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The Legislative Service Commission staff updates the Revised Code on an ongoing basis, as it completes its act review of enacted legislation. Updates may be slower during some times of the year, depending on the volume of enacted legislation.

Section 4561.62

Ohio Revised Code
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Title 45 Motor Vehicles-Aeronautics-Watercraft
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Chapter 4561 Aeronautics
 
Section 4561.62 is not yet in effect. It takes effect October 6, 2026.
Effective:
October 6, 2026
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 251 - 136th General Assembly
PDF:
Download Authenticated PDF
 

A law enforcement agency may use an unmanned aerial vehicle for surveillance without a search warrant as follows:

(A) To patrol within fifty miles of a national border for purposes of policing that border to prevent or deter the illegal entry of any individual, illegal substance, or contraband;

(B) When exigent circumstances exist, including to photograph and record evidence that is at imminent risk of destruction;

(C) Before, during, or immediately after an environmental or weather-related catastrophe to allow the agency to better preserve public safety, to protect property, to survey environmental damage in order to determine if a state of emergency should be declared, or to conduct surveillance for the assessment and evaluation of damage, erosion, flood, or contamination;

(D) To examine the scene of a vehicle accident, monitor traffic congestion, or conduct other forms of traffic law enforcement under Chapter 4511. or 4513. of the Revised Code or an equivalent municipal ordinance that does not require a peace officer to obtain a search warrant in advance of conducting such enforcement;

(E) To photograph and record evidence at a crime scene;

(F) To operate in navigable airspace, in a physically nonintrusive manner, in order to observe what is otherwise visible to the naked eye;

(G) To collect information from a public area if there is a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in that area;

(H) To conduct a threat assessment prior to a large or populous event where law enforcement anticipates general public safety being a risk factor;

(I) For research, education, training, testing, or development efforts related to unmanned aerial vehicles or unmanned aerial vehicle systems, their technologies, and their potential applications, undertaken by or in conjunction with a school, an institution of higher education, or a public or private collaborator.

Last updated July 16, 2026 at 12:45 PM

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