Utah Drone Laws

Establishes baseline operational requirements for drone flights: must maintain visual line of sight; cannot fly in Class B, C, or D airspace or surface Class E airspace without ATC authorization; cannot exceed 400 feet AGL unless within 400-foot radius of structure; cannot fly under 50 feet inside transit guideway right-of-ways (TRAX/FrontRunner overhead lines); cannot operate over surface critical infrastructure facilities without prior authorization from the facility.

Prohibits operating a drone to carry or drop items to/from any correctional facility, or remove items from one. Also prohibits drone operation that interferes with a correctional facility's operations or security. Exception added 2026 (Chapter 258): mosquito-abatement district staff acting within their job duties are exempt.

Prohibits attaching a weapon to a drone or flying a drone that has been weaponized. 'Weapon' includes firearms and any object capable of causing death, injury, or property damage in the way it is used. Exceptions: FAA certificate of authorization, state or federal government contract, or DoD airspace with DoD permission.

Requires law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before obtaining, receiving, or using data acquired through a drone, except for: recognized warrant exceptions, data from nongovernment sources (within limits), locating lost or missing persons in areas with no reasonable expectation of privacy, or operations that do not violate reasonable privacy expectations. Agencies must destroy collected data as soon as reasonably possible and document all drone use in official encounter records. 2026 amendment (Chapter 118) refined the catch-all privacy exception.

Preempts local (city, county, political subdivision) regulation of private drone use. Supersedes all local drone ordinances enacted before July 1, 2022. Exceptions: airport operators may regulate drone operation at their own airport boundaries; land managers may set rules on property they control (e.g., state parks, national parks, BLM land).

Prohibits operating a drone into an FAA wildfire temporary flight restriction or designated wildland fire scene without incident commander permission. Establishes four-tier penalty system based on consequences. Incident commanders and chief law-enforcement officers are authorized to 'neutralize' (disable, damage, jam, or take control of) civilian drones in violation. Judge may order restitution for damages, flight costs, and lost fire retardant.

Makes it a crime to use any device (including drones) to observe, record, or broadcast events in a private place without consent. Carve-out: drones operated for legitimate commercial or educational purposes consistent with FAA rules are exempt if any incidental capture is solely incidental to that lawful use.

Makes it a crime to secretly record or photograph a person who has a reasonable expectation of privacy using any technology, including drones. Does not require proof that images were distributed; the act of recording/photographing is the offense.

Makes it a crime to distribute or sell images obtained through voyeurism (including drone-captured images of persons with reasonable expectation of privacy).

Defines 'surface critical infrastructure facility' for purposes of drone overflight restrictions in § 72-10-1002(6). Includes: petroleum and alumina refineries, electric generating facilities, substations, switching stations and control centers, electric power lines and associated equipment, chemical/polymer/rubber plants, water facilities, natural-gas compressor stations, LNG terminals and storage, telecommunications and wireless infrastructure including cell towers, gas processing plants, ports, railroad switching yards and tracks, and crude-oil/refined-products production and pipeline facilities.

Prohibits operating a drone over private property (or any portion thereof) that is not open to the public and where the operator is not otherwise authorized to fly.

Prohibits intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly using a drone to chase, actively disturb, or harm livestock.

Prohibits using any aircraft, drone, or airborne device between July 31 and January 31 to locate or attempt to locate protected wildlife. Also prohibits taking wildlife that has been chased, harassed, herded, or driven by a drone. Enforced by DWR conservation officers, including a dedicated drone team.

Requires written permission from park manager or special-use permit before operating any drone within Utah State Parks system. Specific parks have seasonal and zoning restrictions (e.g., Dead Horse Point Nov-Feb only, $10/day permit; Antelope Island restricted certain months). Commercial operations require separate Special Use Permit.

Prohibits Utah government entities and their contractors from purchasing or operating drones made by 'covered foreign entities' (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) for critical infrastructure inspection. Does not restrict private or commercial Part 107 operators. Government agencies can still use restricted drones if: disconnected from internet during operation, data removed before reconnecting, and only NDAA-authorized or US-developed software used.

Requires commercial UAS operators to obtain state drone registration certificate from UDOT Division of Aeronautics, effective January 1, 2025. This requirement is in addition to FAA registration. UDOT has authority to create registration rules, collect fees, and manage the program.

Permits law enforcement agencies to use unmanned aircraft systems to collect data at testing sites and to locate lost or missing persons in areas where individuals have no reasonable expectation of privacy.