Stockton, CA Drone Rules: Recreational Drones (2026)

Searches of Stockton Municipal Code Titles 9 (Public Peace, Morals and Welfare) and 10 (Vehicles and Traffic) do not produce a stand-alone drone (UAS) chapter — Stockton has not adopted a general city-wide ordinance regulating recreational drone flight, and federal law preempts local regulation of navigable airspace. The applicable framework is the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (codified at 49 U.S.C. §44809), which requires recreational pilots to: (1) fly only for recreation; (2) follow the safety guidelines of an FAA-recognized Community Based Organization; (3) keep the drone within visual line-of-sight; (4) yield right-of-way to manned aircraft; (5) fly at or below 400 ft AGL in uncontrolled (Class G) airspace; (6) obtain LAANC authorization before flying in controlled airspace; (7) pass the FAA's free TRUST exam and carry proof; and (8) register the drone with the FAA if it weighs more than 0.55 lb (250 g). Most of central Stockton, the Port of Stockton, and the Stockton Metropolitan Airport (KSCK) corridor sit inside Class D controlled airspace extending from the surface up to 2,700 ft MSL with a roughly 4 nm radius — recreational pilots in that zone must use LAANC to obtain an authorization at the published UAS Facility Map altitude. California Civil Code §1708.8 creates civil liability for using a drone to capture images of someone engaging in a 'private, personal, or familial activity' without consent (the anti-paparazzi statute). California Penal Code §402 makes interfering with first-responder emergency operations with a UAS a misdemeanor. The Stockton Municipal Code's Aircraft Operations Overlay District (Title 16) regulates land use under the airport's flight paths but does not separately license UAS pilots.