Pennsylvania drone laws

Pennsylvania is one of the cleaner states to work in. There is exactly one criminal statute aimed at drones — 18 Pa.C.S. § 3505 — and the same Act of the General Assembly that created it stripped every county, city, borough and township of the power to write its own drone rules. If you hold a Part 107 certificate and you are flying a job in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth's demands on you are short: do not point a camera into somewhere private, do not fly at people in a way that frightens them, and do not carry anything over a prison wall.

The same Act also gave commercial operators something most states did not bother with: an express safe harbor for aerial data collection. Read the wording below carefully, because it is narrower than it first sounds. The place Pennsylvania will actually catch you out is the ground. State parks and state game lands both restrict where you may put an aircraft up, and those restrictions come from agencies rather than from the Crimes Code.

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 Pennsylvania 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 sets the line: states may not legislate flight altitude, flight paths, aerial corridors, mandatory geofencing or pilot licensing schemes, because those are questions of airspace and safety. A state or local rule that reaches into that territory is preempted, and the fact sheet is explicit that field preemption does not depend on how low you are flying.

Outside that field, states keep their traditional police powers. The FAA's own list of permitted subjects includes privacy, voyeurism, harassment, trespass, reckless endangerment, land use and zoning, delivery of prison contraband, and photography of sensitive facilities. States may also say where an aircraft may take off and land, and where the operator may stand — the ground is state territory in a way the airspace is not.

One point cuts specifically against commercial pilots. The Airline Deregulation Act preempts state laws that relate to the prices, routes or services of an operator with economic authority to provide interstate transportation. A restriction that is perfectly enforceable against a hobbyist can be preempted as applied to a paid Part 107 flight. The practical question in Pennsylvania is therefore rarely "may I fly here" and almost always "may I take off here, and what am I pointing the camera at".

Pennsylvania's drone-specific laws

18 Pa.C.S. § 3505 — Unlawful use of unmanned aircraft. Added by the Act of 12 October 2018, P.L.516, No.78, effective 90 days later. A person commits the offense if the person uses an unmanned aircraft intentionally or knowingly to: conduct surveillance of another person in a private place; operate in a manner which places another person in reasonable fear of bodily injury; or deliver, provide, transmit or furnish contraband in violation of section 5123 or 61 Pa.C.S. § 5902.

The grading is in subsection (b). An offense under subsection (a)(1) or (2) is a summary offense punishable by a fine of up to $300. An offense under subsection (a)(3) — the contraband limb — is a felony of the second degree. That gap is the shape of the whole statute: casual snooping is treated as a minor offense, and flying anything into a jail is treated as serious crime.

The definitions in subsection (f) do the real work. A "private place" is a place where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. "Surveillance" means using or causing to be used an unmanned aircraft to observe, record or invade the privacy of another. An "unmanned aircraft" is an aircraft operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on it. None of those definitions turns on altitude, so flying legally under Part 107 does not by itself answer the question.

The aerial data collection exception, § 3505(e). Subsection (a)(1) does not apply to conduct committed by a person engaged in aerial data collection if two things are both true: the person used the unmanned aircraft in a manner which complies with FAA regulations, or the aircraft is authorized by an exemption issued by the FAA; and the person did not knowingly or intentionally conduct surveillance of another person in a private place. That is genuine protection for mapping, inspection and survey work. It covers only the surveillance limb, and it evaporates the moment the surveillance becomes deliberate.

Subsections (c) and (d) carve out law enforcement officers and corrections personnel, and — for the surveillance and fear-of-injury limbs only — firefighters and special fire police, emergency medical responders, employees or agents of an electric, water, natural gas or other utility, and employees or agents of a government agency, each while performing official duties.

53 Pa.C.S. § 305 — Local regulation of unmanned aircraft prohibited. Added by the same Act 78. Section 3505 "shall preempt and supersede any ordinance, resolution, rule or other enactment of a municipality regulating the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft", and as of the section's effective date a municipality may not regulate ownership or operation unless expressly authorized by statute. "Municipality" is defined broadly: a county, city, borough, incorporated town or township, home rule, optional plan or optional charter municipality, any other general purpose unit of government established by the General Assembly, a municipal authority, and any entity formed under the intergovernmental cooperation subchapter. Subsection (b) leaves municipalities free to use drones themselves for municipal purposes and to regulate that use. If a township tells you its ordinance bans drone flight, § 305 is the provision to cite — and if the ordinance purports to set an altitude or a flight path, federal preemption disposes of it a second time over.

Where you can and cannot take off

Preempting municipalities does not touch the Commonwealth's own agencies, and that is where Pennsylvania actually constrains you. Note the shape of these rules: they govern the ground, which is exactly where a state's authority is strongest.

