REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT

Iowa Code tit. XVI, ch. 715E

in effect

Iowa Code § 715E.1 Definitions.

715E.1. Definitions. As used in this chapter: 1. a. “Convicted” means the entry of a judgment of conviction under chapter 901 or adjudicated delinquent for an act which is an indictable offense in this state or in another state under chapter 232. b. “Convicted” does not mean a plea, sentence, adjudication, deferred sentence, or deferred judgment which has been reversed or otherwise set aside. 2. “Farm animal” means an animal belonging to the bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine species; farm deer as defined in section 170.1; ostriches, rheas, or emus; turkeys, geese, chickens, or other domestic poultry; or a horse, pony, mule, jenny, donkey, or hinny. 3. “Farm commodity” means a farm animal, farm crop, or honey. 4. a. “Farm crop” means a plant used for food, animal feed, fiber, or oil, including a forage or cereal plant. b. “Farm crop” includes but is not limited to alfalfa, barley, buckwheat, corn, flax, forage, millet, oats, popcorn, rye, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, wheat, and grasses used for forage or silage. 5. a. “Farm equipment” means a device or an attachment to a device designed and manufactured to be principally used for farming, including the production, care, or harvesting of a farm commodity. b. “Farm equipment” includes but is not limited to tractors; trailers; combines; tillage, planting, and cultivating implements; balers; irrigation implements; injection and application devices; manure haulers and spreaders; and all-terrain vehicles. 6. a. “Farm structure” means a building or other structure used in farming, including the production of farm commodities. b. “Farm structure” includes but is not limited to the principal residence of a farmer, a formed or unformed structure that is part of an animal feeding operation as defined in section 459.102 and related pipes and manure stockpiles, a barn, a stable, a storage crib, a structure used to store seeds or grain, an outbuilding, and a shed. 7. “Farmer” means the person who is actively engaged in farming as defined in section 9H.1. 8. a. “Farmstead” means real property to which all of the following apply: (1) The real property is owned or leased by a farmer. (2) The real property is used by the farmer for farming, including the production of a farm commodity. (3) At least fifteen thousand dollars was generated from the sale of farm commodities produced on the real property in the last calendar year. b. “Farmstead” includes but is not limited to a crop field or pastureland. c. “Farmstead” does not include any real property located within the corporate limits of a city. 9. “Homestead” means real property that includes the principal residence of a person, and up to four hundred feet of surrounding land with any improvements, if all such real property is both owned or leased by that person and not located within the corporate limits of a city. 10. “Principal residence” means the place where a person habitually lives for more days per year than another place in this state, if the place is not within the corporate limits of a city. 11. “Railroad company” means a business entity organized under the laws of this state or doing business in this state as a carrier by rail and regulated by the federal railroad administration. 12. “Remotely piloted aircraft” means a self-propelled vehicle used for navigation and flight, that is controlled by the use of an electronic system and is not designed to carry a human. 13. “Surveillance device” means a camera or electronic equipment that transmits or records an image, sound, or data if the transmission or recording is capable of reasonably identifying any of the following: a. The physical appearance, conduct, or voice of an individual. b. The species of a farm animal. c. The type or use of farm equipment. d. The type or use of a farm structure. e. The unique physical characteristics of land or an improvement to land. 2024 Acts, ch 1131, §1; 2025 Acts, ch 56, §1 – 3 Subsections 1 and 2 stricken and former subsection 3 renumbered as 1 NEW subsections 2 – 8 and former subsections 4 – 7 renumbered as 9 – 12 Subsection 8 stricken Subsection 9 amended and renumbered as 13

Iowa Code § 715E.2 Distance measurements.

715E.2. Distance measurements. In measuring the distance from an object to a remotely piloted aircraft in flight under this chapter, it shall be presumed as a matter of law that the remotely piloted aircraft is flying parallel to the object. The distance between the object and remotely piloted aircraft shall be measured from their closest possible points. 2024 Acts, ch 1131, §2

Iowa Code § 715E.3 Intrusion by use of remotely piloted aircraft — offense.

715E.3. Intrusion by use of remotely piloted aircraft — offense. 1. A person commits intrusion by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft if the person knowingly does any of the following: a. Controls the flight of a remotely piloted aircraft over a homestead, if the homestead is not owned or leased by the person, and the remotely piloted aircraft remains over the homestead. b. Controls the flight of remotely piloted aircraft over a secure farmstead, if the farmstead is not owned or leased by the person, and the remotely piloted aircraft remains within a secured area of four hundred feet surrounding a farm animal, farm equipment, or a farm structure located on the farmstead. However, the secured area shall not include any space that is in the corporate limits of a city. 2. a. A person who commits intrusion by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, a person who commits intrusion by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft is guilty of a serious misdemeanor if the person has previously been convicted of any of the following: (1) Intrusion by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft as provided in this section. (2) Surveillance by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft as provided in section 715E.4. 2024 Acts, ch 1131, §3; 2024 Acts, ch 1154, §21; 2025 Acts, ch 56, §4 Subsection 1, paragraph b amended

Iowa Code § 715E.4 Surveillance by use of remotely piloted aircraft — offense.

