Updated October 2026

Part 107 study guide: how to pass the FAA drone test

To fly a drone for money in the US you need an FAA remote pilot certificate, often called a Part 107 license. You get it by passing a 60-question knowledge test at an FAA testing center, then applying online. This guide lists the steps, what the test covers, the numbers to learn and a plain two-week plan.

How do I get a Part 107 license?

The FAA's Become a drone pilot page sets out the route. Before you start, check that you are eligible. Under 14 CFR 107.61 you must be at least 16 to hold the certificate, you must be able to read, speak, write and understand English, and you must not know of a physical or mental condition that would stop you flying safely. You do not need an FAA medical certificate.

1. Create an IACRA profile and get your FTN

   IACRA is the FAA's online application system. Making a profile gives you an FAA Tracking Number (FTN). You need the FTN before you can book the test.

2. Book the UAG test at a testing center

   The Part 107 test is called UAG, "Unmanned Aircraft General - Small". You take it by appointment at an FAA-approved Knowledge Testing Center. Bring government photo ID that shows your photo, signature, date of birth and permanent mailing address. The FAA says centers charge approximately $175.

3. Pass with 70% or better

   You can sit the test from age 14. A passing report can be used to apply for the certificate for 24 calendar months.

4. File Form 8710-13 in IACRA

   Log back in to IACRA and file FAA Form 8710-13. You enter the 17-digit Knowledge Test Exam ID from your report. Your result can take up to 48 hours after the test to show up in IACRA.

5. Clear the TSA security check

   The TSA runs a background check on your application. It must finish before the FAA issues a temporary certificate.

6. Print your temporary certificate

   The FAA emails you instructions to print it from IACRA. A temporary certificate lasts up to 120 calendar days, or until the permanent certificate arrives.

7. Receive the permanent certificate

   The permanent certificate does not expire. Carry it, with photo ID, whenever you fly under Part 107.

8. Stay current every 24 calendar months

   To keep flying as remote pilot in command, complete the free online course ALC-677, Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent, on FAASafety.gov. No new card is issued, so keep the completion certificate as proof.

Before your first paid job you also need to register each drone under Part 107 and meet the Remote ID rule. Those are covered under Regulations below.

What is the Part 107 test like?

All questions are objective multiple choice. Here are the facts the FAA publishes in its Airman Certification Standards and testing matrix.

One warning. Cheating on the test, including using unauthorized aids or testing for someone else, bars you from any FAA test or certificate for one year under 107.69.

Numbers to memorize

Many questions turn on a number. Learn this table well. The last column names the rule, so you can look it up.

What to study, topic by topic

Section 107.73 lists 13 knowledge areas. The test and the recurrent training both cover them. Here is what to learn in each.

1. Regulations

• Who may fly. Nobody may act as remote pilot in command without the certificate and current recency. A person without a certificate may fly the controls only under the direct supervision of a remote pilot who can take over at once.
• Carry your papers. Keep your certificate and photo ID on you. Show them on request to the FAA, the NTSB, the TSA or any law enforcement officer.
• Registration. Every drone flown under Part 107 needs its own registration, whatever its weight. It costs $5 and lasts 3 years. The number must be on an outside surface. A drone registered as recreational cannot be flown under Part 107.
• Remote ID. You meet it in one of three ways: a Standard Remote ID drone, a broadcast module, or flying inside an FAA-Recognized Identification Area (FRIA). If the broadcast stops in flight, land as soon as practicable.
• Visual line of sight. You, or a visual observer, must see the drone with your own eyes (glasses are fine) for the whole flight. A first-person-view screen does not count.
• Other limits. One drone at a time per pilot. Yield right of way to all aircraft. No hazardous material. No careless or reckless flying. No flying from a moving aircraft; from a moving land or water vehicle only over a sparsely populated area.
• Operations over people. You may fly over a person only if they are directly participating, are under a covered structure or in a stationary vehicle that protects them, or the flight meets one of four categories. Category 1 drones weigh 0.55 lb or less, Category 2 and 3 are set by impact energy and need an FAA-accepted declaration of compliance and a label, and Category 4 needs an airworthiness certificate. A bystander who has only agreed to be flown over is not a participant.
• Accident reports. Report to the FAA within 10 calendar days if anyone is seriously injured or loses consciousness, or if damage to property other than the drone is more than $500. Reports go through FAADroneZone or the nearest FSDO.
• Waivers. Only the rules listed in 107.205 can be waived, such as visual line of sight, flight over people and the operating limits in 107.51. Careless flying, the alcohol and drug rules and hazardous material cannot.
• Penalties. The maximum FAA civil penalty for an individual or small business is $17,062 per violation. The $75,000 maximum applies only to companies that are not small businesses.

2. Airspace

• When you need permission. You need prior ATC authorization to fly in Class B, C or D airspace, or in the surface area of Class E airspace for an airport (107.41). In uncontrolled airspace below 400 feet you need none, but you must keep clear of traffic patterns.
• LAANC. An approved LAANC supplier can grant authorization automatically below the altitudes on the UAS Facility Map. LAANC works at hundreds of airports. Elsewhere you apply through FAADroneZone, which the FAA says has taken up to eight weeks.
• Above the map ceiling. Part 107 pilots can file a LAANC further coordination request up to 400 feet. File it at least 72 hours, and up to 90 days, before the flight.
• LAANC is only airspace. You still check NOTAMs, temporary flight restrictions and the weather. With LAANC you do not call the tower unless the approval says so.
• Restrictions. Stay out of prohibited and restricted areas without permission. Obey TFRs. Know the stadium restriction: 3 nautical miles and 3,000 feet AGL around qualifying events seating 30,000 or more.
• Charts. Expect to read airspace from a sectional chart, now with images from current charts. Our guide on how to read a sectional chart walks through it.

