§ Logistics
Getting the certificate
The path from an FAA Tracking Number to a card in your mailbox, plus how to keep it valid, register the aircraft, and what to do if you fail.
Checked against the sources 2026-10-26
The certificate is a short process with one real obstacle, the knowledge test, and a lot of clerical steps around it. None of the steps is hard, but several have to happen in a particular order, and a couple of them quietly cost you weeks if you do them backward. This page walks the path in sequence. Where the FAA’s own sources disagree about a timeline, the page says so and gives the date the figure was checked, October 2026, so you know how much weight to put on it.
Who is eligible
Three personal requirements sit in the regulation, plus the knowledge requirement. You must be at least 16 years old. You must be able to read, speak, write and understand English. And you must not know, or have reason to know, of a physical or mental condition that would interfere with safe operation of a small drone. 14 CFR § 107.61(a)-(c)
The English rule has a medical exception: if a hearing impairment, say, keeps you from meeting one of the four verbs, the FAA may put operating limits on your certificate instead of refusing it. The condition rule is the same one that binds you every time you fly, because the regulation separately forbids operating when you know you have a condition that would interfere. 14 CFR § 107.17
Two other things can block a first application. A drug conviction can be grounds for denying the application for up to a year after the conviction, and so can an act of flying while impaired or a refusal to take an alcohol test. 14 CFR § 107.57 · 14 CFR § 107.59 The IACRA application asks about both English and drug convictions, so you will meet these rules on the screen.
One detail trips up younger applicants. The test itself is open at 14, but the certificate requires 16. The identification you show at the testing center has to show you will reach the certificate’s minimum age before your test report expires, which is 24 calendar months out. FAA-S-ACS-10B, Appendix 1 · 14 CFR § 107.67(b)(3)
The sequence
- 01
Create an IACRA account and get your FTN
IACRA is the FAA's online application system. Register as an applicant, using your full legal name exactly as it appears on your ID, because it has to match your test. IACRA shows your FAA Tracking Number, the FTN, and emails it to you. Keep it; it never changes.
AC 107-2A, para. 6.6; IACRA help, HelpAndInfo id=5 - 02
Schedule the UAG test at a PSI center
Book on PSI's FAA scheduling site with your FTN in hand. Pick a date, a time and a location. Cancel or reschedule at least 24 hours ahead, by phone with a person. Take PSI's free practice test first to see the screen you will actually use.
PSI UAG Applicant Information Bulletin, pp. 2 and 4 - 03
Sit the test
Sixty scored questions, five unscored, 120 minutes, 70 percent to pass. Bring acceptable ID and nothing else. The test-day chapter covers the room, the rules and the pacing in full, so this page does not repeat it.
PSI UAG Applicant Information Bulletin, p. 4 - 04
Collect your Airman Knowledge Test Report
You get a printed report on the spot. A pass is 70 percent or better, and the report lists the ACS codes of what you missed. A passing report is good for 24 calendar months when you apply. Reprints come from your PSI account.
14 CFR § 107.63(a)(1); FAA-S-ACS-10B, Appendix 3 - 05
Complete FAA Form 8710-13 in IACRA
Start a new application as a pilot, choose the remote pilot certification, and enter or select your knowledge test. Answer the English-language and drug-conviction questions, confirm your identity data, review, and sign electronically. A first-time applicant who tested at a PSI center needs no instructor or FAA signature.
AC 107-2A, para. 6.4.1; IACRA help, HelpAndInfo id=7 - 06
Wait for TSA vetting, then print the temporary certificate
The FAA checks basic airman information with the Transportation Security Administration. When that clears, IACRA emails you and you print a temporary certificate yourself. It is valid for up to 120 calendar days.
14 CFR § 107.64(a); AC 107-2A, paras. 6.4.1 and 6.5 - 07
Receive the permanent card by mail
After the FAA's internal processing, the plastic card arrives at the permanent mailing address on your application. The temporary certificate expires when the card arrives.
14 CFR § 107.64(b)(2) - 08
Keep it current
Complete free recurrent training on FAASafety.gov within every 24 calendar months, or you may not act as remote pilot in command. Carry the certificate and ID when you fly, and keep the aircraft registered.
14 CFR § 107.65; 14 CFR § 107.7(a)(1)
What the steps leave out
Why the FTN comes first
The FTN is not paperwork for its own sake. It is the key that ties your test result to your FAA record. PSI prints it on your test report, so when you later apply in IACRA, the system can find the score by itself. PSI UAG Applicant Information Bulletin (eff. 2025-09-29), p. 2 Applicants without one are told to create the IACRA profile before testing. The rule has been in force since January 2020. AC 107-2A, para. 6.6 The IACRA help pages walk through registration screen by screen: account registration and the later application.
Scheduling itself happens at faa.psiexams.com, around the clock, or by phone at 844-704-1487. PSI’s applicant bulletin is the source for every procedural statement on this page about the test center. The test-day chapter covers identification, what to leave outside, the pacing plan and how to read the report, so none of that is repeated here.
What to expect from the report
The pass mark is 70 percent, which on 60 scored questions is 42 correct. Because the UAG is one of the tests that prints ACS codes, a report with a few codes listed is normal, and a cluster of codes in one area tells you what to study. FAA Airman Knowledge Testing Matrix (rev. 9/25/26), p. 15 The report also carries a 17-digit Knowledge Test Exam ID, which is what you give IACRA. AC 107-2A, para. 6.4.1
Timelines, as of October 2026
The FAA does not state one consistent timetable, so treat these as estimates and check the current pages.
