Recreational drone flights over Kanawha County follow FAA rules under 49 U.S.C. 44809: register drones over 250 grams, pass the TRUST test, and stay below 400 feet. Yeager Airport's controlled airspace over Charleston requires LAANC authorization.
No Kanawha County ordinance governs the airspace; the FAA does. Under 49 U.S.C. 44809 you may fly recreationally without a Part 107 certificate if you register any drone over 250 grams, pass the free TRUST test, keep the aircraft in sight, and stay below 400 feet. The big local constraint is West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW), whose Class D controlled airspace blankets much of Charleston and its river valleys; you need LAANC authorization to launch there. West Virginia adds Code 61-16-2, which makes it a crime to use a drone to invade privacy, harass, or surveil people or targeted facilities. Give the State Capitol Complex a wide berth.
The FAA enforces the flight rules with civil penalties reaching thousands of dollars for unregistered or unsafe flight. Using a drone to spy or harass is a separate misdemeanor under W. Va. Code 61-16-2.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Kanawha County, WV
Kanawha County does not regulate holiday lights, inflatables, or yard displays on private property, and West Virginia has no state holiday-display law. No co...
Kanawha County, WV
Temporary garage-sale signs are generally fine on your own property. Unincorporated Kanawha County barely regulates them; cities apply their zoning sign code...
Kanawha County, WV
Political signs are allowed on private property across Kanawha County. Unincorporated areas have little sign regulation; Charleston's zoning code governs sig...
Kanawha County, WV
West Virginia has no statewide rental license, and unincorporated Kanawha County runs no rental registry. Programs are municipal: West Virginia Code §8-12-16...
Kanawha County, WV
West Virginia has no just-cause eviction law, and Kanawha County cannot add one. A landlord ends a month-to-month tenancy with a full period's notice under §...
Kanawha County, WV
Neither Kanawha County nor Charleston can impose rent control. West Virginia is a Dillon's Rule state, and the Legislature has never granted local government...
See how Kanawha County's recreational drones rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.