Safety Harbor, FL Drone Rules: Recreational Drones (2026)

934.50 Searches and seizure using a drone. — (1) SHORT TITLE. — This act may be cited as the “Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act.” (2) DEFINITIONS. — As used in this act, the term: (a) “Drone” means a powered, aerial vehicle that: 1. Does not carry a human operator; 2. Uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift; 3. Can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely; 4. Can be expendable or recoverable; and 5. Can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. (b) “Image” means a record of thermal, infrared, ultraviolet, visible light, or other electromagnetic waves; sound waves; odors; or other physical phenomena which captures conditions existing on or about real property or an individual located on that property. (c) “Imaging device” means a mechanical, digital, or electronic viewing device; still camera; camcorder; motion picture camera; or any other instrument, equipment, or format capable of recording, storing, or transmitting an image. (d) “Law enforcement agency” means a lawfully established state or local public agency that is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime, local government code enforcement, and the enforcement of penal, traffic, regulatory, game, or controlled substance laws. (e) “Surveillance” means: 1. With respect to an owner, tenant, occupant, invitee, or licensee of privately owned real property, the observation of such persons with sufficient visual clarity to be able to obtain information about their identity, habits, conduct, movements, or whereabouts; or 2. With respect to privately owned real property, the observation of such property’s physical improvements with sufficient visual clarity to be able to determine unique identifying features or its occupancy by one or more persons. (3) PROHIBITED USE OF DRONES. — (a) A law enforcement agency may not use a drone to gather evidence or other information, except as provided in subsection (4). (b) A person, a state agency, or a political subdivision as defined in s. 11.45 may not use a drone equipped with an imaging device to record an image of privately owned real property or of the owner, tenant, occupant, invitee, or licensee of such property with the intent to conduct surveillance on the individual or property captured in the image in violation of such person’s reasonable expectation of privacy without his or her written consent. For purposes of this section, a person is presumed to have a reasonable expectation of privacy on his or her privately owned real property if he or she is not observable by persons located at ground level in a place where they have a legal right to be, regardless of whether he or she is observable from the air with the use of a drone. (4) EXCEPTIONS. — This section does not prohibit the use of a drone: (a) To counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization if the United States Secretary of Homeland Security determines that credible intelligence indicates that there is such a risk. (b) If the law enforcement agency first obtains a search warrant signed by a judge authorizing the use of a drone. (c) If the law enforcement agency possesses reasonable suspicion that, under particular circumstances, swift action is needed to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to property, to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect or the destruction of evidence, or to achieve purposes including, but not limited to, facilitating the search for a missing person. (d) To provide a law enforcement agency with an aerial perspective of a crowd of 50 people or