New Mexico is among the many Mountain States with Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Arizona.
The state has 2.11 million residents as of 2022, notes Statista. It’s an important place to stay and fly a drone, however what are the drone legal guidelines right here?
New Mexico permits drones, however state legal guidelines outlaw drone surveillance. This state doesn’t have any native legal guidelines. Pilots should at all times observe FAA tips when working a drone in New Mexico.
This information to New Mexico drone legal guidelines will break issues down federally, statewide, and regionally to debate drone utilization guidelines round parks and different elements of this nice desert state.
Whether or not you’ve simply moved right here or have lived right here for some time however simply started flying drones, you may’t miss the data we’ve forward.
Federal Drone Legal guidelines in Wyoming
The FAA oversees aviation in america, together with New Mexico. Additional, New Mexico has legal guidelines to familiarize your self with earlier than launching a drone, so let’s discover all of the pertinent legal guidelines now.
Business Drone Pilots
The FAA’s federal drone legal guidelines govern drone utilization for industrial, company, and leisure pilots.
We’ll start by discussing the necessities for industrial pilots. If you happen to want to earn cash from flying your drone and capturing footage, it’s essential to have a Distant Pilot Certificates, also called a Half 107 license.
You may solely get hold of that license by taking the Half 107 examination, the official FAA take a look at for industrial drone use. The Half 107 examination consists of over 50 multiple-choice questions that can take a look at your data of everything of the FAA’s drone utilization rulebook.
You may register to take the take a look at in case you’re 16 and older, in good bodily and psychological well being, and have a full grasp of English, together with writing, talking, and understanding it.
You should take the Half 107 examination in individual. The FAA has testing facilities scattered concerning the nation, together with New Mexico. The take a look at isn’t free, so we advocate exploring our checklist of Half 107 on-line take a look at prep programs so you may examine forward of your examination.
You go in case you reply not less than 70 p.c of the questions proper. You’ll have the Distant Pilot Certificates for the following two years. After that, you may take the FAA’s free on-line renewal examination to confirm your industrial license for one more two years.
That examination is so much much less strenuous. Whereas the FAA does require you to reply 100% of the questions appropriately, you may change your solutions earlier than you submit the take a look at, and also you’ll see incorrect solutions too. It’s not that arduous to earn an ideal rating!
Leisure Drone Pilots
Now let’s swap gears and focus on the federal necessities for leisure pilots. At the same time as a hobbyist, the FAA requires you to go an examination. Yours known as The Leisure UAS Security Take a look at or TRUST.
The TRUST examination is about 20 multiple-choice questions on FAA drone legal guidelines. You needn’t have memorized each final crevice and nook of the rulebook.
You may take the TRUST on-line at dwelling or anyplace you have got a steady Web connection. You’ll see all the wrong solutions as you go alongside, and you may change any reply you want earlier than you ship in your take a look at.
As soon as the FAA points your TRUST certificates, be sure to don’t lose it. You by no means must take the examination once more in any other case, because the TRUST license doesn’t expire.
Company Drone Pilots
We should additionally focus on company pilots, aka drone pilots contracted by the US authorities to make use of a UAV. These pilots should have a Certificates of Authority (COA) or observe Half 107 guidelines.
State Drone Legal guidelines in New Mexico
Subsequent, let’s look at New Mexico’s state legal guidelines, that are distinctive to and enforceable solely on this state. New Mexico has just one state regulation, SB 556.
SB 556 // 2013
2013’s Senate Invoice 556 was added to the state legislature to guard the privateness of its residents from drones. Together with the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, SB 556 limits the type of info drones can accumulate and curtails surveillance-heavy drone habits.
In keeping with Part 3. Prohibition Towards Surveillance by Drone or Unmanned Plane, the foundations are as follows:
“A. An individual or state company shall not use a drone or unmanned plane to assemble proof or different info pertaining to felony conduct or conduct in violation of a statute or regulation besides to the extent licensed in a warrant.
B. An individual or state company shall not use a drone or unmanned plane to conduct surveillance of a person or of property owned by a person, farm or agricultural trade with out the consent of that particular person, property proprietor, farm or agricultural trade.”
Then, per Part 4. Use of Drones or Unmanned Plane Beneath Exigent Circumstances, SB 556 lays out the next guidelines:
“The Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act doesn’t prohibit using a drone by a regulation enforcement company when exigent circumstances exist. For the needs of this part, exigent circumstances exist if a regulation enforcement company possesses affordable suspicion that, underneath explicit circumstances, swift motion is important to stop imminent hazard to life.”
SB 556 concludes by mentioning that violating this drone regulation counts as a “petty misdemeanor.” You’d obtain a positive of as much as $500 and imprisonment for underneath six months.
Does New Mexico Have Any Native Drone Legal guidelines?
Many states throughout the nation institute native drone legal guidelines, which apply to particular cities, cities, villages, and counties throughout that state. Nevertheless, not each state has native drone legal guidelines, and New Mexico is amongst them.
Which means that native ordinances shouldn’t apply. Nevertheless, you’re nonetheless required to observe the federal and state legal guidelines we’ve mentioned.
New Mexico Drone Flight FAQs
If you happen to nonetheless have a few questions on how and the place you may fly your drone in New Mexico, this part is for you. We put collectively a helpful FAQs checklist that can assist you plan your flight route.
Can I Fly a Drone in a Public Park?
Visiting a public park is a good way to get some recent air and sunshine. You can too observe flying your drone, and in case you’re in a much less busy space, you don’t have to fret about crowds.
Are you allowed to fly a drone in a New Mexico public park?
Drones are allowed in some public parks all through New Mexico, together with Pat Hurley Park and Balloon Fiesta Park in Albuquerque. Since public park drone utilization guidelines differ all through the state, please contact the park you’re concerned with visiting and ask about their drone coverage earlier than you present up.
Can I Fly a Drone in a State Park?
New Mexico has 35 illustrious state parks, together with Rockhound State Park, Storrie Lake State Park, Ute Lake State Park, Bottomless Lakes State Park, Sugarite Canyon State Park, Santa Rosa Lake State Park, and plenty of extra. Are you allowed to make use of your drone?
Drones are sometimes prohibited from getting into New Mexico state parks. Nevertheless, that rule won’t apply throughout all of the state parks within the space, so contact a park ranger or consultant earlier than you go to and ask what the foundations are.
You can too learn the sequence of articles we’ve on the weblog about flying in state parks, as these guides are an important useful resource!
Conclusion
New Mexico is a state famed for its white sands, Puebloan historical past, and panorama variety. You’re allowed to fly a drone within the state in accordance with federal regulation, however you can’t use your drone for unlawful surveillance. That state regulation applies to company pilots particularly but additionally to leisure and industrial pilots.
Though New Mexico has no native drone legal guidelines, that doesn’t make this state a free-for-all. You should at all times observe FAA tips, reminiscent of staying 5 nautical miles from navy bases and airports. You may also be restricted from flying in a few of New Mexico’s public and state parks.
