California Legal Codes and Statutes

§ 853

Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 834, Sec. 2. (SB 807) Effective January 1, 2017.

A local public entity or public employee of a local public entity shall not be liable for any damage to an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system, if the damage was caused while the local public entity or public employee of a local public entity was providing, and the unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system was interfering

with, the operation, support, or enabling of any of the following emergency services:

(a)Emergency medical services or ambulance transport services, including, but not limited to, air ambulance services.
(b)Firefighting or firefighting-related services, including, but not limited to, air services related to firefighting or firefighting-related services.
(c)Search and rescue services, including, but not limited to, air search and rescue services.

Cite this section

Cal. Gov. Code § 853 (2026)
https://ca.codecond.com/codes/gov/title-1-general/division-3-6-claims-and-actions-against-public-entities-and-public-employees/part-2-liability-of-public-entities-and-public-employees/chapter-4-5-unmanned-aircraft/section-853

Other sections in Chapter 4.5 - Unmanned Aircraft

§ 853§ 853.1§ 853.5

This content is for reference, learning, and study purposes only. All legal text should be verified against the official California Legislative Information website, which is the authoritative source for California law. Data last processed: February 15, 2026.