- Test result in IACRA. AC 107-2A says test reports upload immediately. The IACRA help page says it can take up to 72 hours before the result is available to you. Plan for a few days rather than minutes. AC 107-2A, para. 6.4.1 See the IACRA help page.
- Temporary certificate. The IACRA help page describes about a week after submission. The FAA’s FAQ on what happens after the test describes validation within roughly 10 days. As of October 2026 the two do not agree, so read “about a week or a bit more” as the estimate. The regulation caps what the temporary certificate can be: up to 120 calendar days. 14 CFR § 107.64(a) The FAA’s FAQ page and the become-a-drone-pilot page are where the current wording lives.
- Permanent card. As of October 2026, the FAA FAQ above is reported to give roughly six to ten weeks from the temporary certificate, and to suggest contacting the Airmen Certification Branch if the card has not come after about eight weeks. The IACRA guide gives no timeframe. Because the card arrives by mail, an out-of-date mailing address is the usual reason it does not.
Two cautions. A paper application is slower and gets no temporary certificate at all, so use IACRA. AC 107-2A, para. 6.4.1 And if TSA vetting does not succeed, no temporary or permanent certificate is issued; an applicant who believes the result was wrong can appeal to TSA. AC 107-2A, para. 6.5
Carrying it
The regulation says the remote pilot in command, the owner, or the person manipulating the flight controls must have the certificate and identification in physical possession and readily accessible whenever exercising the privileges. 14 CFR § 107.7(a)(1) On request you must present both to the FAA Administrator, an authorized representative of the NTSB or TSA, or any federal, state or local law enforcement officer. 14 CFR § 107.7(a)(2) The identification has to show the photograph, signature, date of birth and permanent mailing address listed in § 107.67(b).
If you move, you have 30 days to tell the FAA, by letter or through the FAA website portal, before you may keep exercising the certificate. 14 CFR § 107.77(c)
Registering the aircraft
Part 107 operations must comply with the registration rule in § 91.203(a)(2). 14 CFR § 107.13 There is no weight exemption for Part 107 flying: the only unregistered aircraft are those flown exclusively as recreational operations that weigh 0.55 pounds or less on takeoff. 14 CFR § 48.15
The details, from Part 48:
- The fee is $5.00 per aircraft for the certificate that applies to anything flown outside purely recreational operations. 14 CFR § 48.30(a) · 14 CFR § 48.100
- The registration lasts three years. You renew by verifying your information, any time in the six months before the expiration month. 14 CFR § 48.100(c)
- The registration number, or the serial number where the FAA allows it, must be legible and on an external surface. 14 CFR § 48.200 · 14 CFR § 48.205
- The application asks for the aircraft’s serial number if it is a standard Remote ID aircraft, or the serial number of its broadcast module. That is how Remote ID ties a signal to a registered aircraft. 14 CFR § 48.110(a)(6)-(7) · 14 CFR § 89.110(b)(4)
- You must update your information within 14 calendar days of any change, including a sale. 14 CFR § 48.115
As of October 2026, the FAA’s registration FAQ is the place to confirm what proof of registration to carry.
Keeping the certificate current
Passing the test does not make the certificate permanent. To act as remote pilot in command, you need to have, within the previous 24 calendar months, passed the initial test or completed recurrent training. 14 CFR § 107.65 Calendar months means the clock runs to the end of the month: the AC’s example is a test passed on September 13, 2020, with training due by September 30, 2022. AC 107-2A, Figure 6-1
The recurrent test no longer exists. Since April 6, 2021 the FAA has replaced it with training. FAA, Changes to Testing for a Remote Pilot Certificate (Apr. 5, 2021) The course is ALC-677, “Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent,” on FAASafety.gov, about two hours, and finishing it produces a certificate you can print. See the course page. The FAA has described it as no-charge, as of October 2026.
If you fail
A failed test is a delay. You cannot reapply for 14 calendar days. 14 CFR § 107.71 You hand the failed report to the testing center, which scans and destroys it, and you need no instructor endorsement or other authorization. PSI UAG Applicant Information Bulletin (eff. 2025-09-29), p. 4 Cheating is the only thing that works differently: it can bar you from applying for any FAA certificate or test for a year. 14 CFR § 107.69(b)
If you already hold a Part 61 certificate
A pilot with a certificate under Part 61, other than a student certificate, and a current flight review under § 61.56 can skip the knowledge test. They complete the online initial course ALC-451, “Part 107 Small UAS Initial - Part 61 Pilots,” and apply with the completion certificate through an authorized person, such as a Flight Standards office, a designated pilot examiner, an airman certification representative or a flight instructor, who verifies identity and the flight review. 14 CFR § 107.65(c) · 14 CFR § 107.63(b) · 14 CFR § 107.74 Recurrent training for these pilots is ALC-515. The initial course and recurrent course pages describe them. Per the IACRA guide, a flight review older than two years sends you back to the knowledge test. See the IACRA application help.
What it costs
| Aircraft registration | $5.00 per aircraft, valid 3 years | 14 CFR § 48.30(a) |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge test fee | Set by PSI. See PSI's scheduling screen for the current price. | PSI |
| Recurrent training | No charge, as of October 2026 | FAASafety.gov ALC-677 |
| Temporary and permanent certificate | No fee stated in the sources used here | AC 107-2A, ch. 6 |
The price of the test is not in PSI’s applicant bulletin, and PSI sets it, not the FAA. The number on the scheduling screen is the one that counts. For orientation only, FAA FAQs have said test centers charge approximately $175, and that prices are set by the testing organizations and can change. See that FAQ. Do not budget from this page; budget from PSI’s screen.