Missouri drone laws

• 01

  The rule has been in force since June 12, 2026, when the governor approved HB 2637 with an emergency clause; SB 1421, signed July 9, 2026, enacted the same text. Purposely flying below 400 feet AGL inside the property line of an open-air entertainment facility with capacity of at least 500 people, or flying within the boundary of a critical infrastructure facility, is an infraction. Delivering a weapon or explosive by drone is a class B felony, and delivering a controlled substance a class D felony.523

• 02

  Exempt: commercial operators authorized by the FAA and flying lawfully, anyone with written consent from the facility's president or CEO, facility workers, law enforcement, fire, and EMS, government officials on duty, utilities, and railroad employees on railroad land. Recreational flyers are not exempt.2

• 03

  Identical drone provisions were also enacted in HB 2637, a broader public-safety bill the governor approved June 12, 2026. Both bills let federally certified peace officers detect, warn, disrupt, seize, or disable a drone that poses a credible threat to people, venues, critical infrastructure, or correctional facilities, and a seized drone is subject to forfeiture.45

• 04

  Missouri § 217.850 restricts purposeful drone operation within 400 vertical feet over a covered correctional center's secure perimeter or physical contact with the facility.6

• 05

  Mo. Rev. Stat. § 632.575 (2020 H.B. 1963): purposely flying a drone within 400 vertical feet of a Department of Mental Health hospital's property line, measured from ground level, or using one to deliver contraband to a confined person, is an infraction. Delivering a weapon is a class B felony, facilitating an escape a class C felony, and delivering a controlled substance a class D felony. Exempt are hospital staff at the chief administrative officer's direction, anyone with that officer's written consent, police, fire, EMS, and government employees on duty, utilities inspecting lines after notice, railroad employees on railroad land, and operators flying under an FAA waiver issued under 14 CFR 107.200. Each hospital must post a warning sign.1

• 06

  Missouri State Parks and Department of Conservation land use different permission systems: state-park commercial imagery may require approval, while conservation-area operation requires a special-use permit.78

• 07

  Missouri permits drone-assisted recovery of wounded black bear, deer, elk, and turkey only under detailed conditions; it does not authorize wildlife harassment or ordinary drone-assisted hunting.9

Launch-day workflow

Before you fly in Missouri

Work through these state-specific checks before the usual FAA airspace, weather, aircraft, and crew review.

1. 01

   Map large ticketed venues

   Identify open-air entertainment facilities with capacity of at least 500 and map their property lines before planning a route below 400 feet AGL.23

2. 02

   Screen facilities and infrastructure

   Check correctional centers and the critical-infrastructure categories in current Missouri law. Do not assume a Part 107 certificate alone satisfies an exception.26

3. 03

   Get the land-manager permission

   Confirm state-park commercial-activity approval or a Department of Conservation special-use permit as applicable to the launch property.78

4. 04

   Apply every recovery condition

   For wounded-game recovery, verify the species, landowner permission, time, equipment, trespass, and wildlife-harassment conditions in the current MDC rule.9

Beyond the airspace layer

Land access and wildlife are separate decisions