Washington drone laws

What catches out-of-state operators in Washington is not a privacy law or a no-fly rule. It is a registration form. Under RCW 47.68.250, every aircraft, "inclusive of commercial unpiloted aircraft systems," must be registered with the Washington State Department of Transportation for each calendar year in which it is operated or is based within the state. Your FAA registration does not satisfy it. The trigger is commercial use, which RCW 47.68.020(11) defines as an aircraft, piloted or unpiloted, "not used exclusively for hobby or recreation."

Beyond that, Washington's drone law is thin. This page found no a drone-specific privacy or critical-infrastructure offense in the code, and no state rule tells you how high or along what path to fly — those are federal questions. What Washington does have is a strict state parks rule that measures where you are standing, and a wildlife rule that treats unmanned aircraft as aircraft. So the practical questions are narrow: is the aircraft registered with WSDOT, and where are you launching from?

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 Washington 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) draws the line: no state or city may set flight altitudes, flight paths, aerial routes or corridors, mandatory geofencing, or a pilot license stacked on the federal certificate.

Outside those fields, states keep their police powers — land use and zoning, privacy, voyeurism, harassment, trespass, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, prison contraband, and photography of particular facilities. The fact sheet's list expressly includes laws on where an aircraft may take off and land, and on where the operator may stand — precisely the ground Washington regulates.

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 rule that survives against a hobbyist can fail against a paid job. Washington's registration requirement, though, is the ministerial kind the fact sheet treats as permissible — it collects a fee and a record, and regulates neither safety nor airspace.

Washington's drone-specific laws

RCW 47.68.250 — state registration of commercial drones. The fee is fifteen dollars per registration and per annual renewal. Effective 1 January 2027 it becomes $30, and from 1 January 2028 it is adjusted annually by two percent, rounded to the nearest whole dollar. Two exemptions matter: subsection (6)(h) exempts "unpiloted aircraft systems used exclusively for hobby or recreation," and (6)(c)(i) exempts an aircraft owned by a nonresident that remains in, or is based in, this state for a period less than ninety days. WSDOT lists that second one among the exemptions you must claim on a request form.

WSDOT Aviation says the requirement has run since 1 April 2022, reaches owners operating "under 14 CFR Part 107 rules for compensation or hire, or as an extension of a business activity," and opens each year on 1 April through Secure Access Washington. RCW 47.68.230 and 47.68.240 — the teeth. It is unlawful to operate a civil aircraft in the state unless it holds the appropriate effective federal certificate where the United States requires one, and a current state registration certificate where the chapter requires registration; an airman certificate required by the United States must be kept in your personal possession while you operate here. Under RCW 47.68.240(1) a violation of the chapter is a misdemeanor; under (2)(a) a violation of RCW 47.68.230 is a gross misdemeanor. Subsection (3) adds a penalty of one hundred dollars when an aircraft registration is sixty days or more past due.

RCW 9A.44.115 — voyeurism, which is the privacy law here. With no drone-specific privacy offense in the code, aerial photography of people is judged under the general voyeurism statute, which turns on the act rather than the tool. First-degree voyeurism — knowingly viewing, photographing or filming someone without consent where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, for sexual gratification, or viewing or recording their intimate areas — is a class C felony. Second-degree voyeurism, photographing intimate areas without consent and with intent to distribute, is a gross misdemeanor. The statute's protected place includes anywhere one may reasonably expect to be safe from intrusion or surveillance.

WAC 220-413-070 — drones and hunting. It is unlawful to use aircraft, including unmanned aircraft, to spot or report the location of wildlife for hunting, except under a permit from the director; to use an unmanned aircraft to pursue, concentrate or harass any wild animal or bird, except as the department authorizes for wildlife conflict; or to hunt game animals, game birds or migratory birds on the day one has operated an unmanned aircraft.

