Texas drone laws

Texas regulates drone photography more aggressively than any other state in this guide, and it does it in a way that catches careful pilots off guard. Government Code Chapter 423 makes it a criminal offense to use an unmanned aircraft to capture an image of an individual or privately owned real property with the intent to conduct surveillance. There is then a long list of exemptions in § 423.002 — and a Part 107 certificate is not one of them.

That is the point to absorb before anything else. Chapter 423's exemptions are occupation-based and purpose-based, not certificate-based: surveyors, engineers, brokers, insurers and utilities are named, remote pilots as a class are not. A commercial pilot shooting private property for a client who does not fall into one of those categories has no exemption to point at, and must rely instead on § 423.002(a)(6), the consent of the individual who owns or lawfully occupies the property. Get it in writing.

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 Texas gets a say

The FAA has 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 boundary: states may not set flight altitudes, prescribe flight paths, designate aerial routes, mandate geofencing, or require a state pilot license on top of Part 107.

What states may do is broad. The fact sheet's own list includes privacy, voyeurism, harassment, trespass, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, land use and zoning, prison contraband, and photography of particular facilities such as prisons, refineries and energy infrastructure. States may regulate where an aircraft takes off and lands and where the operator stands. Commercial operators are the more exposed to preemption, because the Airline Deregulation Act reaches state laws related to the prices, routes or services of an interstate operator.

Texas sits close to that line, because §§ 423.0045 and 423.0046 write an explicit altitude element — "not higher than 400 feet above ground level" — into criminal offenses. The Fifth Circuit nonetheless rejected a preemption challenge in National Press Photographers Association v. McCraw, 90 F.4th 770 (5th Cir. 2024), decided 10 January 2024, affirming dismissal of the preemption claims on the view that federal law contemplates concurrent non-federal regulation of drones where privacy and critical infrastructure are concerned. Chapter 423 stands and is enforceable today.

Texas's drone-specific laws

Gov't Code § 423.003 — illegal use to capture an image. A person commits an offense by using an unmanned aircraft to capture an image of an individual or privately owned real property in Texas with the intent to conduct surveillance on the individual or property captured. It is a Class C misdemeanor. It is a defense that the person destroyed the image as soon as they knew it was captured in violation of the section and without disclosing it to a third party.

Gov't Code § 423.004 — possession, disclosure, display, distribution or use. Capturing an image in violation of § 423.003 and then possessing it is a Class C misdemeanor; disclosing, displaying, distributing or otherwise using it is a Class B misdemeanor. Each image is a separate offense — a single flight can generate hundreds of counts.

Gov't Code § 423.002 — the exemption list. Twenty-one categories make image capture lawful. Those that matter most to commercial work are: consent of the individual who owns or lawfully occupies the property, (a)(6); images of public real property or a person on it, (a)(15); capture by a Texas-licensed real estate broker for the marketing, sale or financing of real property, provided no individual is identifiable, (a)(13); capture by a registered professional land surveyor in connection with professional surveying, on the same condition, (a)(19); capture by a licensed professional engineer practicing engineering, again on that condition, (a)(20); and capture by an insurance company employee for underwriting or claims work where the operator holds FAA authorization for the airspace, (a)(21). Utility, telecommunications and pipeline inspection are covered by (a)(5), (a)(16) and (a)(17).

Gov't Code § 423.0045 — critical infrastructure. An offense is committed by intentionally or knowingly operating an unmanned aircraft over a critical infrastructure facility while not higher than 400 feet AGL, allowing it to contact the facility or a person or object there, or allowing it close enough to interfere with or disturb operations. It is a Class B misdemeanor, or a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has a prior conviction under this section or § 423.0046. The definition in (a)(1-a) is long — refineries, power generation and substations, chemical plants, water and wastewater facilities, gas compressor stations, LNG terminals, telecommunications switching, ports and rail yards, broadcast transmission, electric-arc steelmaking, high-hazard dams and concentrated animal feeding operations, but only where completely enclosed by a fence or other physical barrier or clearly signed against entry, plus a second group — aboveground pipeline segments, oil and gas drilling sites, crude oil storage tank groups, production facilities, wellheads and active flare sites — that qualifies where enclosed by a barrier obviously designed to exclude intruders. Critically, § 423.0045(c)(5) exempts an operator using the aircraft for a commercial purpose where the operation complies with each applicable FAA rule, restriction or exemption and all required FAA authorizations.

