Louisiana Drone Laws: No-Fly Zones, Exemptions, and Penalties

Louisiana drone laws work on two levels: the FAA sets federal rules for who can fly and how, while Louisiana adds state criminal statutes that restrict where you fly and what you record. Meeting one set of rules does not excuse violations of the other, and a single flight can trigger both state charges and federal fines.

Federal Rules Every Louisiana Operator Must Follow

Before your drone leaves the ground, federal requirements kick in. Any drone weighing 250 grams (0.55 pounds) or more must be registered with the FAA through the DroneZone system. Registration costs $5 and lasts three years. Recreational flyers pay one fee that covers every drone they own; commercial operators pay $5 per aircraft.¹

Registered drones must also comply with Remote ID, meaning the aircraft broadcasts its identification and location during flight. You can satisfy this by flying a drone with built-in Remote ID, attaching an aftermarket broadcast module, or flying only within an FAA-Recognized Identification Area.² A broadcast module requires you to keep the drone within visual line of sight at all times.

Recreational Flyers

Recreational pilots must pass The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) before their first flight. It’s free, online, and covers basic safety and airspace knowledge. Once you pass, download and keep the completion certificate. Law enforcement and FAA personnel can ask to see it, and neither the FAA nor test administrators retain copies, so a lost certificate means retaking the test.³

Commercial Operators

Any flight for a commercial purpose — real estate photography, inspections, mapping, deliveries — requires a Remote Pilot Certificate under FAA Part 107.⁴ You must be at least 16, pass the Unmanned Aircraft General – Small knowledge exam, and clear a TSA background check.⁵ The exam covers airspace, weather, emergency procedures, radio communication, and aeronautical decision-making. Most people spend a few weeks studying.

Where You Cannot Fly in Louisiana

Louisiana’s drone-specific criminal statute, RS 14:337, targets flights over two categories of sites. The prohibitions apply when you intentionally use a drone to conduct surveillance of, gather information about, or photograph these facilities without written consent.

Targeted Facilities

The statute names a specific list of protected sites:⁶

Petroleum and alumina refineries
Chemical and rubber manufacturing facilities
Nuclear power plants
Schools and school grounds
Grain elevators and storage facilities
Critical infrastructure as defined in state law

The offense requires intent. Drifting over a refinery during a recreational flight is not the same as hovering to photograph it, though intent is something a prosecutor gets to argue about, and it is not a fight worth inviting.

Jails, Prisons, and Juvenile Detention Facilities

Flying a drone over any state or local jail, prison, or juvenile detention facility without written permission from the facility administrator is a separate offense under the same statute, and the penalties are steeper.⁶

Recording People: Video Voyeurism

Louisiana’s video voyeurism statute, RS 14:283, expressly includes drones as a recording device. Using a camera-equipped drone to observe or record someone is criminal when the recording is for a lewd purpose or captures a person in a place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.⁷ This is not a blanket ban on drone photography that happens to include people. Landscape footage of a public park is not the same as hovering outside a bedroom window.

How to Fly Legally: FAA Operating Rules

The FAA’s flight rules apply everywhere in the United States, Louisiana included.

Altitude and Line of Sight

Small drones cannot fly higher than 400 feet above ground level, with one exception: within 400 feet of a structure, you can go up to 400 feet above the structure’s highest point.⁸ The drone must stay within your visual line of sight — your own eyes, not a camera feed or binoculars.

Night Flights

Night flying is allowed if the drone carries anti-collision lighting visible from at least three statute miles with a flash rate fast enough to avoid collisions. The same lighting applies during civil twilight, the 30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset. Commercial pilots need to have completed their initial knowledge test or recurrent training after April 2021 to fly at night without a waiver.⁹

Airspace Near Airports

Flying near an airport requires prior authorization through the FAA’s LAANC system or a manual request. Louisiana has Class B, C, and D airspace around airports in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and other cities.⁴ Check for Temporary Flight Restrictions before every flight; TFRs appear around major events, VIP movements, and active emergencies.¹⁰

