FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Test Preparation: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: The knowledge test and your certificate

To fly a drone for work under 14 CFR Part 107, you need a Remote Pilot Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A first-time pilot gets it by passing the FAA knowledge test called Unmanned Aircraft General – Small (UAG). This test is different from TRUST, the free safety test for recreational flyers.

Who can get a certificate

• You must be at least 16 years old to hold the certificate. The FAA allows you to take the test from age 14.
• You must be able to read, speak, write and understand English.
• You must be in physical and mental condition to fly safely.

The UAG test

The test follows the Airman Certification Standards (ACS). It has five knowledge areas: Regulations (15–25%), Airspace (15–25%), Weather (11–16%), Loading and Performance (7–11%) and Operations (35–45%), the biggest area. Operations covers radio procedures, airport operations, emergencies, decision-making, physiology and maintenance.

Example: you fail on June 3. Count 14 calendar days: the earliest retest date is June 17.

From test to certificate

1. Create an IACRA profile to get your FAA Tracking Number (FTN).
2. Book the test at an FAA-approved knowledge testing center and bring government photo ID.
3. Pass the UAG test.
4. Complete FAA Form 8710-13 in IACRA (Pilot, then Remote Pilot) with your 17-digit exam ID.
5. Wait for the TSA background check. Then print a temporary certificate.
6. Get the permanent certificate by mail.

A pilot who already holds a Part 61 pilot certificate and had a flight review in the last 24 months can skip the UAG test. Instead, they take the free online course Part 107 Small UAS Initial (ALC-451), apply in IACRA and have their identity checked.

Staying current and other duties

• Complete recurrent training every 24 calendar months. For most pilots this is the free online course ALC-677 on the FAA Safety Team website (FAASafety.gov).
• Carry your certificate and ID whenever you fly, and show them if the FAA, NTSB, TSA or police ask.
• If you move, tell the FAA your new address. After 30 days you may not use your certificate until you do.
• Report an accident to the FAA within 10 calendar days if someone is seriously injured or loses consciousness, or if damage to property other than the drone is over $500 (the repair cost, or the value if it is a total loss).

Quiz sa paksa 1: The knowledge test and your certificate

Lesson 2: Part 107 operating rules

A small unmanned aircraft weighs less than 55 pounds at takeoff, counting everything on board or attached. The remote pilot in command (RPIC) is the final authority for the flight. Before each flight, the RPIC must make sure the drone is in a condition for safe operation.

Operating limits (14 CFR 107.51)

Example: you inspect a 300-foot tower and stay within 400 feet of it. You may fly up to 300 + 400 = 700 feet AGL.

Seeing and avoiding

• Visual line of sight: the RPIC or a visual observer must see the drone during the whole flight with their own eyes. Glasses or contact lenses are fine. Binoculars, the camera view and map apps do not count.
• A visual observer and the crew must keep good communication and scan the airspace together.
• One person may operate only one drone at a time.
• Right of way: the drone must give way to all aircraft and may not pass over, under or ahead of them unless well clear.

Daylight, twilight and night

Civil twilight is the 30 minutes before sunrise and the 30 minutes after sunset (Alaska has its own rule). Example: sunset is 7:42 p.m., so evening civil twilight ends at 8:12 p.m. To fly in twilight or at night, the drone needs lit anti-collision lights visible for at least 3 statute miles. For routine night flights, the RPIC must also have passed the updated initial test or completed the online recurrent training, which both cover night operations.

Alcohol, drugs and hazardous flying

• No acting as a crew member within 8 hours after drinking alcohol, while under the influence, or with an alcohol concentration of 0.04 or more (14 CFR 91.17). Example: last drink at 10:30 p.m. means no flying before 6:30 a.m.
• No flying while using a drug that affects your abilities in an unsafe way.
• No careless or reckless flying. You may drop an object only if it does not create an undue hazard to people or property.
• Never fly from a moving aircraft. From a moving car or boat, fly only over a sparsely populated area and not while carrying property for hire.

Preflight, emergencies and waivers

Before flight (14 CFR 107.49), check the weather, airspace, people and property on the ground, and other hazards. Brief your crew, check the control link, make sure there is enough power for the flight, and secure anything attached. In an in-flight emergency, the RPIC may break any Part 107 rule as far as needed to handle it, and must send a report if the FAA asks.

