Sioux Falls, SD Drone Rules: Commercial Drones (2026)

Federal 14 CFR Part 107 is the operative commercial framework: a Remote Pilot Certificate (Part 107 with Initial Knowledge Test, retest every 24 months), Remote ID broadcast (mandatory since March 16, 2024), daylight-or-civil-twilight-with-anti-collision-lighting operations, 400 ft AGL ceiling, visual line of sight, and operations only over people only with Category 1–4 compliance. South Dakota's SDCL Chapter 50-15 (2017 SB 80) is a criminal-law overlay: SDCL 50-15-3 (no operation over prison/jail/military without authorization — Class 1 misdemeanor); SDCL 50-15-4 (delivering contraband or controlled substances via drone to a correctional facility — Class 6 felony); SDCL 50-15-5 (intentional drone surveillance in a private place — Class 1 misdemeanor). SDCL 50-15-13 acknowledges federal authority over navigable airspace, which courts have read to preempt local airspace regulation while leaving cities authority over takeoff, landing, and operations from city property. The City of Sioux Falls has not enacted a separate commercial permit; commercial operators must, however, secure LAANC airspace authorization before any flight in the KFSD Class D surface area (which envelops downtown and most populated neighborhoods). The Sioux Falls Police Department operates its own UAS program under SDCL 50-15-15 et seq. judicial-warrant rules for law-enforcement drone surveillance. Commercial operators photographing private property still face SDCL 50-15-5 privacy liability and SDCL 21-10-1 nuisance exposure even with a valid Part 107.