Gov't Code § 423.0046 — sports venues. The same structure applies to operating over a sports venue below 400 feet AGL. A sports venue means an arena, racetrack, coliseum, stadium or similar facility with a seating capacity of 30,000 or more that is primarily used for professional or amateur sports events. Class B misdemeanor, escalating to Class A on a prior conviction under either no-fly section, with the same commercial exemption in (c)(5).

Gov't Code § 423.006 — the civil exposure. An owner or tenant of private property may sue for an injunction, a civil penalty of $5,000 for all images captured in a single episode in violation of § 423.003, or $10,000 for disclosure or other use in violation of § 423.004. Actual damages are available where the image was disclosed with malice. The court must award court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the prevailing party. Suit must be brought within two years.

Gov't Code § 423.009 — local preemption. A political subdivision may not adopt or enforce any ordinance regarding the operation of an unmanned aircraft, and any measure that does is void and unenforceable. Three exceptions survive: rules for drone use during a special event as defined in (a)(2), rules about the subdivision's own drone use, and rules about use near facilities or infrastructure the subdivision owns — but only if it first obtains FAA authorization to adopt the regulation and holds a noticed public hearing.

Where you can and cannot take off

Texas state parks are close to shut. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's published park rules state that drones are allowed in state parks in two circumstances: Martin Dies, Jr. State Park has a designated area, and other parks allow drone use for filming purposes where you obtain a filming permit from the park. Everything else requires you to launch from outside the park boundary.

This page could not confirm a Texas Administrative Code subsection codifying that restriction. The rule commonly cited elsewhere for it, 31 Tex. Admin. Code § 59.134 ("Rules of Conduct in Parks"), permits nothing and prohibits nothing about aircraft — it names metal detectors, firewood, firearms, plants and wildlife, and no aerial apparatus at all — so this page does not cite it. Treat TPWD's published rules as the operative statement and confirm with the park before you travel.

Because § 423.009 preempts local drone ordinances, you are not searching municipal codes the way you would in California. General trespass and park-use rules still govern the ground you stand on.

What still applies everywhere

Chapter 423 changes none of your federal obligations: remote pilot certificate, registered aircraft, and Part 107 compliance — 400 feet 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 in controlled airspace. See how to get a drone license and Part 107 waivers and reporting. Note that the § 423.0045 commercial exemption is conditioned on holding all required FAA authorizations, so a lapse in your LAANC authorization in Texas can convert a lawful flight into a Class B misdemeanor.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Part 107 certificate exempt me from Chapter 423?

No. Section 423.002's exemptions are tied to occupations and purposes — surveyors, engineers, real estate brokers, insurers, utilities — not to holding a remote pilot certificate. The no-fly sections at §§ 423.0045(c)(5) and 423.0046(c)(5) do contain a commercial exemption conditioned on FAA compliance, but the image-capture offense in § 423.003 does not.

Can I photograph a private house in Texas for a listing?

If you are a Texas-licensed real estate broker, § 423.002(a)(13) exempts capture in connection with marketing, sale or financing, provided no individual is identifiable in the image. If you are a contract pilot working for a broker rather than a broker yourself, rely instead on the owner's or lawful occupant's consent under (a)(6), obtained in writing.

Is Texas Chapter 423 still good law after the court challenge?

Yes. The Fifth Circuit's substituted opinion of 10 January 2024 in NPPA v. McCraw, No. 22-50337, rejected facial First Amendment and preemption challenges to the surveillance and no-fly provisions, expressly withdrawing its earlier opinion at 84 F.4th 632. The court did not foreclose future as-applied challenges, but the chapter is enforceable now.

May a Texas city write its own drone rules?

Only within narrow limits. Section 423.009(b) voids local measures regarding drone operation. A subdivision may regulate use during a special event, its own use, and use near infrastructure it owns — the last only after obtaining FAA authorization to adopt the rule and holding a public hearing after reasonable notice.

What is the penalty for flying over a Texas stadium?

Operating over a venue seating 30,000 or more that is primarily used for sports, while not higher than 400 feet AGL, is a Class B misdemeanor under § 423.0046, rising to Class A if you have a prior conviction under that section or § 423.0045. A commercial operation fully compliant with FAA rules and authorizations is exempt under (c)(5).

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
• Tex. Gov't Code ch. 423, Use of Unmanned Aircraft — Texas Constitution and Statutes (Texas Legislative Council)
• National Press Photographers Association v. McCraw, No. 22-50337 (5th Cir. 10 January 2024), substituted opinion withdrawing 84 F.4th 632 — opinion PDF, US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; case background, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
• 31 Tex. Admin. Code § 59.134, Rules of Conduct in Parks — Cornell LII
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, State Park Rules