Real estate drone photography in Maryland.

Three kinds of Maryland address.

Maryland drone work around Washington falls into three groups, and our booking check sorts every address into one of them before you pay.

• Inside the DC zone. The inner suburbs of Montgomery and Prince George's counties sit inside the 17.3-mile ring around Reagan National that our check uses for the DC Flight Restricted Zone. Bethesda is inside the DC Flight Restricted Zone (17.3 miles around Reagan National) in our check, so our pilot files the FAA/TSA authorization before the flight (book a few business days ahead), and Silver Spring is in the same position. Upper Marlboro, near Joint Base Andrews, is inside the DC Flight Restricted Zone (17.3 miles around Reagan National) in our check, so our pilot files the FAA/TSA authorization before the flight (book a few business days ahead). The ring's edge runs close to Rockville and Bowie, so those addresses are decided one by one: Rockville is inside the DC Flight Restricted Zone (17.3 miles around Reagan National) in our check, so our pilot files the FAA/TSA authorization before the flight (book a few business days ahead), while Bowie clears every ring in our airspace check.
• Near BWI. Linthicum, next to the airport, is inside the 5-mile BWI ring in our check, so our pilot gets LAANC authorization before the flight, usually in minutes. The request goes through LAANC before take-off; you don't need to do anything.
• Everywhere else we shoot. Annapolis clears every ring in our airspace check. Columbia clears every ring in our airspace check. Frederick clears every ring in our airspace check. No authorization wait for those, though the pilot still runs B4UFLY and LAANC on the day, because temporary restrictions can appear at short notice.

How the authorization actually happens.

1. You book with the address, the date you want and any access notes. Drone is never blocked at booking.
2. The address is checked against the rings in our system, and the result shows on your order and our run sheet: clear, LAANC first, base coordination first, or FAA/TSA authorization first.
3. Our Part 107 pilot files the request. LAANC near BWI usually comes back within minutes. Inside the DC zone, the pilot files the FAA/TSA authorization as soon as the order is in, which is why we ask for at least 3 business days; the agencies set the actual turnaround, so earlier is always better.
4. If the approval isn't back by shoot day, the photos, video and 3D tour go ahead on schedule and the pilot returns for the aerials once it is. The listing never waits on the drone.
5. On the day, the pilot rechecks the airspace and the weather before take-off. If wind or rain grounds the drone, the flight is rescheduled at no cost.

Where Maryland aerials earn their keep.

Waterfront. On the Chesapeake, the Severn, the South River and the Patuxent, the shoreline, the pier and the open water are the listing, and a drone shows how they connect to the house in one frame. Our pages for Annapolis and Southern Maryland cover those markets. Acreage. Upcounty Montgomery, Frederick and Carroll counties have farms, horse properties and homes on several acres, where aerials show the parcel lines, the outbuildings and the setting. New communities. Builders around Columbia, Frederick and the I-270 corridor use a community flyover to show the amenities and the street plan. Close-in homes. Inside the DC zone, a few aerials of a Bethesda or Silver Spring colonial show the lot and the tree cover; we plan them a few business days out and shoot the rest of the listing first if the date is tight.

Military and special airspace beyond our rings.

Maryland has airspace our ring check doesn't model on its own: Naval Air Station Patuxent River in St. Mary's County, Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County, and the restricted area around Camp David in Frederick County. For addresses near any of them, the pilot works from the FAA's current charts and notices and coordinates before shoot day, and we tell you if that changes the lead time. Our guide to drone rules in Maryland explains each of these, plus the 2015 state law that keeps drone rules at the state level rather than county by county.

What we need from you.

• The exact address and the date you want, booked as early as you can for close-in addresses.
• Anything on the property worth flying: a pier, a pool, a barn, a long drive, a view.
• For a condo or an HOA common area, who approves a take-off, since that's the building's decision, not the FAA's.
• Gate codes, animals in the yard and cars to move, in your access notes.

Neighbors sometimes ask about a drone overhead. Our pilots launch from the listing with the owner's permission, frame on the subject property and don't hover over other yards; a quick word to the neighbors before the shoot answers most questions before they come up.

Lead times, ring by ring.

These are the rings in our booking check that matter most here, and how much notice each one needs. The same check runs on every address when you book.

Maryland places we have checked.

Our airspace check, place by place. Drone is available at every one of them. FAA/TSA authorization filed ahead: Bethesda (DC Flight Restricted Zone (17.3 miles around Reagan National)), Silver Spring (DC Flight Restricted Zone (17.3 miles around Reagan National)), Rockville (DC Flight Restricted Zone (17.3 miles around Reagan National)), Upper Marlboro (DC Flight Restricted Zone (17.3 miles around Reagan National)) and Waldorf (DC Flight Restricted Zone (17.3 miles around Reagan National)). LAANC authorization first: Linthicum (5-mile BWI ring). Clear of every ring: Germantown, Bowie, Annapolis, Columbia and Frederick. Every address is checked when you book, and the pilot runs B4UFLY and LAANC on the day of every flight.

Measured from the center of each place against the rings on our drone page. Your exact address is checked when you book.

Where we fly in Maryland.

No travel fee in Charles County, Prince George's County, Montgomery County, Calvert County, St. Mary's County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Frederick County, Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Farther out (Carroll County, Washington County, Harford County, Cecil County), ask about travel before you book; the Eastern Shore is by request. Local pages cover neighborhoods, homes and the airspace check for each area: