Drone law
Can you stop a drone from flying over your house?
You can document it, report it to local police and the FAA, and pursue state privacy remedies. You cannot legally shoot, net, jam, or hack it. You cannot simply order a drone out of the sky above your house, because you do not control the airspace. What you can do is document the drone, report unsafe or harassing operation to local law enforcement and to the FAA, use Remote ID to help identify the operator, and pursue state privacy, nuisance, or harassment remedies where your state provides them. What you cannot do is take matters into your own hands. Shooting, netting, or destroying a drone is a federal crime under 18 U.S. Code Section 32, which the FAA applies to drones as aircraft and which carries up to 20 years in prison. Jamming or hacking its signal is also prohibited by federal law, and counter-drone authority is reserved to specific federal agencies. The lawful path is to report and to use the state-law remedies that apply to how the drone is used near you. This is not legal advice.
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You cannot simply stop a drone from flying over your house on your own authority, because the FAA controls the navigable airspace and you do not. But you are not without options, and the options split cleanly into what you legally can do and what you legally cannot.
What you can do: document the drone, noting the time, direction, behavior, and any operator you can see. Report unsafe, reckless, or unauthorized operation to the FAA and report privacy or harassment concerns to your local police, who are the front line for state and local law. Use Remote ID, the broadcast signal most drones must transmit, to help law enforcement identify the drone and its operator. And where a drone records into your home or harasses you, pursue the privacy, voyeurism, nuisance, or harassment remedies your state provides, with a lawyer's help.
What you cannot do: shoot it, net it, or physically destroy it. Destroying an aircraft is a federal crime under 18 U.S. Code Section 32, and the FAA treats drones as aircraft, so firing at one can bring federal charges of up to 20 years in prison plus state reckless-discharge and property-damage liability. You also cannot jam, spoof, or hack the drone. Jamming radio signals is illegal under federal law, and counter-drone authority belongs to specific federal agencies, not to a private homeowner.
The honest bottom line: report and pursue state remedies; never attack the drone. This page is a plain reading of the public record, not legal advice.
What you legally can do
The sanctioned path: document the drone, report it, use Remote ID to help identify the operator, and pursue the state privacy remedies where you live.
- You can document the drone and report it to local law enforcement.
You can record the time, direction, and behavior of the drone and any operator you can see, and report unsafe, harassing, or invasive operation to your local police. Local law enforcement is the front line for privacy, harassment, and nuisance complaints, which are governed by state and local law that varies by state.
- You can pursue state privacy, nuisance, or harassment remedies.
If a drone records into your home or repeatedly harasses you, state and local privacy, voyeurism, nuisance, and harassment laws may give you a remedy, and a lawyer in your state can advise. These laws vary substantially from state to state, so what is available depends on where you live. DEPLOY tracks no single national rule here because there is not one.
- You can report unsafe drone operation to the FAA.
The FAA accepts reports of unsafe or unauthorized drone operation, such as a drone flown recklessly, over people, or in restricted airspace. The FAA handles the airspace-safety side of a complaint, while local police handle the privacy and harassment side. Reporting to both is the sanctioned path.
What you legally cannot do
Taking the drone down yourself is a federal crime. These are the actions that can expose you to serious charges, each attributed to the statute behind it.
- You cannot jam, spoof, or hack the drone's signal.
Using a signal jammer or a takeover device against a drone is prohibited by federal law. Jamming radio communications is illegal, and interfering with an aircraft can also implicate the aircraft-sabotage statute. Counter-drone authority is reserved to specific federal agencies; a private homeowner has none. Do not attempt to capture or disable a drone electronically.
You cannot do thisJan 1, 2026Federal law (aircraft and communications statutes) - You cannot shoot, net, or physically destroy the drone.
Shooting down or destroying a drone is a federal crime. Under 18 U.S. Code Section 32 it is unlawful to damage, destroy, or disable an aircraft, and the FAA treats drones as aircraft, so firing at one exposes you to federal charges carrying up to 20 years in prison, on top of state reckless-discharge and property-damage liability.
The options at a glance
A dated view of every option, lawful first, then prohibited, each attributed to its source.
- Jan 1, 2026You can document the drone and report it to local law enforcement.You can do this
You can record the time, direction, and behavior of the drone and any operator you can see, and report unsafe, harassing, or invasive operation to your local police. Local law enforcement is the front line for privacy, harassment, and nuisance complaints, which are governed by state and local law that varies by state.
Local law enforcement (state and local law)FAA - Jan 1, 2026You can pursue state privacy, nuisance, or harassment remedies.You can do this
If a drone records into your home or repeatedly harasses you, state and local privacy, voyeurism, nuisance, and harassment laws may give you a remedy, and a lawyer in your state can advise. These laws vary substantially from state to state, so what is available depends on where you live. DEPLOY tracks no single national rule here because there is not one.
State and local law (varies by state)FAA - Jan 1, 2024You can report unsafe drone operation to the FAA.You can do this
The FAA accepts reports of unsafe or unauthorized drone operation, such as a drone flown recklessly, over people, or in restricted airspace. The FAA handles the airspace-safety side of a complaint, while local police handle the privacy and harassment side. Reporting to both is the sanctioned path.
Federal Aviation AdministrationFAA
How we know this
Every option on this page is attributed to its source: the FAA's own guidance on reporting and Remote ID, and 18 U.S. Code Section 32, the federal statute that makes destroying an aircraft a crime. Here are the sources behind each point.
The lawful options rest on FAA guidance and state law; the prohibitions rest on federal criminal statutes. State privacy and nuisance remedies vary by state. This page is a plain reading of the record, not legal advice.
Common questions
Can I legally shoot down a drone over my property?
What should I do if a drone keeps flying over my house?
Can I jam or hack a drone flying over my house?
Can I call the police about a drone over my house?
Can I sue the drone operator?
Can I catch or knock down a drone with something other than a gun?
Keep reading
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