FAA Part 107 Renewal 2026: Free Recurrent Training, No Test

Part 107 renewal in one paragraph

Your FAA Remote Pilot Certificate never expires — but the aeronautical knowledge recency attached to it does, every 24 calendar months. To stay legal to fly commercially under 14 CFR Part 107, you must complete a free FAA online recurrent training course before that 24-month window closes. There is no proctored test, no fee, and no new plastic certificate. You log in to FAASafety.gov, finish the recurrent course (most pilots take it as ALC-677, the standalone Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent course), and save the completion certificate — that PDF is now your legal proof of currency. That is the whole renewal. The rest of this guide explains the timing math, who needs which course, what "lapsed" actually means, and the 2026 rules (Remote ID, night/over-people) that the recurrent training now covers.

The 24 calendar-month rule (and why "calendar month" matters)

Under 14 CFR § 107.65, a remote pilot may not exercise Part 107 privileges unless, within the previous 24 calendar months, they have either passed the initial Unmanned Aircraft General (UAG) knowledge test or completed recurrent training covering the § 107.73 knowledge areas.

The phrase "calendar month" is the part that trips pilots up. It means the entire month, not a rolling 730-day clock. FAA Advisory Circular 107-2A gives the worked example: if you passed your initial knowledge test on September 13, 2020, your recurrent training must be completed no later than September 30, 2022 — the last day of the 24th calendar month, not September 13.

There is a practical hack in this rule. Because the month starts the clock regardless of the day, completing your renewal on the 1st of a month gives you almost a full extra month of currency versus completing it on the 28th. If you renew early, the new 24-month window runs from the month you completed the recurrent training — so renewing months ahead of the deadline shortens your effective cycle. The sweet spot is the final month before expiry.

Which recurrent course do you actually take?

The FAA hosts the courses free on the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) site. The right course depends on whether you also hold a manned-aircraft certificate:

• Part 107-only remote pilots (the large majority): take ALC-677, "Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent." This is the standalone recurrent course built for pilots whose only certificate is the Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. (The older recurrent course, ALC-515, covers the same § 107.73 knowledge areas; ALC-677 is the current standalone path.)
• Part 61 pilots who also hold Part 107 and have a current flight review under § 61.56: you renew under § 107.65(c) using the condensed § 107.74 training rather than the full § 107.73 recurrent course, because your flight review already demonstrates much of the overlapping knowledge.
• Pilots who lost initial currency entirely: you do not go back to a testing center. You take the online recurrent training to re-establish recency (details in the lapse section below).

The course takes most pilots about 2 hours. It is self-paced, has knowledge-check questions throughout, and ends with a short quiz you must pass to generate the completion certificate. Critically, there is no $160 testing-center fee — that fee only applies to the initial UAG knowledge test for brand-new pilots. Recurrent training has been free and online since March 1, 2021, when the FAA replaced the old in-person recurrent knowledge test.

TRUST vs. the initial test vs. recurrent training — don't confuse them

Three different "drone training" things share airspace in pilots' minds. They are not interchangeable:

• TRUST (The Recreational UAS Safety Test): for recreational flyers under 49 USC § 44809. Free, online, you cannot fail it, and it has nothing to do with Part 107. If you fly commercially, TRUST does not keep you current.
• Initial UAG knowledge test: the proctored, ~$160, in-person exam at a PSI testing center that you took to get your Part 107 certificate the first time.
• Recurrent training (ALC-677 / § 107.65(b)): the free online course that renews your knowledge recency every 24 calendar months.

If you only ever fly commercially, TRUST is irrelevant to you and recurrent training is mandatory. If you do both recreational and commercial work, you still must keep Part 107 recency current — TRUST does not substitute.

What happens if your currency lapses

This is the question competitor pages answer worst, so here is the precise position.

Your certificate does not get revoked or expire. The FAA has confirmed the Remote Pilot Certificate itself does not expire — only the 24-month knowledge recency lapses. There is no late fee and no formal grace period in the regulation.

What actually happens when you lapse: you are grounded from Part 107 operations the day after your recency window closes. AC 107-2A spells this out — if recurrent training is completed after the deadline (say October 5 when the window closed September 30), the pilot may not exercise Part 107 privileges between October 1 and October 5, when training is finished. Flying commercially during that gap is operating without required recency.

The fix is simple and the same regardless of how long you have been lapsed: log in and complete the online recurrent training. The moment you finish and have the completion certificate, your recency is re-established for a fresh 24 calendar months. You do not retake the initial knowledge test, you do not pay a fee, and you do not reapply through IACRA. A pilot who lapsed two years ago renews exactly the same way as one who is two weeks early.

One nuance: while lapsed, you could still fly the same aircraft recreationally under § 44809 (if you hold TRUST and follow recreational rules), but you cannot do any commercial or Part 107 work — no paid jobs, no operations over people, no controlled-airspace authorizations relying on Part 107.

