Tennessee drone laws

Tennessee reads badly and works well. The state's drone chapter is a criminal statute with a felony in it, and most summaries stop at the scary part. What they miss is the exception list sitting directly in front of the offense: Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-902(a) makes it lawful to capture an image with an unmanned aircraft as part of a commercial service that has received FAA authorization to use unmanned aircraft, or by an aircraft operating under FAA regulations for commercial use of unmanned aircraft. If you are flying under Part 107 for money, that subdivision is the most important sentence in Tennessee drone law.

That does not make you untouchable. The exceptions in § 39-13-902 apply to the image-capture offenses, and the chapter also prohibits things that have nothing to do with images — dropping objects into a ticketed event, flying over a fireworks display, flying over a prison. Tennessee's trespass statute reaches drones as well. And the other place the state constrains you is the ground: state parks and natural areas are closed to launching, landing and operating unless you are inside an authorized flight zone or hold a permit.

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 Tennessee 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 is explicit that flight altitude, flight paths, aerial routes, mandatory geofencing and pilot licensing schemes belong to the federal government. State or local rules aimed at those subjects are preempted, and preemption does not turn on how low the flight is.

Everything else is ordinary police power. The FAA's own list of subjects a state may reach includes privacy, voyeurism, harassment, trespass, reckless endangerment, land use and zoning, delivery of prison contraband, and photography of particular facilities such as water treatment plants, prisons, refineries, chemical plants and railroad facilities. That list explains Tennessee's statute almost line by line. States may also regulate where an aircraft takes off and lands, and where the operator stands.

The commercial angle cuts the other way from what most operators expect. 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, so a rule that binds a hobbyist may be preempted as applied to a paid Part 107 job. In Tennessee the practical question is almost never "may I fly here" and almost always "may I take off here, and what am I pointing the camera at".

Tennessee's drone-specific laws

Part 9 of Title 39, Chapter 13 is headed Surveillance by Unmanned Aircraft. It was created by the Act of 2014, Public Chapter 876, and amended repeatedly since.

§ 39-13-901 — definitions. "Unmanned aircraft" means an airborne device that is operated without an individual in or on the device. "Image" is defined broadly enough to cover sound waves, thermal, infrared and ultraviolet capture, and odor, not just visible light photography.

§ 39-13-903 — the offenses. Subject to the exceptions in § 39-13-902(a), a person commits an offense if the person uses an unmanned aircraft to capture an image of an individual or privately owned real property with intent to conduct surveillance; knowingly uses an image in a manner prohibited by § 39-13-902(b); without the venue owner's or operator's consent, intentionally captures an image of an individual or event at, or drops any item or substance into, an open-air event venue where more than 100 individuals are gathered for a ticketed event; knowingly flies within or over a designated fireworks discharge site, display site or fallout area during an event without the owner's or operator's consent; knowingly flies over the grounds of a correctional facility; or, without the business operator's written consent, knowingly flies within 250 feet of the perimeter of a critical infrastructure facility to conduct surveillance of, gather evidence about, or record critical infrastructure data.

The penalties, § 39-13-903(b). An offense under subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(5) is a Class C misdemeanor. An offense under subdivision (a)(6), the critical infrastructure limb, is a Class E felony. That grading was set by the Act of 2019, Public Chapter 60. The section also gives a defense: destroying the image as soon as you knew it was captured in violation, without disclosing, displaying or distributing it to a third party.

The critical infrastructure carve-out. The same subdivision that creates the felony ends by providing that it "shall not prohibit an unmanned aircraft system from operating for commercial purposes in compliance with authorization granted by the Federal Aviation Administration". The definition of critical infrastructure facility is long — electrical power generation, transmission systems and distribution substations, petroleum refineries, hazardous-substance manufacturing, chemical and rubber plants, petroleum and chemical storage, water and wastewater treatment, natural gas and propane infrastructure, railroad yards and facilities not open to the public, and communication service facilities.

§ 39-13-902(a) — the exceptions that matter to you. Notwithstanding § 39-13-903, it is lawful to capture an image with an unmanned aircraft in a long list of circumstances. The ones a Part 107 operator will use are images captured for the purposes of mapping; for the practice of land surveying by a duly registered land surveyor; with the consent of the individual who owns or lawfully occupies the real property captured; of public real property or a person on that property; as authorized or permitted by the FAA for use in a motion picture, television or similar production where the filming is authorized by the property owner and a film permit agency if required; for photogrammetric mapping by a person holding a certified photogrammetrist designation; and the broad one, as part of a commercial service that has received FAA authorization to use unmanned aircraft, or by an aircraft operating under FAA regulations for commercial use of unmanned aircraft. The mapping, surveying and photogrammetry exceptions each carry the same proviso: an image of a person or thing on private property caught in the course of that work is treated under § 39-13-905 as an image captured incidental to a lawful capture, which restricts how it may be used or disclosed.

§ 39-13-904 and § 39-13-905. Possessing an image captured in violation of § 39-13-903 is a Class C misdemeanor; disclosing, displaying, distributing or otherwise using one is a Class B misdemeanor, and each image is a separate offense. Section 39-13-905 makes an unlawfully captured image, and an image captured incidental to a lawful capture, inadmissible in criminal, juvenile, civil and administrative proceedings and immune from public records disclosure and subpoena, except to prove a violation of the part. Section 39-13-906 excludes the manufacture and sale of aircraft, and § 39-13-907 confirms that nothing in the part permits an act prohibited by other law.

§ 39-14-405 — criminal trespass reaches drones. The 2014 Act also amended Tennessee's criminal trespass statute so that entry occurs "when a person causes an unmanned aircraft to enter that portion of the airspace above the owner's land not regulated as navigable airspace by the federal aviation administration". That carve-out for navigable airspace is doing a lot of work, and it has never been cleanly resolved for low-altitude UAS flight. Treat it as a live risk over private land, not a settled rule.