Wildfires and Emergency Scenes

A drone near an active wildfire can force fire managers to ground water-dropping helicopters and retardant airtankers until the airspace is confirmed clear. Endangering manned aircraft or interfering with wildfire suppression carries civil fines up to $25,000 plus possible criminal prosecution, whether or not a TFR was formally in place.¹¹

Who Is Exempt From the State Prohibitions

RS 14:337 carves several categories out of its prohibitions. Government and law enforcement drones, along with contractors working under government contracts, are excluded from the statute’s definition of an unmanned aircraft system entirely.⁶ The same exclusion covers employees, agents, and contractors of businesses regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission, local franchising authorities, or the FCC when operating drones for maintenance, repair, or operations on the company’s property or servitudes. Power line inspections and pipeline surveys fit here.

Agricultural commercial operations are exempt outright, so crop monitoring, field mapping, and pest detection do not trigger the targeted facility rules.⁶ Property owners can use drones to survey their own land, including land they hold under a lease, easement, or permit, and they can hire someone else to do it. University research and teaching operations, along with authorized motion picture and television production, are also exempt.

The statute contains a broader provision that it does not apply to anyone operating a drone “in compliance with federal law or Federal Aviation Administration authorization or regulations.”⁶ The scope of that language is ambiguous. If your work brings you near a protected facility, get written consent from the owner regardless of your FAA status.

Penalties

State charges and federal fines are independent. A single flight can produce both.

State Criminal Penalties

Under RS 14:337, penalties depend on the type of facility and whether the conviction is a repeat:⁶

Targeted facility, first offense: up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both.
Targeted facility, second or subsequent offense: $500 to $4,000, six months to two years with or without hard labor, or both.
Correctional facility, first offense: up to $2,000, up to six months in jail, or both.
Correctional facility, second or subsequent offense: $2,000 to $5,000, up to one year with or without hard labor, or both.

The drone itself can be seized on conviction.

Video voyeurism under RS 14:283 carries heavier consequences. A first conviction brings up to a $2,000 fine, up to two years imprisonment with or without hard labor, or both. A second or subsequent conviction requires a fine up to $2,000 plus six months to three years at hard labor, with no possibility of parole, probation, or suspended sentence.⁷

Federal FAA Civil Fines

The FAA enforces separately. Drone operators who fly unsafely or without required authorization can face civil fines of up to $75,000 per violation, and the agency has said it will pursue mandatory legal action when drone operations endanger the public, violate airspace restrictions, or occur in connection with another crime.¹²

Local Ordinances Do Not Apply

Louisiana law expressly preempts cities and parishes from passing their own drone rules, bans, or permit requirements.¹³ If a municipality claims drones are banned within city limits, that ordinance does not survive under state law. Federal rules and private property restrictions still apply.

Insurance

Louisiana does not require drone insurance, but a drone that crashes into a car, injures someone, or damages a roof creates immediate personal liability. Commercial operators face the sharpest exposure, since a single incident on a paid job can produce a claim far larger than the aircraft. Drone liability policies typically cover third-party bodily injury and property damage; commercial coverage should be matched to the specific work, because a policy built for aerial photography may not cover agricultural spraying. Homeowner’s policies sometimes cover recreational incidents but often exclude commercial use. Call your insurer before you assume you’re covered.

1
Federal Aviation Administration. How to Register Your Drone
2
Federal Aviation Administration. Remote Identification of Drones
3
Federal Aviation Administration. The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST)
4
eCFR. 14 CFR Part 107 – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
5
Federal Aviation Administration. Become a Certificated Remote Pilot
6
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14-337 – Unlawful Use of an Unmanned Aircraft System
7
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14-283 – Video Voyeurism; Penalties
8
eCFR. 14 CFR 107.51 – Operating Limitations for Small Unmanned Aircraft
9
eCFR. 14 CFR 107.29 – Operation at Night
10
Federal Aviation Administration. Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs)
11
US Forest Service. If You Fly, We Can’t
12
Federal Aviation Administration. FAA Steps Up Drone Enforcement in 2025
13
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 2-2 – Regulation of Unmanned Aerial Systems and Unmanned Aircraft Systems; Preemption