3. Weather

• Visibility and clouds. At least 3 statute miles of visibility from the control station. Stay 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally from any cloud.
• Sources and effects. The test asks about aviation weather sources and how weather affects drone performance. Practice reading official weather reports, not only phone weather apps.
• Density altitude. High elevation, high temperature and high humidity can mean you must reduce weight to take off safely.

4. Loading and 8. Performance

• Weight counts everything on board or attached, and must stay under 55 lb.
• Before flight, make sure anything attached is secure and does not hurt flight characteristics or control.
• Make sure there is enough power for the planned flight time.
• Expect the drone to perform worse in high density altitude conditions.

5. Emergency procedures

In an in-flight emergency, the remote pilot in command may deviate from any Part 107 rule as far as needed to meet it. If the FAA asks, you send a written report. If Remote ID stops broadcasting, land as soon as practicable.

6. Crew resource management

If you use a visual observer, you and the observer must keep effective communication at all times and scan the airspace together. Before flight, brief everyone who takes part on conditions, emergency procedures, roles and hazards. The remote pilot in command is the final authority.

7. Radio communication procedures

This is one of the 13 areas, so expect questions on it. This guide does not cover radio phraseology. Study it from the FAA's own materials.

9. Drugs and alcohol

No flying within 8 hours of drinking alcohol, while under the influence, or with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more (91.17). No flying on any drug that affects your faculties against safety. A drug conviction, or refusing an alcohol test, can mean your application is denied for up to a year, or your certificate is suspended or revoked.

10. Aeronautical decision-making

The remote pilot in command must make sure the drone poses no undue hazard if control is lost. If you cannot meet the rules on flying over people, avoiding undue hazard and avoiding careless flight, the flight must not happen, or must end at once and safely.

11. Airport operations

Do not interfere with operations or traffic patterns at any airport, heliport or seaplane base. Near uncontrolled airports, watch for and avoid traffic patterns and takeoff and landing areas.

12. Maintenance and preflight inspection

The drone must be in a condition for safe operation, and you must check it before each flight. Stop the flight if you learn it is no longer safe. Before flight, also assess the area, the weather, the airspace, people on the ground and the control link. For normal Part 107 flying, the FAA calls maintenance logs beneficial, not mandatory.

13. Night operations

• Night is the time between the end of evening civil twilight and the start of morning civil twilight.
• To fly at night you must have passed the test or done the training after April 6, 2021.
• At night and in civil twilight, the drone needs lit anti-collision lights visible for at least 3 statute miles. You may dim them if safer, but not turn them off.
• In controlled airspace at night you still need an authorization through LAANC or FAADroneZone.

A note on new rules: in August 2025 the FAA proposed a new Part 108 for flights beyond visual line of sight. It is a proposal, not a final rule. Study Part 107 as it stands today.

A two-week study plan

This plan assumes about an hour a day. Some people need more time, some less. Move on when you can explain a topic in your own words, not when the days run out.

Operations is the biggest share of the test, so do not cut days 9 and 10 short. Testing centers book by appointment, so check dates near you early.

Already a manned pilot?

If you hold a Part 61 pilot certificate (recreational, private, commercial or ATP, not a student pilot certificate) and have a current flight review under 61.56, you can skip the knowledge test.

• Initial. Take the free online course ALC-451, Part 107 Small UAS Initial - Part 61 Pilots, on FAASafety.gov.
• Apply in person. Make an appointment with an FSDO, a designated pilot examiner (DPE), an airman certification representative (ACR) or a flight instructor (CFI). Bring the completed Form 8710-13, proof of your flight review, photo ID and the course completion certificate. They verify your identity. A CFI cannot issue a temporary certificate.
• Recurrent. Every 24 calendar months, take the free ALC-515, Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent - Part 61 Pilots, or the general ALC-677.

Finishing the course alone does not give you the certificate. You still have to apply.

What to do next

1. Take the free course. Our free drone license course covers the rules and the FAA's steps in five short videos.
2. Try a practice test. The Part 107 practice test shows which topics you still need.
3. Learn to read charts. With chart images coming to the test, read how to read a sectional chart.
4. Fly paid jobs. Once you are certified, apply to fly with Astral Pic.

Sources

The rules come from 14 CFR as published on eCFR and from FAA pages read in October 2026. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Check the current rule before you rely on it.

1. FAA, Become a certificated remote pilot.
2. FAA, Remote Pilot Small UAS Airman Certification Standards and testing matrix (revised September 25, 2026).
3. FAA, Testing advisory, September 2026 special edition: image-based questions from October 26, 2026.
4. FAA, FAQ on the test fee and FAQ on certificate expiry.
5. 14 CFR Part 107 on eCFR: 107.7, 107.9, 107.12, 107.29, 107.31, 107.39, 107.41, 107.51, 107.61, 107.65, 107.71, 107.73, 107.110, 107.205.
6. 14 CFR 91.17 (alcohol and drugs) and Part 48 (registration).
7. FAA, How to register your drone and Remote identification of drones.
8. FAA, LAANC and Part 107 airspace authorizations.
9. FAA, Sporting event NOTAM FDC 0/0367.
10. FAASafety.gov courses ALC-677, ALC-451 and ALC-515.
11. FAA, Advisory Circular 107-2A.
12. 14 CFR 13.301 (civil penalty amounts).
13. Federal Register, proposed Part 108 rule (August 7, 2025; not final).

Common questions