Part 107 Renewal: Free Recurrent Training Every 24 Calendar Months, Not a New Test

Your Part 107 certificate doesn't expire, your recency does

The FAA's FAQ is direct: your certificate "is permanent unless revoked by the Administrator." There's no expiration date on the card because none applies.

What runs out is something else. 14 CFR 107.65 says you may not exercise the privileges of a remote pilot in command unless, within the previous 24 calendar months, you have:

• passed an initial aeronautical knowledge test, or
• completed recurrent training covering the areas in 107.73, or
• if you hold a Part 61 pilot certificate (not student) and meet the flight review requirements of 61.56, completed the Part 61 training

So "renewing Part 107" means renewing that recency. The FAA says completing the course "renews the pilot's recency of aeronautical knowledge for 24 calendar months," and it doesn't issue a new certificate.

Which free Part 107 recurrent course is yours

The FAA's Become a Drone Pilot page lists two courses on FAASafety.gov, both marked "no cost":

If you're not a Part 61 pilot with a current flight review, ALC-677 is the course. If you are, either works, but ALC-515 is the one written for you. You take either one after logging in to a FAASafety.gov account.

There is no Part 107 recurrent test anymore

Before April 2021, remote pilots stayed current by retaking a test at a testing center, the Unmanned Aircraft Recurrent (UGR). The FAA's notice "Changes to Testing for a Remote Pilot Certificate" says that beginning April 6, 2021, the UGR "will no longer be offered for knowledge recency," and certificate holders take recurrent training online instead.

So the "Part 107 renewal test" people search for no longer exists as an official test. The only Part 107 knowledge test is the initial UAG test. Passing it again would also count for recency under 107.65(a), but it costs a test fee and the free course does the same job. If you haven't taken it yet, the Part 107 certificate steps guide walks through it, and you can see what full Part 107 prep planned for launch covers for that one test.

107.65(d) covers people caught in the switch: a pilot who passed the old recurrent test, or completed Part 61 training, within 24 calendar months before April 6, 2021 counted as compliant.

How to count 24 calendar months for Part 107

A calendar month runs to its last day, so the deadline lands at the end of a month, not on the anniversary. AC 107-2A shows the pattern: a test passed on September 13, 2020 means recurrent training "no later than September 30, 2022." Applied to new dates (Passy's arithmetic, following that example):

Two consequences follow:

• Finishing early moves the clock. In AC 107-2A's example, completing recurrent training ahead of the deadline sets the next deadline 24 calendar months from the month of completion, not from the old deadline.
• Use the right starting date. If you were certificated through ALC-451 as a Part 61 pilot, count from when you completed that training.

If your Part 107 recency has already lapsed

Your certificate stays valid, but until you're current again:

• you can't act as remote pilot in command (107.12(b))
• you can still manipulate the flight controls only under the direct supervision of a current remote pilot in command who can immediately take direct control (107.12(a)(2)), which AC 107-2A describes in its section on the person manipulating the flight controls

The fix is the same course. ALC-677 is open to certificate holders "regardless of aeronautical knowledge recency," so you don't retake the initial test, reapply or wait for a new card. Complete the course, keep the completion certificate, and your next deadline runs 24 calendar months from that month.

Night flying and older Part 107 certificates

14 CFR 107.29(a) allows night operations only if the remote pilot completed an initial knowledge test or training under 107.65 after April 6, 2021, and the aircraft has anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles. AC 107-2A says the recurrent training "contains the topics of night physiology and night visual illusions." So a pilot certificated before that date gains night privileges by completing current recurrent training, and still needs the lighting. Civil twilight flights, the 30 minutes before official sunrise and after official sunset outside Alaska, need the same lighting.

If you're refreshing these rules before your course, planned Part 107 flashcards drill civil twilight, the 400-foot limit and reporting thresholds alongside the other numbers the initial test asks about.

What to keep, and what to update

• Your completion certificate. The FAA says you "must be able to show a copy of your certificate of completion as proof of currency."
• Your remote pilot certificate and ID. 14 CFR 107.7 requires both in your possession and readily accessible whenever you exercise the certificate's privileges.
• Your address. Under 107.77(c), if you move, you can't exercise the privileges after 30 days unless you've notified the FAA of the new permanent mailing address, by letter or through the FAA website.

Put your next deadline in your calendar the day you finish the course, counting to the end of the 24th calendar month.

Renewal costs nothing, as the Part 107 test cost guide shows: the only fee for the certificate itself is the initial test, and drone registration is a separate $5 per drone. If you're helping someone prepare for that test, the exam page lets you weigh a 90-day period at $34.99, the access length marked as recommended for Part 107 prep, against the shorter and longer options; checkout isn't open yet.