Part 107 recurrent training
A free online course every two years, no reminder from anybody, and the one date worth putting in a calendar.
Researched from published specifications and verified owner reviews · updated 2026
The short answer
A Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate does not expire, but its privileges lapse unless recurrent training is completed every 24 calendar months. Since 2021 that requirement is a free online course rather than a paid proctored exam, it takes an evening, and it includes the night operations training. Keep the completion certificate with your flight documents, and set a calendar reminder at around 22 months because the FAA does not send one.
Recurrent training is the least demanding obligation in commercial drone flying and the one most likely to catch a working operator out, precisely because it is undemanding. There is no exam to prepare for, no fee, no testing centre and no reminder. There is just a date, two years after the last one, after which your privileges quietly stop being exercisable while everything about your kit and your habits stays exactly the same.
ASA
ASA Standard UAS Operator Logbook
Paper logbook, flight and maintenance
Currency, registration expiry, insurance renewal and maintenance intervals are four dates that nobody sends you a reminder for. A paper logbook with the front page used as a compliance diary is the low-technology answer that survives a phone upgrade, and it is the same document a client or insurer asks for anyway.
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What changed, and why it matters
When Part 107 was introduced, staying current meant returning to a testing centre every 24 calendar months to sit a paid recurrent knowledge exam. That was a real cost in money and preparation time, and it produced a predictable pattern of operators drifting out of currency because the barrier was high enough to postpone.
Since 2021 a current certificate holder completes free online recurrent training instead. It is delivered through the FAA's online learning system, takes an evening rather than weeks, and produces a completion certificate. The knowledge exam remains the route for initial certification; it is only the recurrent requirement that changed.
The change also absorbed the night operations training. When night flying was permitted under the current rule, rather than by waiver, the training requirement attached to it was folded into the recurrent course, so a pilot who is current has covered it. The second night condition, lighting visible for three statute miles, is equipment and is covered on what Part 107 lets you do.
What 24 calendar months means
The period runs to the end of the twenty-fourth calendar month, not to the anniversary date. Training completed on any day of a month stays valid until the last day of the same-named month two years later. That gives you the remainder of that month as a tail, which is convenient and is absolutely not something to plan around.
| Training completed | Currency valid through | Set your reminder |
|---|---|---|
| Early in a month, 2026 | End of the same-named month, 2028 | 22 months after completion |
| Mid month, 2026 | End of the same-named month, 2028 | 22 months after completion |
| Last day of a month, 2026 | End of the same-named month, 2028 | 22 months after completion |
The practical advice is to complete it early rather than close to the boundary. Doing it a month or two ahead does not shorten anything meaningfully and removes any chance of a misremembered date turning into an unauthorised flight.
What happens if currency lapses
Nothing happens to the certificate. You do not have to retake the initial knowledge exam, you do not lose your certificate number, and there is no penalty for simply being out of currency. Completing the training restores your ability to exercise the privileges immediately.
What is not benign is flying commercially while lapsed. That is an unauthorised operation exactly as if you had never been certificated, with the same enforcement exposure. It is also the sort of thing an insurer looks for after an incident, because most policies respond only to operations that were legally conducted. An expired currency date is documentary, easy to check, and impossible to argue about afterwards.
There is a second, subtler risk. Currency lapses are usually discovered when someone asks for documentation, and the person asking is normally a client or a site manager at the start of a job. Losing a day of work to a compliance gap is a bad way to find out.
What to keep on file
Five documents belong together and should be reachable without a signal.
- The Remote Pilot Certificate. The card itself, or a clear photograph of it.
- The recurrent training completion certificate. This is what evidences currency, and it is separate from the certificate.
- Aircraft registration certificates. One per aircraft under Part 107, since registration is individual rather than fleet-wide on the commercial path. See how to register a drone.
- Any waiver in force, with its conditions and limitations attached. See waivers explained.
- Photo identification. Required alongside the rest on request.
Insurance documents are not an FAA requirement and belong in the same folder anyway, because the party who asks for them is usually the client. The reasoning is on drone insurance explained.
Use the trigger for more than the minimum
A two-year interval is a good excuse to review the things that quietly drift. Four are worth doing on the same evening as the course.
Check your aircraft registrations. Registration lasts three years, so it does not align with your currency cycle, and misalignment is exactly how one of them gets forgotten. Note the expiry alongside your currency date.
Re-read the operating limits. Numbers you have not looked at in two years drift in memory, and several parts of the rule set have genuinely changed within recent years. The rules quick reference is a five-minute refresh.
Service the fleet. Propellers age, batteries lose capacity, and both fail gradually rather than suddenly. A fresh set of props costs less than one gimbal repair, and pack condition is worth checking with a 1-8S LiPo cell checker with low-voltage alarm ($6) on anything using LiPo packs. The intervals are on the maintenance schedule.
Rehearse an emergency. Lost link behaviour, return-to-home altitude and a manual landing with no positioning assistance are three things every certificated pilot claims to be able to do and few have practised recently. Half an hour in an open field is the cheapest risk reduction available.
Confirm the requirement itself
This page describes the recurrent requirement as researched from published FAA material and it is not legal advice. The delivery method, the course identifier and the exact conditions under which a given certificate holder must complete training are published by the FAA and are subject to change. Confirm your own position at faa.gov/uas rather than relying on a summary, and if you hold a manned pilot certificate as well, check whether your currency route differs.
Questions people ask
+ Does a Part 107 certificate expire?
The certificate itself does not expire, but the privileges it grants lapse unless recurrent training is completed every 24 calendar months. That is a meaningful distinction: you do not lose the certificate, you lose the ability to exercise it until you complete the training, at which point currency is restored.
+ Is recurrent training still a paid exam?
No. Since 2021 the recurrent requirement for a current certificate holder is a free online training course rather than a proctored knowledge test at a testing centre. It takes an evening rather than weeks of study, and the completion certificate is what evidences your currency.
+ What does 24 calendar months actually mean?
It means the end of the twenty-fourth month, not the anniversary date. Training completed in the middle of a month remains valid until the last day of that month two years later, which gives you the remainder of the month rather than expiring mid-month. Do not use that as planning slack; set a reminder well before it.
+ What happens if I let currency lapse?
You may not exercise Part 107 privileges until you complete the training. There is no penalty for having lapsed, only for flying commercially while lapsed, and completing the course restores currency without retaking the original knowledge exam. Any flight conducted while lapsed is an unauthorised operation, with the enforcement and insurance consequences that implies.
+ Does night operations training come through this course?
Yes. When night operations were permitted under the current rule, the required training was folded into the recurrent course, so a pilot who has completed current recurrent training has covered it. The other condition for night flying, anti-collision lighting visible for three statute miles, is equipment rather than training and is on you to fit.
+ Do I need to keep a record of the training?
Yes. Keep the completion certificate with your other flight documents so it can be presented on request alongside your Remote Pilot Certificate, aircraft registration and identification. A digital copy that works without a signal is more useful in the field than a link to an account you have to log into.