State game lands — 58 Pa. Code § 135.41(c)(23). Except with the written permission of the Director, it is unlawful to operate, control, retrieve or launch an unmanned aerial vehicle of any size, design or specification on or from lands or waters designated as State game lands. The provision may not be construed to limit activities specifically authorized by the Commission in writing, or federal, state or local governmental response to a fire, rescue, police or other emergency matter. Subsection (c)(19) is worth reading alongside it: without written permission it is also unlawful to use State game lands for any personal, organizational or commercial purpose other than their intended use. Game lands cover a great deal of rural Pennsylvania and look like ordinary open ground from a road, so check the boundary before you pick a launch point. The section was most recently amended on 29 May 2026, effective 1 July 2026.

State parks. The Bureau of State Parks permits drone and UAS use at designated flying sites within six parks: Beltzville, Benjamin Rush, Hillman, Lackawanna, Prompton and Tuscarora. DCNR states that the use of drones or other UAS is restricted at all other Bureau of State Parks locations, and that only the designated flying site within each park is open to UAS use — not the whole park. DCNR asks operators to contact the park office of the flying site they plan to visit. The page says nothing about commercial permits either way, which is a reason to call rather than assume.

State forests and municipal parks. DCNR's drone page does not address state forest land, and no current, citable rule for state forests could be opened during this check. Ask the district forestry office directly rather than assuming the state park position carries across.

Registration. Pennsylvania's own service guidance points operators to federal registration with the FAA for aircraft weighing between 0.55 lb and 55 lb. No separate Commonwealth registration requirement for a civil drone could be found, and Act 78 created none.

What still applies everywhere

No state changes any of this. You need a remote pilot certificate under Part 107, the aircraft registered with the FAA, and the flight kept at or below 400 feet AGL, or within 400 feet of a structure. Visual line of sight is mandatory unless you hold a waiver, minimum flight visibility is 3 statute miles from the control station, and you must stay 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally clear of clouds.

Controlled airspace still needs authorization, normally through LAANC, and it is worth being fluent in what each airspace class demands before you quote a job. Temporary flight restrictions override everything on this page — see TFRs and special use airspace. Operating outside the rules requires a waiver, and no Pennsylvania authority can grant one.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Pennsylvania borough ban me from flying in its park?

Not by ordinance. 53 Pa.C.S. § 305 preempts and supersedes any municipal ordinance, resolution, rule or other enactment regulating the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft, and bars municipalities from regulating unless expressly authorized by statute. Ordinances predating Act 78's effective date are superseded, though local enforcement disputes still happen on the ground.

Does § 3505 stop me filming a property for a client?

Not in itself. The surveillance offense requires conducting surveillance of a person in a private place. Subsection (e) adds an express exception for aerial data collection where you complied with FAA regulations and did not knowingly or intentionally surveil a person in a private place. Deliberately filming into a private space is not covered by that exception.

What is the penalty for a first surveillance offense?

Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3505(b)(1), an offense under subsection (a)(1) or (2) is a summary offense punishable by a fine of up to $300. The contraband offense under subsection (a)(3) is graded far more seriously, as a felony of the second degree. Do not read the summary grading as permission to be careless.

Where can I legally launch in a Pennsylvania state park?

At the designated flying sites DCNR identifies within Beltzville, Benjamin Rush, Hillman, Lackawanna, Prompton and Tuscarora State Parks. Only the designated site inside each park is open, not the whole park, and DCNR asks operators to contact that park office first. Use of drones is restricted at all other Bureau of State Parks locations.

Do I need to register my drone with Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's guidance points to federal registration with the FAA for aircraft weighing between 0.55 lb and 55 lb. Act 78 created no Commonwealth registration scheme for civil drones. Public-agency operators and individual airport rules are separate questions worth confirming with the relevant body before a job.

Sources

• FAA, State and Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Fact Sheet, 14 July 2023 — https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/policy_library/UAS_Fact_Sheet_2023.pdf
• 18 Pa.C.S. § 3505, Unlawful use of unmanned aircraft, Pennsylvania General Assembly — https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/18/00.035.005.000..HTM
• 53 Pa.C.S. § 305, Local regulation of unmanned aircraft prohibited, Pennsylvania General Assembly — https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/53/00.003.005.000..HTM
• 58 Pa. Code § 135.41, State game lands, Pennsylvania Code — https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/058/chapter135/s135.41.html
• PA DCNR, Unmanned Aerial Systems and Drones — https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/rules-and-regulations/unmanned-aerial-systems-and-drones
• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Register an Unmanned Aircraft System/Drone — https://www.pa.gov/en/services/penndot/register-an-unmanned-aircraft-system-drone.html