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

South Dakota's drone framework lives in SDCL Chapter 50-15 (enacted as SB 80 in 2017). SDCL 50-15-3 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to operate a drone over the grounds of a prison, jail, juvenile detention, or military facility without authorization. SDCL 50-15-5 makes intentional drone surveillance of a person in a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy a Class 1 misdemeanor (the state's anti-snooping rule). SDCL 50-11-9.1 exempts drones under 55 lb from state aircraft registration. SDCL 50-15-13 expressly recognizes federal (FAA) authority over the navigable airspace, which under the FAA's 2024 Remote ID rule and 14 CFR Part 107 / 49 USC 44809 (Recreational Flyer carve-out) applies to all flights. Federal rules: stay below 400 ft AGL above ground, maintain visual line of sight, fly only during daylight (or with anti-collision lighting at twilight), do not interfere with manned aircraft, and obtain LAANC authorization before flying in controlled airspace. Sioux Falls Regional Airport (KFSD) sits inside Class D / overlying Class C airspace; the entire central city is within or adjacent to controlled airspace requiring LAANC authorization before takeoff. Sioux Falls itself has not adopted a recreational-flight ban modeled on Aberdeen's 2020 ordinance (Aberdeen Ord. 20-03-01 prohibits recreational drone flight over city property without consent — that ordinance does NOT apply to Sioux Falls). Recreational use over private property in Sioux Falls is otherwise lawful subject to trespass, nuisance (SDCL 21-10-1), and disorderly conduct (SDCL 22-18-35) backstops.