Part 107 Recurrent Training: How the Free Online Renewal Works

Here is a scene that plays out constantly: a pilot passes the Part 107 test, flies commercially for two years, then a client asks for proof of currency and they realize they have no idea whether they are still legal. The rules around recurrent training changed in 2021 and a lot of outdated advice still floats around. This is the current, correct version.

Quick answer: your Remote Pilot Certificate never expires, but your currency to exercise it lapses every 24 calendar months. Renewing is free and online: take the FAA’s recurrent course ALC-677 on the FAASafety.gov website, pass the built-in quiz, and you are current for another 24 calendar months. No testing center, no fee, about two hours.

Certificate versus currency: the distinction that matters

Your certificate is permanent. Nobody takes it back for inactivity, and it does not have an expiration date printed on it. What expires is your currency, meaning your legal ability to act as remote pilot in command. Think of the certificate as the diploma and currency as the permission slip. Flying a commercial job with a lapsed currency is the violation, and it is the one clients and insurers will actually check.

The 24 calendar month rule, decoded

The rule runs on calendar months, and that phrasing is a gift. If you passed your initial test or last recurrent training on March 3rd, your currency runs through the end of March two years later. Anything within a calendar month counts the same, whether you finished on the 1st or the 31st. So there is never a reason to wait until the end of the month; finishing early costs you nothing and finishing late grounds you.

Set a recurring reminder 23 months from your completion date. It takes less effort than the anxiety of not remembering.

How to actually do it

The course is ALC-677, “Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent,” hosted on FAASafety.gov, the FAA’s safety team site. You need a free account there. The course is a series of modules covering what the FAA wants you refreshed on: regulations updates, airspace, weather, operations, and the topics that changed since your last pass, like operations over people and night rules that were revised in 2021.

At the end is a quiz. It is not proctored, not timed like the initial exam, and you can review material while you take it. Most working pilots finish the whole thing in an evening. When you pass, you get a completion certificate. Save the PDF and keep it somewhere you can produce it, because that document is what a client, insurer, or FAA inspector will ask for.

If you let it lapse

No drama, no fine for the lapse itself, no trip back to the testing center. You simply cannot fly commercial operations until you complete ALC-677 again. The risk is not the renewal, it is the job you accidentally fly while lapsed. If you have a busy season coming, check your date before you book work, not after.

One more outdated-advice warning: before 2021, staying current meant retaking a proctored test at a testing center and paying for it again. Some older articles still describe that process. It is dead. The online course replaced it, and anyone still paying to re-test in person is following an old map.

Why the FAA runs it this way

The recurrent course exists because the rules move. Night operations, operations over people, Remote ID: all of that arrived after many pilots passed their initial test. The FAA’s answer is a free two hour refresher instead of a new exam cycle, which is honestly one of the more sensible things the agency has done. Take the evening, do the course, stay legal, and spend your energy on the flying instead.

Common questions

How often do I need Part 107 recurrent training?

Every 24 calendar months from the month you last completed training or passed the initial test. Calendar months work in your favor: finishing any time in a month counts as the end of that month.

Does the Part 107 recurrent training cost anything?

No. The FAA’s recurrent course (ALC-677) on the FAASafety website is free. You do not go back to a testing center and you do not pay another $175.

What happens if my Part 107 currency lapses?

You cannot legally fly commercial operations until you complete recurrent training again. There is no penalty fee and no re-test at a testing center; you simply take the free online course and you are current again.

Is the recurrent course the same as the initial test?

No. The initial certification is a 60 question proctored exam at a PSI center. Recurrent training is an online course with a quiz at the end, done at your own pace from home, and it takes most pilots about two hours.