Part 107 operating rules, certification, registration, and what you must report.
Exam weight: 15–25% of the exam (9–15 of 60 questions)
Memorize
Part 107 Numbers You Must Know
Rule
Number
Meaning
Normal altitude
400 ft AGL
Normal maximum; structure provision can allow higher within its conditions.
Structure provision
400 ft
Within 400-ft radius, up to 400 ft above structure's immediate uppermost limit.
Groundspeed
100 mph / 87 kt
Maximum under standard rule.
Flight visibility
3 statute miles
From control station.
Cloud vertical
500 ft below
Minimum below clouds.
Cloud horizontal
2,000 ft
Minimum horizontal distance.
Small UAS weight
<55 lb
At takeoff, including everything onboard/attached.
Alcohol
8 hours
Minimum bottle-to-throttle plus no impairment.
Right of way: your drone yields to all other aircraft. Being below 400 ft does not give the drone priority.
Remote PIC: final authority and responsibility. One PIC/VO may not serve more than one sUAS operation simultaneously under the standard rule. Dropping an object is allowed only if it does not create an undue hazard. Emergency deviation is permitted to the extent necessary to address the emergency.
Video
Rules & Regulations Flashcards
Recommends 15 flashcards worth making for this area — a good memorization companion to the numbers table above.
Night ops & Remote ID
Night Operations & Remote ID
Night: routine Part 107 night operations can be conducted without the old blanket night-waiver requirement when current requirements are met. Anti-collision lighting must be visible for at least 3 statute miles; intensity may be reduced when the PIC determines safety requires it.
Remote ID (14 CFR Part 89) broadcasts identification and location information so the aircraft can be found in the airspace system. It does not replace registration or controlled-airspace authorization — they're three separate requirements that happen to all apply at once.
There are three ways to comply:
Standard Remote ID aircraft — broadcasts the required message set from the aircraft itself, built in by the manufacturer.
Remote ID broadcast module — an add-on device attached to an aircraft that lacks built-in Remote ID, broadcasting the required message set on its behalf.
FAA-Recognized Identification Area (FRIA) — flying without Remote ID equipment at all, but only within the lateral boundaries of a FRIA (typically a community-based organization's or educational institution's flying field), and only within visual line of sight.
Trap: a broadcast module only satisfies Remote ID — it does nothing for registration or airspace authorization, which still have to be handled separately.
14 CFR Part 89 (Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft).
Video
Drone Categories & Flying Over People
Walks through the four operating categories before the detailed requirements table below.
Subpart D
Operations Over People & Moving Vehicles
Flying over a person who isn't participating in your operation is only allowed if your aircraft qualifies under one of four categories (14 CFR §§107.110–107.140).
Category
Key requirement
Over open-air assemblies?
1
≤0.55 lb at takeoff (everything attached); no exposed rotating parts that could lacerate skin.
Yes, including sustained flight, if Remote ID requirements are met.
2
Won't cause injury ≥ the equivalent of 11 ft-lbs kinetic energy on impact; no lacerating parts; no safety defects. Needs an FAA-accepted means of compliance + declaration of compliance.
Transit only — no sustained flight over the assembly.
3
Higher injury threshold allowed: 25 ft-lbs. Same means-of-compliance/declaration paperwork as Category 2.
Not allowed at all — stricter than Category 2's "no loitering" rule.
4
Requires a type-certificated aircraft with a Part 21 airworthiness certificate, operated within its approved Flight Manual limits.
Allowed if the Flight Manual doesn't prohibit it.
Trap: Categories 2 and 3 aren't just "lighter vs heavier" — they're defined by a kinetic-energy injury threshold (11 vs 25 ft-lbs) and require real paperwork (an FAA-accepted means of compliance and a declaration of compliance), not just a weight limit the way Category 1 is.
Operating over moving vehicles
Under §107.145, flying over a person inside a moving vehicle first requires qualifying under one of the categories above. For Category 1, 2, or 3, you additionally need either:
The aircraft stays within/over a closed- or restricted-access site where everyone in a vehicle has been notified, or
The aircraft does not maintain sustained flight over the moving vehicles — brief transit is fine, loitering isn't.
Category 4 only needs its Flight Manual to not prohibit operation over people in moving vehicles.
To be eligible for a Remote Pilot Certificate under 14 CFR §107.61, you must:
Be at least 16 years old.