Preemption. No Tennessee statute preempting local drone ordinances could be confirmed during this check, so none is asserted here. Treat a city or county rule as potentially enforceable until you have read it, and remember that a local rule reaching flight altitude or flight path faces the federal preemption argument regardless of state law.

Where you can and cannot take off

State parks and natural areas — Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-02-02-.33. No person may launch, land or operate a UAS in any park area or natural area for any reason unless the aircraft is launched, landed and operated entirely inside an authorized flight zone, or the person has prior written approval from the Commissioner in the form of a signed UAS flight permit. Inside an authorized flight zone there is no prior approval and no permit fee. The rule was filed on 11 January 2021 and took effect on 11 April 2021; check for a later filing before a job.

The rule's definition of "commercial purpose" is wide. It means operating a UAS for any purpose other than personal recreation and enjoyment, and expressly includes filmmaking and photography, whether by professionals or amateurs, where there is the potential for financial gain or where the film or photos are intended to be reproduced or posted on publicly available media outlets as brand promotion or awareness. Scientific observation, data collection, specimen collection, GIS data collection and research for higher education or government are also commercial purposes. Amateur status does not save you if the footage is going on a brand's feed.

A permit application must give the applicant's and pilot's contact details, the times and locations of the intended flights, whether the flight is recreational or commercial, the permit fee if any, and proof the applicant holds all licenses, certificates, waivers, clearances and permits the FAA requires for that type of flight. A commercial application must also state the intended use of the footage, and park management may require general liability insurance naming the State of Tennessee as an additional insured. Each permit grants one named pilot the right to operate one UAS at a time.

Tennessee then draws the federal line itself, which is unusually helpful. Paragraph (11) says permit conditions "may only limit a pilot's ability to launch, land, or operate a UAS on certain park areas or natural areas, and may not regulate the airspace over a park area or natural area, or the flight of the UAS itself". Paragraph (14) adds that the rule "is not intended to impose any restrictions on the national airspace system under the sole regulatory authority of the FAA". So the rule is about your feet, not your aircraft — but launching without the permit is still what gets you cited.

Federal land is a separate question. The National Park Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority set their own rules, and nothing on this page speaks to them.

What still applies everywhere

Tennessee changes none of the federal core. You need a remote pilot certificate under Part 107, FAA aircraft registration, flight at or below 400 feet AGL or within 400 feet of a structure, visual line of sight unless waived, 3 statute miles of flight visibility from the control station, and cloud clearances of 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally.

Controlled airspace still needs authorization, normally through LAANC, and Tennessee has plenty of it around Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga — see what each airspace class demands. Temporary flight restrictions override everything here; read TFRs and special use airspace before a stadium or motorsport job. Anything outside the rules requires a federal waiver, which no Tennessee agency can issue.

Frequently asked questions

Does the surveillance offense apply to my Part 107 work?

Section 39-13-903 is expressly subject to the exceptions in § 39-13-902(a), which include images captured as part of a commercial service that has received FAA authorization to use unmanned aircraft, or by an aircraft operating under FAA regulations for commercial use. Mapping, land surveying by a registered surveyor and permitted film production are separately excepted.

Can I fly near a substation or a pipeline in Tennessee?

Not for surveillance without the business operator's written consent. Flying within 250 feet of the perimeter of a critical infrastructure facility to record critical infrastructure data is a Class E felony under § 39-13-903(a)(6) and (b)(2). The same subdivision expressly does not prohibit a UAS operating for commercial purposes in compliance with FAA authorization.

What about filming a ticketed outdoor event?

You need the venue owner's or operator's consent. Section 39-13-903(a)(3) makes it an offense to intentionally capture an image of an individual or event at, or drop any item or substance into, an open-air event venue where more than 100 individuals are gathered for a ticketed event without that consent. It is a Class C misdemeanor.

Do I need a permit to fly in a Tennessee state park?

Yes, unless you stay entirely inside an authorized flight zone. Rule 0400-02-02-.33 bars launching, landing or operating a UAS in any park area or natural area without either an authorized flight zone or a signed UAS flight permit from the Commissioner. Almost all paid photography counts as a commercial purpose under the rule's definition.

Is there a Tennessee drone registration?

No Tennessee registration scheme for civil drones was found during this check, and none is asserted here. Your registration duty is the federal one with the FAA. Public agencies and individual airports may impose their own requirements, which are worth confirming directly with the body concerned 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
• Tennessee Public Chapter 876 (2014), SB 1892 — creating Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 9, and amending § 39-14-405 — https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/108/pub/pc0876.pdf
• Tennessee Public Chapter 240 (2015), HB 153 — open-air event venue, fireworks and correctional facility provisions — https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/109/pub/pc0240.pdf
• Tennessee Public Chapter 788 (2016), SB 2106 — critical infrastructure provision and its FAA commercial carve-out — https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/109/pub/pc0788.pdf
• Tennessee Public Chapter 900 (2016), HB 2376 — land surveying, photogrammetry and TDOT exceptions in § 39-13-902(a) — https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/109/pub/pc0900.pdf
• Tennessee Public Chapter 40 (2019), SB 349 — current text of § 39-13-903(a)(3) — https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/111/pub/pc0040.pdf
• Tennessee Public Chapter 60 (2019), SB 306 — current grading in § 39-13-903(b) — https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/111/pub/pc0060.pdf
• Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-02-02, Public Use and Recreation, including Rule 0400-02-02-.33 Unmanned Aircraft Systems — https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/0400/0400-02/0400-02-02.20210422.pdf