North Carolina Drone Laws: Where to Find the Official Rules
North Carolina's drone rules live mainly in its criminal statutes: drone surveillance of people or private property without consent is unlawful (and police generally need a warrant), interfering with manned aircraft and weaponizing a drone are felonies, and drone harassment of hunters and anglers is prohibited. For takeoff and landing, no drone may be launched from or recovered on state or private property without consent, and state parks require a special activity permit. Notably, North Carolina repealed its separate state UAS knowledge test and operator permit effective December 1, 2024 — only FAA requirements now govern pilot certification. The state doesn't broadly preempt local rules: the statute expressly lets cities and counties regulate drone launch and recovery on their own property, and Raleigh-area governments have done exactly that.
Can cities and counties in North Carolina add their own drone rules?
Cities & counties may add their own rules
This state has no blanket preemption statute, so cities and counties can adopt their own drone ordinances — especially takeoff and landing rules in local parks. Always check the local code where you plan to fly.
Official North Carolina sources
These links go directly to government and primary sources. They open in a new tab.
Official statute text
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-300.1 — restrictions on use of unmanned aircraft systems: surveillance/photography limits and law-enforcement warrant requirement (official text) www.ncleg.gov (opens in a new tab)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-300.2 — regulation of launch and recovery sites; consent required for state/private property; authorizes local ordinances for local property (official PDF) www.ncleg.gov (opens in a new tab)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-280.3 — interference with manned aircraft by unmanned aircraft systems (Class H felony) (official PDF) www.ncleg.gov (opens in a new tab)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-401.24 — unlawful possession and use of unmanned aircraft systems (weaponized drones; Class E felony) (official PDF) www.ncleg.gov (opens in a new tab)
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-295 — unlawful harassment of persons taking wildlife, including harassment by drone (official PDF) www.ncleg.gov (opens in a new tab)
Local rules we've verified in North Carolina
This is not every local ordinance in the state — only localities where we've confirmed an official source. To check any other city or county, use the look-up workflow on the regulations hub .
- Raleigh — Raleigh Parks drone guidelines Official Raleigh Parks rules: drones under 400 grams may take off and land in most city parks (excluding nature preserves, lakes, wetland centers, and cemeteries); heavier drones must use the designated park locations listed on the page. raleighnc.gov (opens in a new tab)
- Wake County — county park visitor rules (Harris Lake County Park) Wake County Parks allows unmanned aircraft in most county parks subject to posted regulations — line-of-sight operation, standoff from occupied structures, and written permission for organized events; check each park's visitor information page. www.wake.gov (opens in a new tab)
- Town of Wake Forest — parks UAV policy Official town policy for unmanned aerial vehicles in Wake Forest parks: operators must comply with federal, state, and local law and may not harass wildlife or other park users. www.wakeforestnc.gov (opens in a new tab)
What North Carolina’s drone statutes actually cover
- Surveillance and photography (§ 15A-300.1). Using a drone to conduct surveillance of a person, an occupied dwelling, or private property without consent is unlawful, and the statute restricts publishing drone photos of people taken without consent. Law enforcement generally needs a search warrant for drone surveillance.
- Launch and recovery sites (§ 15A-300.2). No drone may be launched from or recovered on state property or private property without consent — this is the statute that makes your takeoff spot a legal question in North Carolina. Subsection (b) expressly authorizes cities and counties to regulate drone launch and recovery on property they own, which is the legal basis for the local park rules linked above.
- Serious felonies. Interfering with a manned aircraft by drone is a Class H felony (§ 14-280.3); possessing or using a weaponized drone is a Class E felony (§ 14-401.24).
- Hunting and fishing (§ 113-295). Using a drone to harass people lawfully hunting, fishing, or trapping is unlawful.
- State parks. NC State Parks prohibit drone takeoff and landing on park property except under a special-use permit approved by the park superintendent.
The state permit is gone (December 2024)
From 2015 through late 2024, North Carolina was one of only two states that layered its own UAS knowledge test and commercial/government operator permit on top of the FAA’s Part 107. Session Law 2024-15 (House Bill 198, § 21(a)) repealed that entire program — N.C. Gen. Stat. Ch. 63, Art. 10, §§ 63-94 to 63-96 — effective December 1, 2024. Only FAA requirements (Part 107 or TRUST) now govern pilot certification in North Carolina. You may still find references to the old NC knowledge test on state webpages and third-party guides; they are out of date.
Check any other North Carolina city or county with the look-up workflow on the regulations hub before you fly.