Virginia HB1219: Drone Warrants and Crime Scene Use

LegiScan Virginia

Published March 14th, 2026

Detected March 29th, 2026

Summary

Virginia HB1219 expedites search warrants for law enforcement use of drones and permits their use without a warrant in specific crime scene and public safety scenarios. The bill also mandates the Department of Criminal Justice Services to establish a model policy for drone use by December 1, 2026.

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What changed

Virginia House Bill 1219, enacted on March 14, 2026, significantly alters the conditions under which law enforcement may utilize unmanned aircraft systems (drones). The bill expedites the issuance of search warrants for drone surveillance upon a finding of reasonable and probable cause by an authorized judicial official. Furthermore, it permits the use of drones without a warrant for surveying crime scenes, responding to public safety calls on public property, locating fleeing individuals, and providing real-time aerial observation for on-scene safety and security.

Law enforcement agencies in Virginia must adhere to these new provisions, which are subject to a reenactment clause. A critical compliance action is the development and implementation of a model policy for drone use, to be established by the Department of Criminal Justice Services in consultation with other relevant bodies by December 1, 2026. Compliance with the expedited warrant procedures and the specific warrantless use cases is now required, with potential legal implications for non-adherence.

What to do next

Comply with expedited search warrant procedures for drone use.
Adhere to specified warrantless drone use cases for crime scene surveying and public safety.
Develop and implement a model policy for drone use by December 1, 2026.

Source document (simplified)

VA HB1219 | 2026 | Regular Regular Session

Virginia House Bill 1219

VA State Legislature page for HB1219
- Summary
- Sponsors
- Texts
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Status

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: Enrolled on March 14 2026 - 75% progression
Action: 2026-03-25 - Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026
Text: Latest bill text (Enrolled) [HTML]

Summary

Use of unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers; search warrants; model policy. Expedites the issuance of a search warrant for unmanned aircraft systems by law-enforcement officers upon a finding of reasonable and probable cause by an authorized judicial official, as defined in the bill, and permits the use of unmanned aircraft systems without a search warrant when law enforcement is surveying the scene of a crime or to respond to a public safety call for service when such crime scene or call for service is located on public property, to locate a person when such person has fled the offense location during the initial response to an incident, or to provide real-time aerial observation to increase on-scene safety and security. Such provisions are subject to a reenactment clause.The bill also requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services, in consultation with the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission and the Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys, to establish a model policy for the use of unmanned aircraft systems by December 1, 2026. This bill is identical to SB 647.
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Title

Unmanned aircraft systems; use by law-enforcement officers, search warrants.

Roll Calls

2026-03-09 - Senate - Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 40 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-03-05 - Senate - Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 39 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 1) [PASS]
2026-03-04 - Senate - Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Y: 15 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-25 - Senate - Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Y: 15 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-17 - House - Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N 0-A) (Y: 97 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 3) [PASS]
2026-02-11 - House - Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) (Y: 22 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2026-02-06 - House - Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) (Y: 10 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]

History

| Date | Chamber | Action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-25 | | Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 |
| 2026-03-25 | House | Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 25, 2026 |
| 2026-03-18 | House | Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1219) |
| 2026-03-14 | Senate | Signed by President |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Signed by Speaker |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1219ER) |
| 2026-03-14 | House | Enrolled |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Read third time |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Passed by for the day (Voice Vote) |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Rules suspended |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-25 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Fiscal Impact statement From DPB (2/17/2026 3:20 pm) |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Engrossed by House - committee substitute |
| 2026-02-17 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A) |
| 2026-02-16 | House | committee substitute agreed to |
| 2026-02-16 | House | Read second time |
| 2026-02-13 | House | Read first time |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Committee substitute printed 26106525D-H1 |
| 2026-02-11 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (22-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-06 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) |
| 2026-02-06 | House | House subcommittee offered |
| 2026-01-23 | House | Assigned HCJ sub: Criminal |
| 2026-01-14 | House | Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
| 2026-01-14 | House | Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103614D |

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