FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Knowledge Test (UAG) guideStudy & preparation
Part 107 Numbers to Know: Every Limit, Distance and Deadline the Test Can Ask About
One reference for the numbers in Part 107 and the ACS: weights, speed, altitude, visibility, cloud clearance, lighting, reporting deadlines, ages, recency, airspace dimensions and weather codes, each with the condition that makes it apply and the section it comes from.
Short answer
The core Part 107 numbers are: a small drone weighs less than 55 pounds; groundspeed at most 87 knots (100 mph); altitude at most 400 feet AGL, or within 400 feet of a structure and no more than 400 feet above its top; visibility at least 3 statute miles; 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally from clouds; anti-collision lights visible for 3 statute miles at night and in civil twilight, the 30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset; a report to the FAA within 10 calendar days for serious injury or over $500 of damage; and recurrent training within 24 calendar months.
Most Part 107 numbers come with a condition, and the condition is usually what a question tests. "400 feet" alone won't answer a question about a tower inspection. This page lists each number with the words that make it apply and the section to look it up in, checked against the rule and FAA guidance on October 27, 2026. The numbers about the test itself (60 scored questions, 120 minutes, 70%) are in the Part 107 test format guide.
Part 107 aircraft and weight numbers
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 55 pounds | A small unmanned aircraft weighs less than 55 pounds on takeoff, including everything on board or attached | 14 CFR 107.3 |
| 0.55 pounds or less | Category 1 for flights over people, including everything on board or attached, at takeoff and throughout the flight | 107.110 |
| 11 foot-pounds | Category 2 injury threshold, as an equivalent kinetic energy transfer from a rigid object | 107.120 |
| 25 foot-pounds | Category 3 injury threshold, on the same basis | 107.130 |
| 87 knots (100 mph) | Maximum groundspeed | 107.51(a) |
The categories need more than a weight or an energy figure, such as a declaration of compliance and a label for Categories 2 and 3. The Part 107 operations over people guide has the full conditions, and once full prep opens you can practice Regulations questions on their own, the area most of these numbers come from.
Part 107 altitude, visibility and cloud numbers
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 400 feet AGL | Maximum altitude above ground level | 107.51(b) |
| 400-foot radius and 400 feet above the top | The exception: within a 400-foot radius of a structure, the drone may fly up to 400 feet above the structure's immediate uppermost limit | 107.51(b)(1)–(2) |
| 3 statute miles | Minimum flight visibility, observed from the control station | 107.51(c) |
| 500 feet below | Minimum distance below a cloud | 107.51(d)(1) |
| 2,000 feet horizontally | Minimum horizontal distance from a cloud | 107.51(d)(2) |
A worked example by Passy: a tower is 300 feet tall, and the drone stays within 400 feet of it horizontally. The highest it may go is 700 feet AGL, 400 feet above the tower's top. If it moves more than 400 feet away from the tower, the limit drops back to 400 feet AGL.
Part 107 night and lighting numbers
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 3 statute miles | Anti-collision lighting must be visible for at least 3 statute miles at night and during civil twilight, with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision | 107.29(a)(2), (b) |
| 30 minutes | Civil twilight outside Alaska: 30 minutes before official sunrise until sunrise, and from sunset until 30 minutes after. Alaska uses the Air Almanac | 107.29(c) |
| After April 6, 2021 | For night flight, your initial test or training must have been completed after this date. The FAA's April 2021 testing notice says a UAG test passed "on or after" April 6, 2021 qualifies, so the two FAA texts differ only for that one day | 107.29(a)(1) |
Note the two different "3 statute miles": visibility from the control station in 107.51, and how far away the anti-collision light must be visible in 107.29. The Part 107 night operations guide explains the rest of the night rule.
Part 107 reporting, certificate and recency numbers
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10 calendar days | Deadline to report to the FAA an operation causing serious injury, loss of consciousness, or damage to property other than the drone | 107.9 |
| $500 | No report is needed for property damage if repair (materials and labor) costs $500 or less, or if a total loss is worth $500 or less | 107.9(b) |
| 16 years | Minimum age for a remote pilot certificate | 107.61(a) |
| 14 years | Minimum age to take the UAG knowledge test | FAA testing matrix |
| 24 calendar months | Window for recency: initial test, recurrent training, or Part 61 training, within the previous 24 calendar months | 107.65 |
| 24 calendar months | A passing knowledge test report is valid this long for applying for the certificate | ACS Appendix 3 |
| 120 calendar days | Maximum life of a temporary remote pilot certificate | 107.64 |
| 14 calendar days | Wait before retesting after a failed knowledge test | 107.71 |
| 30 days | After a change of permanent mailing address, you can't exercise the certificate's privileges beyond 30 days without notifying the FAA | 107.77(c) |
| 1 year | A drug conviction, a 91.17(a) or 91.19(a) violation, or refusing an alcohol test can mean denial of an application for up to 1 year. Cheating on a knowledge test bars new applications and tests for 1 year | 107.57, 107.59, 107.69 |
| 8 hours and 0.04 | No acting as remote pilot in command, visual observer or person at the controls within 8 hours of drinking alcohol, or with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 percent or more | 107.27 via 14 CFR 91.17, as listed in AC 107-2A |
Calendar months run to the end of the month. The Part 107 recurrent training guide shows how to count them. If memorizing tables like these works for you, the flashcards planned for Part 107 prep that pair each number with its condition follow the same idea.
