Testing center closures have left many people stranded and unable to exercise the rights of their drone license. Some people have been stuck in limbo since March. Thankfully, the FAA has released new Special Federal Aviation Regulation to fix the problem.
The FAA is allowing people to take an online test in lieu of an in-person test to renew the currency for their certificate. This does not apply for the initial exam for people getting their certificate for the first time.
Who Needs to Renew Their License
The FAA requires commercial drone operators to retest every 24 months to remain current. The FAA has a separate process for Part 61 pilots to get their drone license. As a part of this process, the FAA administers an exam online. For a short period of time under the Special Federal Aviation Regulation, Remote Pilots will have the option of using this online exam to renew their currency.
If you took your last FAA Remote Pilot written exam (UAG or UGR) on April 30th, 2018 or before, you are out of currency and need to renew. If you took your exam anytime in May 2018, you will need to renew by May 31st, 2020 to remain current.
License Renewal Time and Exam Format
Your online recency exam will be good for only 6 calendar months. You will need to take the recurrent exam at a testing center again after that.
The exam is 35 questions and you need to finish it in one session. If you haven’t completed the exam in 90 minutes or less, you will need to retake it again. You are allowed to review course materials as you take the test.
When you finish the exam, press the “Grade Exam” button at the bottom. You will be shown your incorrect answers and be taken back to the exam. You won’t have to retake the entire exam, but you will need to correct the wrong answers and resubmit it. You need to get a 100% to pass the exam.
How Do You Access the Exam?
Go to the FAA Safety website and register. Search “Part 107” in the search bar and select with either the small UAS Initial (35 questions) or the small UAS Recurrent (28 questions). The FAA says you can choose either one of those so we recommend the recurrent.
Start by reviewing the intro when you get to the right page. Then click on the green number 1 at the bottom of the screen, then the now-blue number 2, and finally the blue Review button. The exam page will then become available. Check out the video above for more information on the process.
Once you pass the exam and correct it to 100%, you’re done and current again for 6 months. Be sure to create a calendar event to remind you to schedule the written exam with the FAA.
As always, you can use our Part 107 Made Easy course for initial or recurrent training. Contact us for a special recurrent training price.
