Part 107 study guide: what to know for the FAA drone test

Regulations make up about half of the test, operations about a quarter and airspace and charts about a fifth, with a few questions on weather and loading. Spend your time in that order. For the test format, fee and steps to the certificate, see the Part 107 test guide.

The numbers to know

Sources: 14 CFR 107.3, 107.9, 107.27, 107.29, 107.51, 107.65, 107.120; 14 CFR 91.17.

Regulations

Who is responsible

The remote pilot in command is directly responsible for, and is the final authority on, the operation. Before each flight, they check the surroundings, brief everyone involved, and make sure the drone is in a condition for safe operation. A preflight check of the aircraft and control link is required before every flight.

Sources: 14 CFR 107.19, 107.49.

Visual line of sight and visual observers

The remote pilot in command, or a visual observer, must be able to see the drone throughout the flight with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, to know its location, attitude, altitude and direction, to see other air traffic and hazards, and to make sure it does not endanger anyone. A visual observer is optional, and the pilot and observer must keep effective communication.

Sources: 14 CFR 107.31, 107.33.

Right of way and other limits

• Yield the right of way to all aircraft, airborne vehicles and launch and reentry vehicles.
• Fly one drone at a time as remote pilot in command or visual observer.
• No flight from a moving vehicle, unless over a sparsely populated area and not carrying someone else's property for hire.
• No hazardous material on board.
• No careless or reckless operation, and no dropping objects that create an undue hazard.

Sources: 14 CFR 107.23, 107.25, 107.35, 107.36, 107.37.

Night and twilight

Night flight is allowed once the pilot has passed the current initial test or training, with anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles and a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision. The same lights are required during civil twilight. The pilot may dim them but may not turn them off.

Source: 14 CFR 107.29.

Flying over people

Part 107 sets four categories for flights over people. Category 1 is the simplest: a drone that weighs 0.55 pounds or less, with everything on board, and has no exposed rotating parts that would lacerate human skin. Categories 2 to 4 depend on a declaration of compliance or an airworthiness certificate. No sustained flight over open-air assemblies unless the drone meets the Remote ID rules.

Sources: 14 CFR 107.39, 107.110 to 107.145.

Accidents, waivers and Remote ID

Report to the FAA within 10 calendar days any operation with serious injury, loss of consciousness, or damage to property other than the drone, unless repair or replacement costs $500 or less. Some rules can be waived with a certificate of waiver. Drones must meet the Remote ID rules of part 89: a standard Remote ID drone, a broadcast module, or a flight inside an FAA-recognized identification area.

Sources: 14 CFR 107.9, 107.200, 107.205; 14 CFR part 89.

Airspace and sectional charts

When you need ATC authorization

You need prior authorization from Air Traffic Control to fly in Class B, Class C or Class D airspace, or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport. Class G airspace needs none.

Source: 14 CFR 107.41.

The airspace classes

• Class A starts at 18,000 ft MSL.
• Class B generally goes from the surface to 10,000 ft MSL around the busiest airports, each one individually tailored.
• Class C generally goes from the surface to 4,000 ft above the airport elevation, charted in MSL.
• Class D generally goes from the surface to 2,500 ft above the airport elevation, charted in MSL.
• Class E is controlled airspace that is not A, B, C or D. Where no base is charted, it begins at 14,500 ft MSL.
• Class G is uncontrolled airspace.

Source: FAA Remote Pilot sUAS Study Guide (FAA-G-8082-22), ch. 2.

Special use airspace and TFRs

Prohibited areas are charted as P plus a number, restricted areas as R plus a number. Military operation areas are named, with their times and altitudes on the back of the chart. Temporary flight restrictions are issued by NOTAM and do not appear on the printed chart: check them before every flight.

Sources: FAA-G-8082-22, ch. 2; 14 CFR 107.45, 107.47, 91.137 to 91.145, 99.7.

Reading a sectional chart

Since October 26, 2026, the test shows excerpts of real sectional charts. Expect to identify the airspace at a given point and whether authorization is needed, and to read airport and obstacle data:

• In the airport data block, the first figure is the field elevation in feet MSL. The figure after the L is the length of the longest runway in hundreds of feet.
• The airport data block also gives the control tower and ATIS frequencies, where they exist.
• Next to an obstacle, the bold figure is the height of its top above mean sea level and the figure in parentheses its height above ground level.

Weather

• METAR: an observation of current surface weather, issued on a regular schedule. A SPECI is a special report issued between routine METARs.
• TAF: a forecast for the 5 statute mile radius around an airport, valid for 24 or 30 hours.
• Density altitude rises with high elevation, high temperature and high humidity. The higher it is, the less lift and thrust a drone has.
• Temperature and dew point close together point to fog, low clouds or precipitation.

Sources: FAA-G-8082-22, ch. 3a and 3b; Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), ch. 11.

Loading and performance

• An overloaded aircraft may not be able to take off. Excess weight reduces climb, range, speed and maneuverability, and raises the stalling speed.
• The center of gravity must stay within the manufacturer's limits. A payload you move or drop changes it during the flight.
• In a coordinated level turn at 60° of bank, the load factor is 2 G. Stalling speed increases with the square root of the load factor.
• On a hot day at a high site, the drone performs as though it were at the density altitude, not at the field elevation.

Sources: FAA-G-8082-22, ch. 4; FAA-H-8083-25C, ch. 10 and 11; FAA Advisory Circular 107-2A, appendix B.

Operations

• Aeronautical decision-making: check yourself with the IMSAFE checklist (Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion) before flying.
• Crew resource management: brief the crew, assign roles and keep communicating during the flight.
• Radio and airports: at airports without an operating tower, pilots announce their position on the CTAF, the common traffic advisory frequency. Listening to it helps you know where traffic is.
• Batteries: lithium batteries can catch fire after improper charging or damage from a crash. Inspect them before each flight.
• Drugs and alcohol: no flight within 8 hours of a drink, under the influence, or with any drug that affects your faculties.

Sources: FAA-G-8082-22, ch. 5 to 11; FAA Advisory Circular 107-2A, appendix B; 14 CFR 91.17, 107.27.

A study plan

1. Read 14 CFR part 107 once, start to finish. It is short and it is half of the test.
2. Practice a little every day, by topic, starting with regulations and airspace.
3. Read real chart excerpts until airport data blocks and obstacle heights are automatic.
4. Take full-length exams: 60 questions in 2 hours with the real topic mix. Book the test once you consistently score above 70%.

Last updated November 3, 2026. Hovertest is an independent study app, not affiliated with the FAA.