Surveillance by use of remotely piloted aircraft — offense.
Iowa Code § 715E.4
in effect715E.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
Source: Iowa Legislature (legis.iowa.gov)URL: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/715E.4.pdfFetched: 10/20/2026