Be able to read, speak, write and understand English (the FAA may add operating limitations instead of denying the certificate if a medical condition affects this).
Be in a physical and mental condition to safely operate a small UAS.
Pass the initial aeronautical knowledge test (or hold a current Part 61 certificate and flight review, plus the small UAS online course).
No FAA medical exam needed: unlike a manned-aircraft pilot certificate, Part 107 fitness is self-certified — there's no medical certificate requirement. You're trusted to ground yourself if you're not fit to fly, the same way you're trusted to not drive while sick — no doctor's note required.
Staying current
Every 24 calendar months, a remote pilot must complete recurrent training under 14 CFR §107.65 to keep the certificate valid for operations.
Common trap: this is not a repeat of the proctored knowledge test. Since 2021, recurrency is a free, online, self-paced course on FAASafety.gov — ALC-677 for Part 107-only certificate holders, or ALC-515 for Part 61 pilots with a current flight review. No testing center, no fee.
Under 14 CFR Part 48, a small UA must be registered with the FAA if it weighs more than 0.55 lb (250 g) at takeoff, including everything attached. A Certificate of Aircraft Registration issued under Part 48 is valid for 3 years.
Commercial/Part 107 trap: if you're operating under Part 107, your aircraft must be registered no matter how light it is — even at or under 0.55 lb. The 0.55 lb registration exemption only applies to aircraft flown exclusively under the recreational exception.
Marking
The FAA-issued registration number must be displayed on an external surface of the aircraft, legible on visual inspection, without opening any compartment.
Trap: "the number can be written inside an access panel or battery compartment" is wrong — registration numbers hidden inside the aircraft do not meet the marking requirement.
14 CFR Part 48 (registration and marking of small unmanned aircraft); §48.100 (registration validity).
After something goes wrong
Accident Reporting
Under 14 CFR §107.9, a remote PIC must report an operation to the FAA within 10 calendar days if it results in either:
Trigger
Threshold
Injury
Any serious injury to a person, or any loss of consciousness.
Property damage
Damage to property other than the aircraft itself, where repair cost (or fair market value, if a total loss) exceeds $500.
Not every mishap is reportable. A hard landing that only damages the drone itself, or minor property damage under $500, does not trigger this reporting requirement — read the question for which threshold is actually being asked about.
14 CFR §107.9 (accident reporting).
Asking for an exception
Waivers & Certificates of Authorization
A Certificate of Waiver under 14 CFR §107.200 lets the FAA authorize a civil Part 107 operation to deviate from a specific regulation listed in §107.205, once the applicant shows the operation can still be conducted safely under the terms of that waiver. A waiver only covers the specific provision(s) it names — it doesn't exempt the operator from Part 107 generally.
Regulation group
What a waiver can cover
§107.25
Operation from a moving vehicle or aircraft.
§107.29
Anti-collision lighting for night operations.
§107.31
Visual line-of-sight aircraft operation.
§107.33
Visual observer requirements.
§107.35
Operation of multiple small UAS simultaneously.
§107.37(a)
Yielding the right of way.
§107.39
Operation over people.
Waiver ≠ Certificate of Authorization (COA): a Part 107 waiver is issued to an individual civil operator for a specific deviation. A COA is issued to a public agency (e.g. a police or fire department) authorizing it to fly as a public aircraft operation under its own organizational authority — a different track entirely, not just a bigger waiver.
Image placeholder: "Do I need a waiver?" decision flow (operation description → matching §107.205 provision → apply via DroneZone)
14 CFR §107.200 (waiver policy and requirements), §107.205 (provisions subject to waiver).
Don't mix these up
Three Different Clocks
Part 107 and Part 48 run three unrelated timers at once, and the test leans on that to write wrong answers that borrow the right-sounding number from the wrong rule.
Window
What it governs
Citation
14 calendar days
Update your Part 48 registration info (e.g. address) after it changes, or after the aircraft is sold, destroyed, or exported.
14 CFR §48.115(b)
3 years, renewable in the final 6 months
How long a Certificate of Aircraft Registration stays valid before it must be renewed.
14 CFR §48.100
24 calendar months
How often a remote pilot must complete recurrent training to keep the certificate (not the aircraft registration) valid for operations.
14 CFR §107.65
Trap: these three numbers answer three different questions — "when do I update my info," "when does my aircraft's registration expire," and "when do I need recurrent training." A wrong answer choice will often swap one number onto the wrong question.