Miami-Dade County, FL Drone Rules: Recreational Drones (2026)

Section 25-11 defines an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) as the drone plus its ground control station, data links and telemetry equipment, and defines Unmanned Aircraft (UA) as the flying portion, expressly folding in "Model Aircraft, as that term is defined in Section 336 of Public Law 112-95" - the hobbyist exemption in the federal FAA Modernization and Reform Act. The ordinance then draws its no-fly zone: the "UA/UAS Restriction Zone" reaches one statute mile from each runway end and one-half mile from the runway centerline at every County airport, which includes Miami International, Opa-locka Executive, Homestead General and the county's other general-aviation fields.

Inside that zone, and anywhere on or above airport property itself, flying a drone or model aircraft is prohibited outright, at any altitude and any horizontal distance from the ground. The county carved out narrow exemptions: UAS specifically authorized by federal law or FAA rule, airport tenants whose lease authorizes drone use, and county contractors operating under an existing contract, each of whom must still notify the airport Control Tower and the Miami-Dade Aviation Department before flying. Section 25-11(6) makes the prohibition apply "to both the incorporated and unincorporated areas," so it reaches every one of the county's 34 cities, not just UMSA; the County enforces it in unincorporated territory and shares enforcement with municipal police departments inside city limits.