What the recurrent training actually covers

Pilots dismiss recurrent training as a click-through. It is not — and the 2021 rulemaking deliberately made the recurrent course cover the same § 107.73 knowledge areas as the initial UAG test, so a Part 107-only pilot is refreshed on the full body of knowledge, not a watered-down subset. Expect the course to walk through:

• Applicable regulations for small UAS rating privileges, limitations, and flight operation — including the rules that changed since you last renewed.
• Airspace classification, operating requirements, and flight restrictions affecting small UAS operations (Class B/C/D/E, TFRs, prohibited/restricted areas).
• Aviation weather sources and effects of weather on small UAS performance.
• Small UAS loading and performance.
• Emergency procedures and crew resource management.
• Radio communication procedures and determining the performance of small UAS.
• Physiological effects of drugs and alcohol, aeronautical decision-making, and judgment.
• Airport operations and maintenance/inspection procedures.
• Night operations — the knowledge area the FAA added in the 2021 rule, plus the operations-over-people framework.

Because the FAA can update the course as regulations change, the recurrent course is the FAA's chosen vehicle for keeping working pilots aware of new rules — which in 2026 means Remote ID enforcement and the night/over-people categories. The end-of-course knowledge check is short, but the value is the regulatory refresh, so treat it as a genuine review of anything that has changed in your two-year cycle.

Common renewal scenarios, answered precisely

"I renewed three months early — did I waste two months of currency?" Effectively yes. The new 24-calendar-month window runs from the month you completed recurrent training, not from your old expiry. Renewing in the final month before expiry maximizes each cycle; renewing months early simply shortens your effective interval.

"I lapsed 18 months ago and never flew commercially since. What now?" Complete the free online recurrent training today. The instant you finish and hold the completion certificate, you are fully current for a fresh 24 calendar months. There is no penalty, no retest, no reapplication, and no difference from an on-time renewal.

"I have a paid job tomorrow and my recency expires the last day of this month." You are current through the last calendar day of that month. The job is fine if it is within the window, but renew immediately afterward — do not let the next job fall on the first of the following month with no completed recurrent training.

"I'm a Part 61 private pilot who also got Part 107. Do I take ALC-677?" Only if you do not have a current flight review, or you prefer the full Part 107 recurrent path. With a current § 61.56 flight review you renew under § 107.65(c) using the condensed § 107.74 training instead.

"Does completing TRUST reset my Part 107 clock?" No. TRUST is recreational-only and never satisfies Part 107 recency, even though both are free FAA online activities.

Recordkeeping: the part that gets pilots violated

The FAA does not mail you anything and does not stamp a new date on your certificate. The completion certificate PDF is your only proof of currency. Treat it like a logbook entry:

• Download and save the PDF the moment you finish ALC-677. The FAASafety.gov record can be retrieved later, but do not rely on the portal during a ramp check.
• Carry proof when you fly. Part 107 requires you to have your Remote Pilot Certificate available; in practice, also keep the recurrent completion certificate accessible (phone photo plus cloud copy) because the certificate alone does not show your recency date.
• Log the completion date and the deadline of the next cycle. The FAA airman registry shows your certificate issue date, not when recency expires — that math is on you. Set a calendar reminder for the last month of the 24-month window.

If an FAA inspector asks for proof of current aeronautical knowledge and you cannot produce it, that is the enforcement exposure — not the certificate itself.

2026 context: what the recurrent training now covers

The recurrent training is not static — the FAA updates it as rules change, which is the entire point of recurrent over a one-time test. Two areas matter for 2026 renewals:

Night and Operations Over People knowledge. When the FAA moved recurrent training online in 2021, it also added a night-operations knowledge area to §§ 107.73/107.74 and aligned the Operations Over People rule. Pilots renewing in 2026 should expect the recurrent course to reinforce night operations, anti-collision lighting, and the Category 1–4 operations-over-people framework. Recency through recurrent training is what unlocks night and certain controlled-airspace authorizations without a separate waiver.

Remote ID is now fully enforced. The FAA's discretionary-enforcement period for Remote ID ended March 16, 2024. Every drone that must be registered (over 0.55 lb / 250 g, and all Part 107 aircraft regardless of weight) must broadcast Remote ID via a standard Remote ID drone, an FAA-approved broadcast module, or operation within a FRIA. Remote ID is a per-aircraft registration requirement handled at FAADroneZone — it is separate from your personal recency, but expect the recurrent training to test it because non-compliant flights now carry real enforcement risk. Renewing your recency does not register your drone, and registering your drone does not renew your recency; you must do both.

Step-by-step: renew today

1. Go to FAASafety.gov and log in (or create the free account).
2. Open the Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent course — ALC-677 for Part 107-only pilots.
3. Work through the modules (~2 hours, self-paced) and pass the end-of-course knowledge check.
4. Download the completion certificate PDF immediately and store two copies.
5. Record today's date and set a reminder for the last month of the next 24-calendar-month cycle.
6. Confirm each drone's Remote ID is registered at FAADroneZone — recency and Remote ID are independent obligations.

That is the complete, current 2026 renewal. The biggest mistakes are believing the certificate "expires" (it does not), thinking there is a paid recurrent test (there is not), and failing to save the completion certificate (the one document that actually proves you are legal to fly).

Stay sharp between renewals

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