of registering a UAS in navigable airspace, and Singer struck Newton's local registration rule on that basis. M.G.L. c. 90, § 49 exempts "a person operating model aircraft" and a non-resident piloting within the commonwealth; how MassDOT Aeronautics applies that section to resident commercial small UAS, this page could not verify.

Can I fly a drone in a Massachusetts state park?

Not without a permit. Under 302 CMR 12.04(28), a special use permit is required before bringing, taking off or landing any aircraft "or any other apparatus" on DCR property except in an emergency, and separately before conducting any commercial use activity or event. Apply through DCR's permit process before the job, not on the day.

What is the practical rule of thumb for Massachusetts?

Treat the state layer as empty and the local layer as loaded. Before every job, identify the municipality and check its bylaws, identify who owns the launch point, and get a DCR permit if the answer is DCR. Federal compliance is doing nearly all the work here.

Return to the state drone law index, or test 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
• Massachusetts General Court, General Laws keyword search — "drone" and "unmanned aircraft" return no results; "unmanned" returns three results, all in c. 167B, c. 167C and c. 171
• M.G.L. c. 90, § 35 — definitions applicable to §§ 35 to 52
• M.G.L. c. 90, § 48 — aircraft license, permit or certificate
• M.G.L. c. 90, § 49 — registration of federal certificates; exceptions
• Massachusetts DCR, 302 CMR 12.04: Rules of Conduct on DCR Properties — see 12.04(27) and 12.04(28)(c) and (g)
• Singer v. City of Newton, No. 17-10071-WGY (D. Mass. 21 September 2017) — slip opinion, govinfo.gov