Part 107 registration and Remote ID numbers
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| $5 per drone, 3 years | Part 107 registration fee and validity | FAA How to Register Your Drone |
| 13 years | Minimum age to register a drone. A younger owner needs someone 13 or older to register it | FAA How to Register Your Drone |
| After September 16, 2023 | Remote ID required for drones registered or required to be registered (FAA web pages say "beginning" or "as of" that date) | 14 CFR 89.105 |
| 100 feet, 95% | Required accuracy of a standard Remote ID drone's reported position | 89.310(h) |
| 1 message per second | Minimum Remote ID broadcast rate | 89.310(h)(5), 89.320(h)(6) |
| 48 calendar months | How long an FAA-recognized identification area (FRIA) lasts unless renewed | 89.225 |
Under Part 107 every drone must be registered, whatever its weight. The 0.55-pound registration exception applies only to drones flown under the recreational exception.
Part 107 airspace numbers
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Surface to 10,000 feet MSL | Typical extent of Class B airspace | AIM 3-2-3 |
| 4,000 feet above the airport, 5 NM and 10 NM | Typical Class C: a 5 NM core from the surface and a 10 NM shelf starting no lower than 1,200 feet above the airport elevation | AIM 3-2-4 |
| 2,500 feet above the airport | Typical top of Class D airspace | AIM 3-2-5 |
| 700 or 1,200 feet AGL | Floors of Class E transition areas, shown as magenta or blue vignettes | AIM 3-2-6 |
| 18,000 feet MSL | Bottom of Class A airspace | AIM 3-2-2 |
| 3 NM, one hour | Stadium restriction around qualifying events, from one hour before to one hour after | FAA Stadiums and Sporting Events page |
Class B, C, D and the Class E surface area need ATC authorization under 107.41. The Part 107 airspace authorization guide explains when and how.
Part 107 weather and performance numbers
| Number | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 5 to 10 statute miles | VC, "in the vicinity," in a METAR or TAF | Aviation Weather Handbook |
| 5 statute miles | Area a TAF covers, from the center of the runway complex | Aviation Weather Handbook |
| P6SM | Visibility forecast to be more than 6 statute miles | Aviation Weather Handbook |
| 5/8 or more of the sky | A broken (5/8 to 7/8) or overcast (8/8) layer, the lowest of which is the ceiling | Aviation Weather Handbook |
| 29.92 inHg and 15 °C (59 °F) | Standard sea-level pressure and temperature | Aviation Weather Handbook, Table 4-2 |
| 2 G at 60° bank | Load factor in a level, coordinated 60-degree banked turn | Remote Pilot Study Guide, chapter 4 |
| About 30 minutes | Time for the eyes' rods to adapt fully to darkness | Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, chapter 17 |
Part 107 numbers that are easy to mix up
- 400 feet AGL vs 400 feet above a structure. The first is the general cap. The second applies only within a 400-foot radius of the structure.
- 500 vs 2,000 feet. 500 is below a cloud, 2,000 is horizontally away from it.
- 10 calendar days vs 30 days. Ten is the accident report. Thirty is the address change.
- 14, 16 and 13. Fourteen to test, sixteen to hold the certificate, thirteen to register a drone.
- 0.55 vs 55 pounds. 0.55 is Category 1 (and the recreational registration threshold). Less than 55 is the definition of a small drone.
- 24 calendar months vs 120 calendar days. Recency and the life of a passing test report for applying are 24 calendar months. A temporary certificate lasts up to 120 calendar days.
Part 107 numbers self-check written by Passy
Cover the answers and test yourself. These are original questions, not FAA test items.
- A drone hits a parked car, and the body shop estimates $480 in labor and materials. Is a 107.9 report required? No. Repair at $500 or less doesn't trigger a report, and no one was hurt.
- A METAR shows BKN007. What is the highest altitude that keeps the required cloud clearance near the station? About 200 feet AGL, 500 feet below the 700-foot base.
- Sunset is at 6:10 p.m. in Ohio. Until when is civil twilight, and what does the drone need? Until 6:40 p.m., with anti-collision lighting visible for 3 statute miles.
- Your last recurrent course was completed on May 3, 2025. When does your recency end? At the end of May 2027.
- A 0.5-pound drone will be flown under Part 107. Does it need registration and Remote ID? Yes to both. Part 107 drones are registered regardless of weight, and registered drones need Remote ID.
If a few of these took longer than they should, accuracy tracking by content area, planned for Part 107 prep, will show which area they belong to. Today, the free Part 107 practice questions test many of these numbers in context.
Trust the source
Official sources
Exam policies can change. Use these primary sources for the most current details.
- 14 CFR Part 107: Small Unmanned Aircraft SystemseCFR↗
- 14 CFR Part 89: Remote Identification of Unmanned AircrafteCFR↗
- AC 107-2A, Small Unmanned Aircraft System (Small UAS), with editorial update of May 26, 2022FAA↗
- FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix (revised September 25, 2026)FAA↗
- How to Register Your DroneFAA↗
- Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 3, Section 2: Controlled AirspaceFAA↗
- Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28B)FAA↗
- Remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-10B)FAA↗
- Remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Study Guide (FAA-G-8082-22)FAA↗
- Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Chapter 17: Aeromedical FactorsFAA↗