Michigan drone laws

Michigan is one of the friendlier states for a commercial drone operator, and the reason is a single sentence in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act. MCL 259.305(1) tells counties, cities, villages and townships that, except as expressly authorized by statute, they may not enact or enforce an ordinance regulating the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft. Michigan courts have enforced that. In 2022 the Court of Appeals affirmed a judgment striking down an Ottawa County park rule and two county ordinances — including a ban on drone use within 500 feet of the county jail — as conflict-preempted by the Act. If you work in Michigan, the patchwork of local drone bans that plagues other states is mostly not your problem.

Mostly. The preemption runs against "political subdivisions," and that word has an edge. In December 2025 the Court of Claims held that the University of Michigan is not a political subdivision under the Act, and that its campus drone ordinance was preempted by neither the Act nor federal law. Land managers are the other gap: the Department of Natural Resources publishes its own rules for state parks and recreation areas, and one of them requires written permission before you fly for a commercial purpose. So in Michigan the question is rarely whether a city can stop you. It is whose land you are on, and whether that landowner is a city at all.

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 Michigan 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 marks the boundary, and the Court of Claims worked through it at length in the University of Michigan case. Preempted subjects include restricting flight altitude or flight paths, running a drone traffic control system, designating drone "highways" or routes, regulating aircraft markings, establishing a licensing scheme for drone pilots, requiring air safety training, and mandating safety equipment such as geofencing. No Michigan authority — state, county, city or university — can move the 400-foot ceiling or add a license on top of your Part 107 certificate.

Outside those fields the states keep real power: land use and zoning, harassment, privacy, voyeurism, trespass, police powers, reckless endangerment, search and rescue, prison contraband, wildfire suppression, criminal mischief, protection of wildlife, and using a UAS for hunting or to interfere with someone who is hunting. The fact sheet also recognizes that states have a valid interest in choosing where aircraft may operate on the ground, so rules about takeoff and landing locations are on solid footing. 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.

Michigan's drone-specific laws

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act, 2016 PA 436, MCL 259.301 et seq. Four provisions do most of the work for a commercial pilot.

MCL 259.305 is the preemption clause. Subsection (1): "Except as expressly authorized by statute, a political subdivision shall not enact or enforce an ordinance or resolution that regulates the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft or otherwise engage in the regulation of the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft." Subsection (3) preserves one thing: the Act "does not prohibit a political subdivision from promulgating rules, regulations, and ordinances for the use of unmanned aircraft systems by the political subdivision within the boundaries of the political subdivision." In other words, a city may write rules for its own drone program. It may not write rules for yours.

MCL 259.303(d) defines political subdivision as "a county, city, village, township, or other political subdivision, public corporation, authority, or district in this state."

MCL 259.311 is the commercial authorization: "A person that is authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate unmanned aircraft systems for commercial purposes may operate an unmanned aircraft system in this state if the unmanned aircraft system is operated in a manner consistent with federal law." Your Part 107 certificate is your Michigan authority. There is no state permit to add to it — see how to get a drone license if you are still working through the federal side.

MCL 259.313 does the same for recreational flight, keyed to federal law for model aircraft.

How the courts have applied it. In Michigan Coalition of Drone Operators, Inc v Ottawa County (Mich Ct App, No. 359831, 17 November 2022, unpublished), the Court of Appeals affirmed a declaratory judgment and permanent injunction against a county park rule requiring prior written permission to operate a drone, an ordinance banning drone use within 500 feet of the county jail or 20 feet of three courthouses, and an ordinance requiring a permit to fly a camera-equipped drone over county property. Those directly conflicted with MCL 259.305(1) and (3), and the county's general enabling statutes did not expressly authorize drone regulation. The court declined to decide a separate question raised on appeal: whether a county acting as a property owner, rather than as a political subdivision, could bar drone use on pain of criminal trespass. That remains open.

In Michigan Coalition of Drone Operators, Inc v Regents of the University of Michigan (Mich Ct Cl, No. 24-000079-MZ, 26 December 2025), the Court of Claims granted the University summary disposition. The University is a constitutional corporation whose board is elected statewide, not a geographically limited unit of government beholden to a local electorate, so the Act's preemption of "political subdivisions" did not reach it. The court also held the campus ordinance was not federally preempted: it aims at privacy and the University's educational mission rather than aviation safety or airspace efficiency, and it contains a savings clause yielding to federal law.