Some rules can be waived with an FAA certificate of waiver (14 CFR 107.205), such as visual line of sight (107.31), the limits in 107.51, flight over people (107.39) and airspace (107.41). Rules like the alcohol rule, careless flying and the age limit cannot be waived.

Quiz sa paksa 2: Part 107 operating rules

Lesson 3: Operations over people, registration and Remote ID

Under 14 CFR 107.39, you may always fly over people who are directly taking part in the operation, people under a covered structure, and people inside a stationary vehicle. To fly over anyone else, the drone must fit one of four categories in Part 107 Subpart D.

Sustained flight over an open-air assembly includes hovering above people, flying back and forth over a crowd, or circling so the drone stays above part of it. In Categories 1, 2 and 4, a brief, one-time crossing on the way from one point to another is not sustained flight.

Category 3 has more limits. It may fly over people only at a closed or restricted-access site where everyone knows a drone may fly over them, or when it does not keep sustained flight over anyone who is not taking part, covered or in a stationary vehicle.

Moving vehicles: in Categories 1 to 3, you may fly over moving vehicles at a closed or restricted-access site where the people inside have notice, or if you do not keep sustained flight over them.

Registration

• Part 107 registration costs $5 per drone and is valid for 3 years. Register on FAADroneZone.
• Label each drone with its registration number before you fly it.
• Carry your registration certificate (paper or digital) when you fly.
• Part 107 pilots register each standard Remote ID drone or broadcast module separately, with its own number. (Recreational flyers can use one number for all their drones.)

Remote ID

Remote ID means a drone in flight broadcasts identification and location information that others can receive. Drones that must be registered, or are registered, must meet the Remote ID rule (14 CFR Part 89). There are three ways to comply:

1. Fly a standard Remote ID drone. It broadcasts the location of the drone and its control station.
2. Add a Remote ID broadcast module. It broadcasts the drone's location and its take-off location. You must keep the drone in sight at all times.
3. Fly a drone without Remote ID only inside an FAA-Recognized Identification Area (FRIA), and keep it in sight.

Quiz sa paksa 3: Operations over people, registration and Remote ID

Lesson 4: Airspace, charts and airports

Under 14 CFR 107.41, you need prior ATC authorization to fly in Class B, C or D airspace, or in the Class E surface area at an airport. Class G needs no authorization.

Getting authorization: LAANC

LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability) gives airspace authorizations for controlled airspace at or below 400 feet around airports, often in near-real time. You apply through an FAA-approved UAS Service Supplier app. Requests are checked against UAS Facility Maps, which show the highest altitude that can be approved in each area. To fly above that altitude (up to 400 feet), a Part 107 pilot sends a further coordination request, up to 90 days ahead. Without LAANC, apply through FAADroneZone. LAANC gives authorization only: you must still check NOTAMs, weather and all airspace restrictions.

Reading a sectional chart in words

• Prohibited area: P and a number (for example P-40). No flight is allowed.
• Restricted area: R and a number. Under 14 CFR 107.45 you need permission from the agency that uses or controls it.
• Warning area: W and a number, starting 3 NM off the coast.
• Alert area: A and a number. Use extra caution there.
• Military operations area (MOA): a name, not a number. Its times, altitudes and controlling agency are on the back of the sectional chart.
• Military training routes: IR (instrument) or VR (visual) with a number. Four digits mean no part of the route is above 1,500 feet AGL; three digits mean part of it is higher.
• Temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are issued by a flight data center (FDC) NOTAM. Checking for TFRs before flight is the pilot's job.

Airports

Runway numbers come from the runway's magnetic direction, divided by 10 and rounded. A runway pointing 274° is runway 27. Parallel runways add L, C or R. Airplanes in the traffic pattern normally turn left. The legs are upwind, crosswind, downwind (parallel to the runway, opposite to the landing direction), base and final. At airports without a tower, a segmented circle may show wind direction and pattern direction. Propeller airplanes usually fly the pattern at about 1,000 feet AGL.

