Flying a drone over private property in Michigan is legal in many situations, but the state’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act makes it a crime to use a drone to harass someone, violate a restraining order, or capture images or recordings that invade a reasonable expectation of privacy. Federal rules add altitude ceilings, registration, and no-fly zones on top of that. And whether a low, targeted flight over someone’s yard counts as trespass is a question Michigan’s Supreme Court has explicitly refused to answer.
So the flight itself may be lawful. What you do with the camera, and how low and how often you fly, can still put you on the wrong side of state law or a civil lawsuit.
What Michigan Law Prohibits
Michigan passed its Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act in 2016. Two provisions do most of the work for anyone thinking about flying over private property.
The first makes it illegal to intentionally use a drone to harass another person, to violate a personal protection order, or to capture photographs, video, or audio that invade a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 259.322 – Prohibited Conduct The same section bars registered sex offenders from using drones to follow, contact, or record people when their sentence would prohibit that conduct in person.
The second prohibits intentionally operating a drone in a way that interferes with the duties of police, firefighters, EMS, search and rescue, or corrections officers.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 259.321 – Interference With Official Duties
Either offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 259.323 – Penalties These penalties stack with any other Michigan criminal charges the same conduct might trigger, such as stalking or voyeurism.
Is Low-Altitude Flight Over Private Land Trespass?
This is the question most property owners actually want answered, and Michigan law does not answer it cleanly.
The old common-law rule extended property rights upward “to the heavens.” Modern aviation carved out an exception for navigable airspace, which the federal government controls. Where private airspace ends and federal airspace begins for drone purposes has not been settled in Michigan. A drone hovering 30 feet above your fence line is not doing what a jet at cruising altitude does, and the state has no clear line between the two.
The case that came closest to drawing one is Long Lake Township v. Maxon. A township used a drone to photograph a property owner’s land for zoning enforcement without a warrant. When the case reached the Michigan Supreme Court, the justices declined to decide the Fourth Amendment question and resolved the case on narrower grounds, holding that the exclusionary rule does not apply to civil zoning enforcement seeking only injunctive relief.4Michigan Courts. Long Lake Township v Maxon – Michigan Supreme Court Opinion The court acknowledged that “drone technology is rapidly evolving, as are people’s expectations of privacy,” and that “there remains uncertainty as to how trespass law applies to low-altitude drone flights,” then left those questions “for another day.”5Justia Law. Long Lake Township v Maxon – Michigan Supreme Court 2024
Practically, that means a low flight over someone’s yard is not clearly legal and not clearly trespass. A one-time pass at a reasonable altitude is a weak candidate for a lawsuit. Repeated, targeted, low-altitude flights over the same property are a much stronger one.
Privacy Violations Are Separate From Trespass
Even when a flight itself would not qualify as trespass, the recording can still be a crime under state law. Michigan’s prohibited conduct statute targets drone operators who capture images, video, or audio in a way that invades a reasonable expectation of privacy.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 259.322 – Prohibited Conduct
What counts depends on context. A fenced backyard shielded from any public road or sidewalk carries a stronger expectation than an open front lawn. Filming into a home through a window almost certainly crosses the line. Photographing a rooftop plainly visible from surrounding buildings probably does not. Courts look at whether the area was shielded from ordinary public view and whether the recording was targeted and persistent or incidental.
This is where operators get in trouble without realizing it. You can fly at a lawful altitude, follow every FAA rule, and still commit a state misdemeanor if your camera picks up private activities that would not be visible from the ground.
Federal Rules You Still Have to Follow
The FAA controls all airspace in the United States, and its rules apply to every drone flight in Michigan regardless of what state law says.
Recreational flyers must stay at or below 400 feet in uncontrolled (Class G) airspace, keep the drone within visual line of sight, give way to all other aircraft, and never fly in a way that endangers the national airspace system. Recreational operators also have to pass the FAA’s Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) and carry proof of completion.6Federal Aviation Administration. Recreational Flyers and Community-Based Organizations
Anyone flying for business, including real estate photography, inspections, or surveying, needs a Remote Pilot Certificate under Part 107 and has to pass an aeronautical knowledge exam.7Federal Aviation Administration. Become a Certificated Remote Pilot8eCFR. 14 CFR Part 107 – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
All drones weighing more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) must be registered with the FAA. Failing to register a drone that requires it can result in civil penalties up to $27,500, and criminal penalties can reach $250,000 in fines and up to three years in prison.9Federal Aviation Administration. Is There a Penalty for Failing to Register Registered drones also have to comply with Remote ID, which broadcasts identification and location by radio so law enforcement and other airspace users can identify the drone in flight.10Federal Aviation Administration. Remote Identification of Drones
No-Fly Zones in Michigan
Some private property sits inside or near airspace that is off-limits regardless of who owns the land below.
Airports and military installations have FAA-designated restricted airspace. Flying in controlled airspace near an airport requires prior FAA authorization, generally through the LAANC system.6Federal Aviation Administration. Recreational Flyers and Community-Based Organizations
National park land, including Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Isle Royale National Park, is closed to drones. The National Park Service prohibits launching, landing, or operating a drone on any NPS-administered land or water. A violation is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine, with additional charges available if the drone harasses wildlife or creates noise disturbances.11National Park Service. Uncrewed Aircraft in the National Parks
The FAA can also impose temporary flight restrictions around large public events, wildfires, and disaster areas. These can appear on short notice, so checking the FAA’s B4UFLY app before each flight matters.
Local Ordinances Cannot Fill the Gap
Property owners often expect their city or township to have a drone rule they can point to. Michigan generally does not allow that. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act prohibits local governments from enacting or enforcing ordinances that regulate drone ownership or operation, with a narrow exception for drones the municipality itself owns and operates.12Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 259.305 – Local Government Preemption A Michigan Court of Appeals decision confirmed this preemption applies broadly and that local drone bans generally cannot stand.13Michigan Courts. Michigan Coalition of Drone Operators v Ottawa County – Court of Appeals Opinion
The FAA takes a similar line federally, asserting exclusive authority over aviation safety and airspace efficiency. Its guidance flags state laws that create trespass liability for flying below a set altitude as potentially preempted.14Federal Aviation Administration. State and Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Fact Sheet The upshot: enforcement against unwanted drones has to come from federal rules or state harassment, privacy, and interference statutes, not from local flight bans.
If a Drone Is Over Your Property
Start with documentation. Note dates, times, approximate altitude, and anything identifying about the drone or the operator. Photos or video of the drone itself can matter later.
If the flight looks like harassment or a privacy invasion under state law, contact local law enforcement. These are misdemeanor offenses, and police can investigate and refer charges to the prosecutor.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 259.323 – Penalties For federal violations like unregistered or reckless operation, complaints can go to the FAA. Because Remote ID broadcasts identification in real time, law enforcement may be able to identify the operator on the spot.
Civil remedies also exist. A property owner who suffers a genuine privacy invasion or interference with the use and enjoyment of the land can sue for damages or an injunction. The strength of a trespass claim will turn on how low, how often, and how targeted the flights were. Repeated low passes over a specific yard make a much better case than a single high pass.
One thing you cannot do is shoot the drone down. The FAA classifies drones as aircraft, and under 18 U.S.C. ยง 32, willfully damaging or destroying an aircraft carries penalties of up to 20 years in federal prison.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 Section 32 – Destruction of Aircraft or Aircraft Facilities The FAA has stated that shooting at any aircraft, including a drone, is a significant safety hazard, and civil penalties can apply on top of the criminal exposure.16Federal Aviation Administration. What To Know About Drones Whatever the drone is doing, the answer is a report, not a shotgun.