A gap you should know about. The Act contains sections beyond the four above — the Ottawa County opinion records the county invoking MCL 259.320(1) — and this page could not open the Michigan Legislature's statute site to read them. Nothing here is the complete text of the Act. Check the current MCL before relying on any provision, and do not assume Michigan has no criminal drone offenses simply because none appear on this page.

Where you can and cannot take off

State parks and recreation areas. The DNR states that, under the Unmanned Aircraft System Act and rule 5.1(5), drone operators must not fly in a state park or recreation area in a manner that knowingly and intentionally interferes with department employees performing official duties, or that interferes with department staff conducting search and rescue; within 100 yards of a cultural or historical site or structure; upon or over the viewing platforms at Tahquamenon Falls or the platform at Palms Book State Park; over an occupied beach area, an equestrian facility, a campground, a restroom or open-air changing court, or an area subject to an aerial right-of-way; or for a commercial purpose without first obtaining written permission from an authorized representative of the department, under administrative rule 299.922(dd).

That last clause is the one that decides paid jobs. The DNR separately states that any business or individual conducting commercial operations on state-managed lands, including state parks, trails and boat access sites, must secure an official permit. Apply before you quote the work, not after. Read those bullets for what they are — the terms a land manager sets for its own property. None of them alters the airspace above it, which remains the FAA's alone.

Local government land. Under MCL 259.305(1) a city or county cannot regulate your operation by ordinance, and Ottawa County's attempt to do so was struck down. But the Court of Appeals expressly left open whether a local government can restrict drone use on its own property as a landowner enforcing trespass law, so a park sign is not automatically void. Ask before you assume.

University and private property. After the University of Michigan decision, a state university's drone ordinance is enforceable on its campus, and private landowners set their own terms for what happens on their ground.

What still applies everywhere

Michigan changes none of the federal baseline: a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating, a registered aircraft, the 400-foot ceiling, visual line of sight, three statute miles of flight visibility and the Part 107 cloud clearances. Controlled airspace still needs authorization — Michigan's Class C and D fields around Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing and Flint all matter here. See airspace classes and LAANC authorization.

Frequently asked questions

Does Michigan require a state drone license or permit?

No. MCL 259.311 provides that a person authorized by the FAA to operate unmanned aircraft systems for commercial purposes may operate in Michigan if the aircraft is flown consistently with federal law. Your Part 107 certificate and aircraft registration are what you carry. Permits still arise separately as a condition of using particular land.

Can a Michigan city ban drones in its parks?

Not by ordinance regulating your operation. MCL 259.305(1) bars political subdivisions from regulating the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft except as expressly authorized by statute, and the Court of Appeals affirmed that Ottawa County's park rule and ordinances were conflict-preempted. Whether a local government can restrict use of its own land as a landowner was expressly left undecided.

Can I fly commercially in a Michigan state park?

Only with written permission. The DNR requires written permission from an authorized representative of the department before flying in a state park or recreation area for a commercial purpose, under administrative rule 299.922(dd), and requires an official permit for commercial operations on state-managed lands generally. Contact the park before the shoot.

Is the University of Michigan campus drone ordinance enforceable?

Yes, on the record of the December 2025 Court of Claims decision. The court held the University is not a political subdivision under the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act, so the Act's preemption clause did not reach it, and that the ordinance was not federally preempted because it targets privacy and the University's mission rather than aviation safety.

Does Michigan law change the 400-foot limit?

No, and it cannot. Flight altitude sits in the field the FAA occupies exclusively, which the Court of Claims reaffirmed when it listed altitude and flight-path rules among the subjects state and local government may not regulate. The 400-foot ceiling, visual line of sight and visibility minimums come from Part 107 alone — test yourself with the Part 107 practice test.

Return to the state drone law index.

Sources

• FAA, State and Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Fact Sheet, 14 July 2023
• Michigan Coalition of Drone Operators, Inc v Ottawa County, Mich Ct App No. 359831 (17 November 2022) — quotes MCL 259.305, 259.311 and 259.313
• Michigan Coalition of Drone Operators, Inc v Regents of the University of Michigan, Mich Ct Cl No. 24-000079-MZ (26 December 2025) — quotes MCL 259.303(d), 259.305, 259.311 and 259.313 and analyzes federal preemption
• Michigan DNR, State parks rules and regulations — drone rules and commercial use of state-managed land