Yolo County, CA Drone Rules: Commercial Drones (2026)

Sec. 220 splits drone use in county parks into two tracks. Recreational flying is allowed unless a park has posted a prohibition, but the section flatly states that commercial or other uses are not allowed except by written authorization or by permit by the Director. That puts commercial drone work, such as aerial photography for a business, real estate marketing, or paid inspection flights, on the same discretionary-permission footing as other commercial park activities regulated elsewhere in the chapter, including the commercial filming and vending restrictions in Sec.

213. There is no separate published fee schedule for drone permits specifically; any charges or conditions the Director attaches would run through the general park permits-and-fees framework in Sec. 215, which lets the Department set fees and lets the Director impose conditions it finds necessary to protect the park or public health and safety. As with recreational flights, a commercial drone operator must still avoid creating a nuisance to other people or to wildlife, and the county's 55-pound drone definition in Sec. 102(e) applies to commercial operations the same as recreational ones. This scheme is part of Ord. 1581, effective December 18, 2025.