Part 107 recurrent training
This is the fact most often wrong in this category, and it has been wrong for five years. There is no recurrent knowledge test. You do not go back to a testing centre, and you do not pay anything. What you do is a free online course, every 24 calendar months.
Which course, and who takes it
| Who you are | Course | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Any part 107 remote pilot certificate holder | ALC-677 — Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent | No cost |
| A part 107 holder who also holds a part 61 certificate with a current flight review | ALC-515 — Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent | No cost |
From the FAA’s “Become a Certificated Remote Pilot” page (last updated 9 June 2026) and the ALC-677 course landing page on faasafety.gov, both read 27 August 2026. The course page states its cost as “No”.
The initial test is a different thing entirely
You take the Unmanned Aircraft General (UAG) knowledge test once, at an FAA-approved testing centre, to get the certificate. That is the proctored, paid one — and you never retake it.
Recurrency is what keeps the certificate exercisable afterwards. Confusing the two produces the two most common wrong beliefs in this subject: that the certificate expires, and that you sit an exam every two years. Neither is true.
What the recurrent course covers
The recurrent training was updated in 2021 to include night operations, and the ACS reflects it. That is why § 107.29 phrases the night requirement the way it does: the remote pilot must have completed an initial knowledge test OR training under § 107.65 after 6 April 2021.
A remote pilot who passed the UAG before that date and has not since completed updated recurrent training does not hold night privileges — a detail worth knowing if you certificated early.
- Night physiology and night visual illusions are named in AC 107-2A as topics the recurrent training contains.
- The ALC-515 route for part 61 holders exists because their initial path is a course rather than a test.
- A part 61 holder’s initial course is ALC-451; the recurrent one is ALC-515. The numbers are easy to swap.
Now find out which ACS codes you would get back.
A full-length mock at the FAA’s published weighting, free, reported the way a real test report reports it.
Take a practice testFrequently asked
- Does the Part 107 certificate expire?
- No. The certificate does not expire; what lapses is aeronautical knowledge recency, which § 107.65 requires within the previous 24 calendar months and which is restored by completing the free online recurrent course.
- Is there still a recurrent knowledge test?
- No. The recurrent test was replaced by online recurrent training. Any material telling you to book a recurrent test at a testing centre is describing the regime that ended in 2021.
- How much does recurrent training cost?
- Nothing. The FAA’s page states no cost for both ALC-677 and ALC-515, and the ALC-677 course landing page lists its cost as “No”.
- Which recurrent course do I take?
- ALC-677 if you hold a part 107 remote pilot certificate. ALC-515 if you also hold a part 61 certificate and have completed a flight review within the preceding 24 calendar months.
- Do I need recurrent training to fly at night?
- You need either an initial knowledge test or training completed under § 107.65 after 6 April 2021. If you certificated before that date, updated recurrent training is what gives you night privileges.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of the documents below, with the date it was read and what the document says about its own currency. Regulations change by amendment; where a source has moved on since the date shown, the source is right and this page is out of date.
- FAA — Become a Certificated Remote Pilot Read August 27, 2026· Page states “Last updated: Tuesday, June 9, 2026” The certification path, and the current recurrent training courses by number: ALC-677 for any part 107 certificate holder, ALC-515 for one who also holds a part 61 certificate with a current flight review. The page states both are at no cost.
- FAA Safety Team — Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent (ALC-677) course landing page Read August 27, 2026 The course page itself, which states its cost as “No” and that completion satisfies the 24-month recency requirement. Read because the recurrent KNOWLEDGE TEST no longer exists and a large part of this category still says it does.
- 14 CFR part 107 — Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (eCFR) Read August 27, 2026· eCFR reports title 14 up to date as of 2026-08-25 The regulation itself, and the only acceptable source on this site for an operating limit, a category, an eligibility rule or a recency rule. Amendment 107-8 (86 FR 4381, 15 January 2021) is the one that rewrote night operations and added operations over human beings.
- AC 107-2A — Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (small UAS) Read August 27, 2026· Dated 2/1/21 FAA guidance written against the amended rule. Used for the things the regulation implies without spelling out — what civil twilight means in practice, what a scalable preflight inspection is, how maintenance recordkeeping is expected to work.
Page facts last verified August 27, 2026.
More guides
Part 107 Drills is independent practice material. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration, PSI Services LLC, or any knowledge testing centre. Every question here is original and none is taken from any actual FAA knowledge test. Regulatory text and FAA publications are works of the United States Government and are in the public domain; where this site states a rule, it cites the section it came from and the date that section was read.