Drone rules for real estate in Maryland.

Start with the federal rule

In Maryland, as everywhere in the U.S., the sky belongs to the FAA. Photographing a property for sale is a business use, so the flight falls under the FAA's small drone rule, Part 107, whether or not anyone is paid for the photos. In practice that means a pilot holding a Part 107 remote pilot certificate, a registered drone, Remote ID for most aircraft, and the everyday Part 107 limits on altitude, line of sight and flying over people. Our guide to drone rules in DC and Northern Virginia walks through those basics; everything below is about what's different on the Maryland side.

The Washington rings reach well into Maryland

The FAA's page on flying near the capital (faa.gov) describes a Special Flight Rules Area within 30 miles of Reagan National Airport, with a 15-mile inner ring where drone flights need specific FAA authorization. Because Reagan National sits on the Potomac just south of the city, those rings spread across a large part of Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Aviation distances are nautical miles, so KONAH's own booking check models the inner ring at 17.3 statute miles (about 15 nautical) to stay on the safe side; in that check, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Kensington, Rockville, the inner Prince George's suburbs, National Harbor and Waldorf sit inside it, while Gaithersburg, Olney and Bowie sit outside it.

Between the inner ring and the outer edge of the Special Flight Rules Area, Part 107 flights go ahead under the normal rules plus whatever airspace authorization the spot needs. So most of upper Montgomery County and much of Prince George's is ordinary Part 107 territory with an extra layer of care.

Inside the inner ring: authorization and lead time

For a Bethesda colonial or a Silver Spring condo building, aerials are still possible. The difference is paperwork and time: our Part 107 pilot files the FAA/TSA authorization request before the flight, and the answer takes days rather than minutes. The practical plan is to book the drone a few business days ahead. If the listing date is tight, the photos, video and 3D tour happen first and the pilot returns for the aerials once the authorization comes back, so the listing never waits on the drone.

Condo boards and HOAs may also need to approve a take-off from a roof or a shared lawn. That isn't an FAA matter, but it's part of planning a flight in the denser suburbs.

BWI and the regional airports: LAANC

Baltimore/Washington International has controlled airspace around it that reaches into parts of Anne Arundel and Howard counties. Close to airports like that, Part 107 pilots request permission through LAANC, the FAA's Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, using an FAA-approved app. For the low heights real estate work uses, LAANC answers usually come back in minutes. KONAH's booking check flags addresses within 5 miles of BWI for LAANC first.

Maryland also has smaller airports with their own airspace, from Frederick and Hagerstown to the Eastern Shore. Our ring check doesn't model each of them, which is exactly why the pilot runs B4UFLY and LAANC for the specific address on the day of every flight, not just at booking.

Military and federal airspace

Four places shape Maryland flights more than any airport:

• Joint Base Andrews in Prince George's County. KONAH's check treats addresses within 6 miles of the base like the DC zone: the pilot files the authorization before the flight, so book a few business days ahead. Much of the area around the base is also inside the 15-mile Washington ring.
• Naval Air Station Patuxent River in St. Mary's County. The airspace around Lexington Park is controlled by the Navy, so for homes near the base the pilot coordinates the authorization before shoot day.
• Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. There's military airspace along the bay near Aberdeen, so homes on that side of the county get the same advance coordination.
• Camp David in the Catoctin Mountains near Thurmont. The retreat sits inside Prohibited Area P-40, and the restricted area around it can grow with temporary flight restrictions when the president is there. Listings in that part of Frederick County are planned case by case from the FAA's current charts and notices.

We don't publish boundaries for military airspace here; they change, and the pilot works from the FAA's current charts and NOTAMs, not from a web page.

Maryland's own drone law

Maryland decided early that drone operation is regulated at the state level, not county by county. A 2015 law (Senate Bill 370, Chapter 164 of 2015) says only the State may prohibit, restrict or regulate the testing or operation of unmanned aircraft, and it supersedes county and municipal ordinances that tried to (fiscal note, Maryland General Assembly). That's why you won't find a different drone ordinance in every Maryland town. It doesn't change federal rules, and it doesn't make it acceptable to ignore trespass, privacy or harassment laws.

Lawmakers keep returning to the subject. In 2025, for example, the General Assembly considered House Bill 1349, aimed at drones that enter someone else's property and come within 50 feet of a home to photograph it or its occupants without consent (fiscal note). Whether a bill like that is law when you read this is something to check on the General Assembly's site, but the practical rule for listing work is already clear: launch from the listing with the owner's permission, keep the camera on the subject property and stay away from neighbors' homes.

Parks, trails and public land

Maryland has a lot of protected land next to homes for sale: the C&O Canal along the Potomac, Catoctin Mountain Park, Greenbelt Park, Assateague on the coast, and state parks across the map. National Park Service units have their own rules on launching and landing drones, and Maryland's state parks set their own policies too, so the safe default is to take off from the listing itself and photograph the park as the view it is. If a shot really needs a launch from public land, the pilot asks the park first.

Waterfront listings on the Bay

Chesapeake Bay and river-front homes are some of the best drone subjects in the state: the shoreline, the pier, the boat lift and the open water all read best from above. They're also where wind matters most. Breezes off open water are often stronger and gustier than inland, and glare off the surface can wash out a midday aerial. Morning flights on a calm day usually work best, and a short aerial clip pairs well with a waterfront listing set. Southern Maryland waterfront near Pax River also falls under the military coordination above.

How KONAH checks a Maryland address

When you book a shoot with drone, the address is measured against the rings in our booking check: the 15-mile DC zone around Reagan National, the Reagan National Class B surface area, BWI, Andrews and the Virginia rings. Our local pages for Montgomery County, Prince George's County and Southern Maryland show that check place by place. For the airspace our check doesn't model, like Pax River, Aberdeen and Camp David, the pilot coordinates before shoot day. And on the day of every flight, the pilot runs B4UFLY and LAANC again, because temporary restrictions can appear overnight. You can run the same first check yourself with our free airspace checker.

What to tell Maryland sellers

Keep it to one sentence: "Aerials are part of the plan; close to DC, Andrews or the bases, the pilot gets authorization first, so the drone photos may come a few days after the rest." Then ask the questions that actually affect a flight: animals in the yard, a pool cover to remove, cars to move, and whether the seller wants neighbors to get a heads-up. Sellers rarely know the airspace rules, but they always notice when a plan was explained in advance.