715E.4. Surveillance by use of remotely piloted aircraft — offense. 1. A person commits surveillance by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft if the person knowingly does any of the following: a. Controls the flight of a remotely piloted aircraft equipped with a surveillance device over a homestead, if the homestead is not owned or leased by the person, and the remotely piloted aircraft remains over the homestead. b. Controls the flight of a remotely piloted aircraft equipped with a surveillance device over a farmstead, if the farmstead is not owned or leased by the person, and the remotely piloted aircraft remains within a secured area of four hundred feet surrounding a farm animal, farm equipment, or a farm structure located on the farmstead. However, the secured area shall not include any space that is in the corporate limits of a city. 2. a. A person who commits surveillance by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, a person who commits surveillance by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor if the person has previously been convicted of any of the following: (1) Intrusion by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft as provided in section 715E.3. (2) Surveillance by the use of a remotely piloted aircraft as provided in this section. 2024 Acts, ch 1131, §4; 2024 Acts, ch 1154, §22; 2025 Acts, ch 56, §5 Subsection 1, paragraph b amended

Iowa Code § 715E.5 Injunctive relief — harassment due to use of remotely piloted aircraft.

715E.5. Injunctive relief — harassment due to use of remotely piloted aircraft. 1. A person who is the owner or lessee of a homestead or farmstead may petition the district court to obtain an order for a temporary injunction to prevent the respondent from using any remotely piloted aircraft equipped with a surveillance device, if a preponderance of evidence indicates that the respondent is harassing the petitioner by controlling the flight of the remotely piloted aircraft over the person’s homestead or farmstead in violation of section 715E.3 or 715E.4. The court shall grant the temporary injunction for not more than two years. The court may continue the injunction upon a petition filed by the petitioner with the court prior to the order’s expiration. 2. If a court grants an order for a temporary injunction under subsection 1, the court may award the petitioner court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and expenses related to the petitioner’s investigation and adjudication of the case, which shall be taxed as part of the costs of the action. 3. a. Except as provided in paragraph “b”, a court shall order that any person holding a retrievable image, sound, or data recorded in violation of this section destroy the image, sound, or data, including any copy of such image, sound, or data. b. (1) A person may claim an ownership interest in a retrievable image, sound, or data recorded in violation of this section, to the extent that any of the following apply: (a) The person is an individual who may be identified in the recording. A parent or guardian of the individual may claim the ownership interest on behalf of the individual. (b) The person is the owner of a farm animal, farm equipment, or a farm structure that may be identified in the recording. (c) The person is an owner of the land or an improvement to land having unique physical characteristics that may be identified in the recording. (2) A person cannot claim an ownership interest in a retrievable image, sound, or data that includes an image, sound, or data that may identify another individual, a farm animal, farm equipment, or a farm structure owned by another person, or land or an improvement owned by another person, unless that other individual or person consents. 2024 Acts, ch 1131, §5; 2025 Acts, ch 56, §6 – 8 Subsection 1 amended Subsection 3, paragraph b, subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (b) amended Subsection 3, paragraph b, subparagraph (2) amended

Iowa Code § 715E.6 Exceptions — intrusion or surveillance by use of remotely piloted aircraft.

715E.6. Exceptions — intrusion or surveillance by use of remotely piloted aircraft. Sections 715E.3 and 715E.4 do not prohibit a person from controlling a remotely piloted aircraft flying over a person’s homestead or farmstead if the person controlling the remotely piloted aircraft is any of the following: 1. A person who acts with the consent of the owner of the homestead or farmstead. 2. A person who operates a remotely piloted aircraft for a commercial or agricultural use in compliance with federal aviation administration regulations, authorizations, or exemptions. 3. A department, division, or other unit of state government of this state or any other state, city, county, township, or other governmental subdivision, or any other public corporation or agency created under the laws of this state, any other state, the United States, or any department or agency thereof, or any agency, commission, or authority established pursuant to an interstate compact or agreement or combination thereof. 4. A public utility as defined in section 476.1. 5. A railroad company. 6. A person who controls the flight of a remotely piloted aircraft more than four hundred feet from the earth’s surface. 7. A person who controls the flight of a remotely piloted aircraft for the exclusive purpose of collecting information regarding weather or climate conditions. 8. The state or a governmental subdivision exercising rights to a public road right-of-way as defined in section 306.3. 9. The owner or lessee of the homestead or farmstead. 2024 Acts, ch 1131, §6; 2025 Acts, ch 56, §9, 10 Unnumbered paragraph 1 amended Subsections 1 and 9 amended

Source: Iowa Legislature (legis.iowa.gov)URL: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/iowaCode/sections?codeChapter=715E&year=2026Fetched: 10/20/2026