At airports without an operating tower, pilots report their positions on the CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency). It is often UNICOM, usually 122.8. Where there is no tower, flight service station or UNICOM, MULTICOM 122.9 is used. Frequencies are on the sectional chart next to the airport and in the Chart Supplement. A remote pilot may listen, but should not transmit on an active aviation frequency unless there is an emergency.

Quiz sa paksa 4: Airspace, charts and airports

Lesson 5: Weather reports and weather effects

A METAR is a routine weather report from an airport. A SPECI is a special report issued between routine reports. A TAF (terminal aerodrome forecast) is a forecast for the area around an airport. Times are in UTC, shown with a Z (Zulu).

Decoding a METAR

Practice report: METAR KMDT 141753Z 23014G22KT 4SM -RA BR BKN008 OVC025 17/15 A2985 RMK PRESFR

The ceiling is the lowest layer reported as broken (BKN) or overcast (OVC). Here it is 800 feet. To stay 500 feet below the clouds, you could fly no higher than 800 − 500 = 300 feet AGL. When temperature and dew point are close, as here, the air is near saturation, so fog, low clouds and rain are likely.

Reading a TAF

Practice forecast: TAF KMDT 141130Z 1412/1512 22010KT P6SM SCT030 TEMPO 1414/1416 3SM -SHRA BKN015 FM142200 30015G25KT P6SM BKN040

• 1412/1512: valid from the 14th at 1200 UTC to the 15th at 1200 UTC.
• P6SM: visibility more than 6 statute miles.
• TEMPO 1414/1416: temporary changes, each lasting less than 1 hour, between 1400 and 1600 UTC.
• FM142200: from the 14th at 2200 UTC, a rapid and significant change to new conditions.

How weather affects your drone

Density altitude describes how thin the air is. High elevation, low pressure, high temperature and high humidity all raise density altitude. Moist air is lighter than dry air. In thin air, propellers and wings work less well, so performance drops.

• Thunderstorms: do not fly near rapidly building cumulus clouds; updrafts can be very strong. When rain starts to fall from the cloud base, a downdraft has formed and the storm is in its mature stage.
• Wind shear is a sudden, large change in wind speed or direction over a small area. A microburst can cause strong downdrafts.
• Fronts are borders between air masses, where temperature, humidity and wind can change quickly.

Quiz sa paksa 5: Weather reports and weather effects

Lesson 6: Performance, decisions and pilot health

Loading and performance

The center of gravity (CG) is the balance point. It is not fixed: it moves when you add, remove or move weight, such as a camera or package. Keep the drone within the maker's weight and balance limits. An overloaded drone has a lower climb rate, shorter range and flight time, less maneuverability and a higher stall speed. Makers do not present performance data in a standard way, so read it carefully.

Load factor is the total load on the structure divided by the weight. In a level, coordinated turn at 60° of bank, any aircraft has a load factor of 2 G. A 3-pound fixed-wing drone in that turn carries 3 × 2 = 6 pounds of load. Stall speed rises with the square root of the load factor: a drone that stalls at 20 knots in level flight stalls at about 20 × √2 ≈ 28 knots in a 60° turn.

Decision-making

• IMSAFE (check yourself): Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion.
• PAVE (check risks): Pilot-in-command, Aircraft, enVironment, External pressures.
• DECIDE (respond to change): Detect, Estimate, Choose, Identify, Do, Evaluate.
• Risk management principles include: accept no unnecessary risk, and accept risk only when the benefits are greater than the costs.

Crew resource management (CRM) means using all your resources: people, equipment and information. Brief your visual observer, agree on calls, and keep talking during the flight.

Pilot health

• Hyperventilation (fast breathing, dizziness) often comes with stress. Slowing down to normal breathing is the best cure.
• Dehydration and heatstroke are risks on hot job sites. Drink two to four quarts of water every 24 hours, and do not wait until you feel thirsty.
• Fatigue slows reactions. If you are very tired, do not fly.
• Scanning: look at the sky in sections about 30° wide, overlapping the last section by about 10°. Stop at each one for no longer than 2 to 3 seconds, instead of staring at one spot.

Quiz sa paksa 6: Performance, decisions and pilot health