Vermont has built one of the more detailed state drone codes in the country. Title 20, Chapter 205 covers everything from weaponization to private property overflight, and the state added a wildlife provision under a separate title. Here are the statutes that matter.
| Restriction | Statute | Penalty |
|---|
| Recreational flying below 100 ft over private property without written consent | 20 V.S.A. Section 4626 | $50 first offense, $250 subsequent |
| Surveillance of private property or occupants without consent | 20 V.S.A. Section 4626 | $50 first offense, $250 subsequent |
| Equipping a drone with a weapon or firing a projectile | 20 V.S.A. Section 4622 | Up to 1 year jail and/or $1,000 fine |
| Flying over a correctional facility | 20 V.S.A. Section 4625 | $500 civil penalty |
| Using a drone to hunt, locate, or harass wildlife | 10 App. V.S.A. Section 20 | Up to 1 year jail and/or $1,000 fine |
The 100-foot private property rule
Section 4626 is Vermont's signature drone law, enacted in June 2024 through Act 144 (H.546). It creates two separate prohibitions for recreational pilots. First, you cannot fly below 100 feet AGL over privately owned property without the owner's prior written consent. Second, you cannot use a drone to record images of private property or its occupants without consent if your intent is surveillance.
The law creates a legal presumption: if a person is not observable from ground level, they have a reasonable expectation of privacy. This means a drone hovering over a fenced backyard at 80 feet is treated differently than one flying over an open field. The fines are modest ($50 for a first offense, $250 for repeat violations), but property owners can also pursue civil remedies under general voyeurism statutes (13 V.S.A. Section 2605).
The legislation was prompted by a specific incident where a drone hovered over a homeowner's property while their daughter was sunbathing. That case drove the bill through the legislature and shaped the "not observable at ground level" privacy presumption.
Warning: Section 4626 only exempts Part 107 commercial operations, emergency responders, and authorized government agencies. If you're flying recreationally, the 100-foot rule applies even if you're not recording video. The altitude itself is the trigger, not the camera.
Law enforcement drone restrictions
Vermont imposes some of the tightest controls on government drone use in the country. Law enforcement cannot use drones to investigate, detect, or prosecute crime without a warrant under Rule 41 of the Vermont Rules of Criminal Procedure (or recognized exigent circumstances). The state also bans facial recognition or biometric matching on data collected about non-target persons during authorized surveillance.
Beyond the warrant requirement, every law enforcement agency using drones must file an annual report to the Department of Public Safety by September 1. The report must include the number of deployments, types of incidents, nature of information collected, rationale for each use, and any arrests made. The Department then reports to the House and Senate Committees on Judiciary and Government Operations by December 1.
Wildlife and hunting prohibition
Under 10 App. V.S.A. Section 20, it is illegal to use a drone to take, locate, surveil, drive, or harass any wild animal. This applies to all drone operators, not just hunters. The penalty matches the weaponization statute: up to one year of imprisonment and/or a $1,000 fine. Wildlife photographers should note that "surveilling" wildlife with a drone for any purpose connected to taking (hunting) the animal is covered.
Enforcement in practice
A November 2024 report by Vermont Public revealed that roughly 10 police agencies in Vermont are now using drones. The Vermont State Police deployed drones over 160 times in the previous year. The notable finding: zero arrests or criminal charges resulted from any drone deployment. All uses were for search-and-rescue, crash reconstruction, or observational public safety. This suggests the warrant requirement is working as designed, keeping law enforcement drone use narrowly scoped to non-investigative purposes.
For more on privacy law, see our drone spying laws guide and flying over private property guide.
