California law
AB 481
Military equipment, including drones
- Citation
- Government Code 7070 and following
- Enacted
- Status
- In force
- Governs
- Drones
What it requires
Drones are classed as military equipment. A law enforcement agency must obtain its governing body's approval of a military equipment use policy by ordinance before funding, acquiring or using one, publish an annual report on the equipment's use on its website, and hold a community meeting within 30 days of releasing that report.
Source: California AB 481 (2021), Government Code 7070 and following, accessed 17 Aug 2026
Assembly Bill 481 took effect in 2022. Its definition of military equipment includes unmanned aircraft, which is why a drone program falls under it.[1] What the law requires of an agency is summarized above, with the statute cited.
The approval is the part residents can act on. The ordinance comes to a city council or board of supervisors as an agenda item, with public comment. The annual report is where the record of actual use lives.
Agencies with a policy on record
| Agency | County | Policy | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County Sheriff's Office | Butte County | Posted | 22 Aug 2026 |
| Chico Police Department | Butte County | Posted | 22 Aug 2026 |
| Antioch Police Department | Contra Costa County | On file | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Marin County Sheriff's Office | Marin County | On file | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Napa County Sheriff's Office | Napa County | On file | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Placer County District Attorney's Office | Placer County | Posted | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Placer County Probation Department | Placer County | Posted | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Placer County Sheriff's Office | Placer County | Posted | 23 Aug 2026 |
| San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office | San Joaquin County | On file | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office | Santa Cruz County | On file | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Solano County Sheriff's Office | Solano County | Posted | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Sonoma County Sheriff's Office | Sonoma County | On file | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Woodland Police Department | Yolo County | On file | 23 Aug 2026 |
| Yolo County Sheriff's Office | Yolo County | On file | 23 Aug 2026 |
"Posted" means the policy is published where the law requires it. "On file" means we hold the document. "Not posted" and "not found" mean we could not find it on the agency's own website on the date shown; they say nothing about how the system is used. An agency with a dash has not been checked, which is not a finding.
Where this technology is documented
- Alameda County
- Butte County
- Contra Costa County
- El Dorado County
- Imperial County
- Inyo County
- Los Angeles County
- Marin County
- Mariposa County
- Merced County
- Mono County
- Monterey County
- Napa County
- Nevada County
- Placer County
- San Bernardino County
- San Francisco County
- San Joaquin County
- Santa Cruz County
- Solano County
- Sonoma County
- Tulare County
- Tuolumne County
- Yolo County
What you can do
Ask your agency for the policy this law requires, and watch the agenda of the body that approves it. The California page lists every county we cover and how far each has been researched.
Each technology page explains what the system records and what reduces your exposure to it: Drones .
Sources
- 1. California AB 481 (2021), Government Code 7070 and following · Law · · accessed · archived copy