Where you can and cannot take off

State parks are closed without a permit. WAC 352-32-010 defines "remote controlled aircraft" as nonpeopled model aircraft and other unmanned aircraft systems, "including those commonly known as 'drones'." WAC 352-32-130(4) allows them to be flown only within flying areas designated by the director and only under that area's posted management plan. Subsection (5) then provides that remote controlled aircraft may be flown in any state park area only under a permit — and defines the trigger broadly: an aircraft is flown in a state park area "when the operator is within the state park area while flying the remote controlled aircraft or where the remote controlled aircraft takes off from or lands on the state park area."

Applications must go in at least sixty days ahead, waivable in extenuating circumstances; you must carry the written permission and produce it on request; and fees, bond or liability insurance may be required first. Under subsection (6), any violation — including ignoring a posted restriction or breaching a permit condition — is an infraction under chapter 7.84 RCW. Notice what the rule measures: your location and the take-off and landing point, not where the aircraft goes. The regulation also lets the director attach elevation restrictions to a permit, but altitude is a field the FAA fact sheet reserves to the federal government, so the part that clearly binds you is the operator-location and launch-and-land trigger.

WSDOT Aviation asks operators to contact it directly about WSDOT-owned land and highway right of way rather than publishing a blanket rule. This page could not verify a drone rule for Department of Natural Resources recreation lands, or any Washington statute preempting local drone ordinances — so ask the DNR region first, and treat city and county rules as live.

What still applies everywhere

Nothing Washington does changes Part 107. You need a remote pilot certificate, an FAA-registered aircraft, and compliance with the federal operating rules: 400 feet above ground level or within 400 feet of a structure, visual line of sight, three statute miles of flight visibility, cloud clearance of 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally, and authorization before operating in controlled airspace. State registration sits on top of that, not instead of it. If you are still working toward the certificate, start with how to get a drone license, then LAANC authorization and airspace classes explained.

Frequently asked questions

Do I really have to register my drone with Washington State?

If you fly it commercially in or from Washington, yes. RCW 47.68.250 requires registration of every aircraft "inclusive of commercial unpiloted aircraft systems" for each calendar year it is operated or based in the state, and RCW 47.68.020(11) defines commercial as not used exclusively for hobby or recreation. WSDOT Aviation runs the program at $15 per drone.

I live out of state and I am here for a two-week job. Am I caught?

RCW 47.68.250(6)(c)(i) exempts an aircraft owned by a nonresident that remains in or is based in this state for less than ninety days. WSDOT lists that exemption among those requiring an exemption request form, so file it rather than assuming it applies automatically, and keep evidence of your dates and out-of-state registration.

What happens if I skip the registration?

RCW 47.68.240(1) makes a violation of the aeronautics chapter a misdemeanor, and (2)(a) makes a violation of RCW 47.68.230 — operating without the required certificates and current registration — a gross misdemeanor. Subsection (3) adds a one hundred dollar penalty when an aircraft registration is sixty days or more past due.

Can I fly in a Washington state park for a client?

Only in a designated flying area under its posted management plan, or under a permit from State Parks. WAC 352-32-130(5) requires a permit whenever the operator is in the park or the aircraft takes off from or lands in it, with applications due at least sixty days ahead. Violations are infractions under chapter 7.84 RCW.

Does Washington have a drone privacy law?

This page found no a drone-specific one. Aerial photography of people is judged under the general voyeurism statute, RCW 9A.44.115, a class C felony in the first degree and a gross misdemeanor in the second. Ordinary trespass, harassment and nuisance law also apply, so the framing of a shot matters more here than the existence of any drone statute.

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
• RCW 47.68.020, Definitions
• RCW 47.68.230, Aircraft, airman, and airwoman certificates required
• RCW 47.68.240, Penalties for violations
• RCW 47.68.250, Registration of aircraft
• RCW 9A.44.115, Voyeurism
• WAC 352-32-010 and WAC 352-32-130, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
• WAC 220-413-070, Hunting with aid of aircraft, boats or other vehicles
• WSDOT Aviation, Uncrewed aircraft systems and commercial drone registration