In this guide to Part 107 certification, we’ll explain how to get your drone pilot license in the United States. Completing the FAA’s drone certification process brings you into an exciting (and lucrative) industry and can help to kick off your career as a professional drone operator. You’ll need an FAA-issued Part 107 Certificate to start piloting commercial drone flights for work or business. So that’s what we’ll talk about on this page.
Make note that each country regulates its airspace differently, we’ll just be focusing on requirements for drone pilots in the U.S.
A drone pilot license is a license issued by the FAA granting you permission to conduct commercial drone operations in the U.S. An FAA drone license proves that you have obtained your drone certification, also called Part 107 certification, allowing you to fly drones commercially.
There are several terms used for a drone license, including:
You’ll also see variations like “FAA drone license” or “Part 107 drone license.” All of these terms mean the same thing—a license that allows you to be a commercial drone operator in the U.S.
As a side note, the reason you see terms like “Part 107” or “Part 107 license” come up when discussing drone pilot licenses is because the FAA Part 107 rules are the rules outlining commercial drone operations in the U.S.
Whenever we talk about flying drones for work (i.e., flying drones commercially), Part 107 is the go-to place to find out what you can and can’t do, including licensing requirements and the types of operations that are allowed or prohibited.
Here’s an example drone license:
Not everyone needs a Part 107 license—you only need one if you plan to fly a drone for work, but not if you plan to fly for fun.
Keep reading to learn the difference between commercial and recreational drone operations.
02 CHAPTER
Under the Part 107 regulations, there are two distinctions of if and when a Part 107 drone license is required:
If you’re wondering how to become a drone pilot, the answer is—it depends. If you want to fly for work, you’ll need to obtain a Part 107 license. But if you want to fly for fun, less is required.
Even with these clearly defined use cases, there is still often confusion about when you need to get a drone license. It is important to note that commercial operators can still fly for recreation, but recreational pilots may not conduct commercial drone flights.
If you are operating as a recreational operator, then the regulations that apply to your operation fall under the FAA’s model aircraft rules, which can be found below.
To view all of the recreational drone regulations, check out this page on the FAA website.
After completing the TRUST you’ll receive a certificate that is about the size of a license.
Here’s an example TRUST certificate:
When you’re flying recreationally, you must have your TRUST certificate on you at all times. However, this certificate is not what is meant when people use the term drone pilot license—as we’ve covered, that term only refers to the Part 107 license that allows you to fly commercially.
04 CHAPTER
If you are operating as a commercial operator, then the regulations that apply to your operation fall under the FAA’s Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule, which can be found below.
*Excluding the weight requirement and the requirement to fly in Class G airspace, the above restrictions can be waived if you submit and receive a Part 107 waiver from the FAA.
The Class G airspace requirement can also be bypassed if you apply for and receive approval for special airspace authorization from the FAA. Check out our LAANC authorization guide to better understand how that authorization process works.
05 CHAPTERIf you are already a licensed crewed aircraft pilot, then you don’t need to go through a training course or take the Part 107 exam.
Crewed aircraft pilots need to complete a (free) online training course called “Part 107 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) ALC-451” available on the FAA FAASTeam website. More information on that process and steps over here.
After you successfully complete that course, you then complete FAA Form 8710-13 (FAA Airman Certificate and/or Rating Application for a remote pilot certificate), validate your applicant identity, and make an in-person appointment with your local FSDO, an FAA-designated pilot examiner (DPE), an airman certification representative (ACR), or an FAA-certificated flight instructor (CFI) to sign your form.
06 CHAPTERNow, let’s get back to why you’re here.
To get a commercial drone license from the FAA, you’ll need to follow these steps:
Once you have your Part 107 drone license, you’ll also be required to:
The Part 107 drone license cost is relatively low, consisting only of the test fee for the Part 107 test and the cost to register your drone:
If you are planning to start a business, here are some other costs you should plan for.
Luckily for you, the process for becoming an FAA certified drone pilot is not as time-consuming and rigorous as becoming a manned aircraft pilot. The first thing you’ll want to consider is how long you’ll spend preparing for and studying for the Aeronautical Knowledge Test (also called the Part 107 test).
When it comes to Part 107 test prep, you have a lot of options. There are $5 apps you can buy that run through practice questions, $20 workbooks you can buy on Amazon, and online courses like Drone Pilot Ground School.
The FAA also has a free Part 107 test study guide on its website, and there are some good YouTube videos out there that people cobble together to pass the exam as well.
We recommend Drone Pilot Ground School. Yes, we’re biased because we built it, but we’re really proud of the training content and wholeheartedly believe we offer the best training product (and company support) of anyone else in the drone industry.
Our students report spending 15-20 hours studying for the test. You’re not required to complete a preparatory study course, but the over 99% pass rate of our students definitely speaks volumes to the value of putting in some study hours before you officially test.
Once you’ve passed the Aeronautical Knowledge Test, the FAA anticipates that it will take six to eight weeks to issue a permanent remote pilot certificate (that’s your drone license!) via snail mail.
To speed things up, a temporary remote pilot certificate is issued in about 10 business days. The temporary Remote Pilot Certificate will allow the certificate holder to exercise all the privileges of the certificate.
Still unsure of which direction to take?
