Keeping your remote pilot certificate current

The 24-month clock, in plain words

You must complete online recurrent training within the previous 24 calendar months to operate under Part 107. Miss the window and you cannot act as remote pilot in command until you complete it.

The certificate itself does not expire. What lapses is currency, and the fix is a course, not a retest. The FAA is explicit that holders complete one of its online training courses within the previous 24 calendar months to operate under Part 107.

The course for a pilot who flies drones and holds no current manned-aircraft certificate is ALC-677, Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent Non-Part 61 Pilots, and the FAA offers it at no cost. Set the reminder against the completion date, not the certificate issue date, because the clock runs on training, not on paper.

24 calendar monthsA Part 107 certificate holder must have completed one of the FAA's online recurrent training courses within the previous 24 calendar months to operate, and ALC-677 is free. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

Why recurrent training now covers night flying

The training was rewritten in 2021, and older courses do not count toward night currency. This is the detail that catches pilots certified early.

The Operations Over People rule replaced the in-person recurrent test with online training, and added an operation-at-night knowledge area to both the initial test and the recurrent course. Training taken before April 6, 2021 does not meet the requirements of the rule, in the FAA's own words.

So a pilot whose last course predates that date holds a certificate that is current for day work and stale for night work at the same time. The split matters more than most pilots expect, and the night rules page sets out what the night half of the training unlocks.

April 6, 2021The Operations Over People rule replaced the in-person recurrent test with online training, and the FAA states training taken before April 6, 2021 does not meet its requirements. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

no costThe online recurrent training will be offered free of charge to remote pilots, and it includes an operation at night knowledge area. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

Part 61 pilots have a different course

If you also hold a manned-aircraft certificate, your course is ALC-515, not ALC-677. The FAA splits the list by what else you fly.

A Part 107 remote pilot who is also certificated and current under Part 61, with a flight review within the previous 24 months, takes the Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent (ALC-515) online course on the FAASTeam site, also at no cost.

The rest of the deal is unchanged. The same 24-month window applies, and the completion record is what an inspector asks for. Whichever course applies, save the completion certificate with the flight log rather than in an inbox.

Part 107 pilots who also hold a current Part 61 certificate with a flight review take the Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent (ALC-515) course on the FAASTeam site, at no cost. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

What a lapsed clock actually costs

Lapse the training and the rule that stops is 107.12, the certificate requirement itself. No one may act as remote pilot in command without a remote pilot certificate that satisfies the currency requirements.

In practice the cost is the flying, not the certificate. You keep the card, and the day you complete the course you are current again, with no retest and no new application.

The commercial cost is the contract. A client checking currency finds a pilot who cannot legally act as pilot in command on the flight day, and insurance is worse. Insurers ask for the Part 107 certificate when quoting, and a currency gap is exactly the sort of thing a claim review looks for. The insurance page explains what underwriters ask for.

14 CFR 107.12Under 14 CFR 107.12, no person may act as remote pilot in command unless that person has a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating and satisfies the currency requirements. — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, retrieved 2026-09-29

BWI states its carriers will not quote drone insurance operators who do not hold a Part 107 license. — BWI drone insurance page, retrieved 2026-09-29

Put the two clocks on one calendar

Currency and registration expire on different schedules, and a business that forgets one usually forgot the other. Track them together.

The recurrent training runs on a 24-month loop. Drone registration runs on a three-year loop at FAADroneZone, renewed with the original account email. Both dates belong in the same reminder system as the November 15 annual report a North Dakota LLC owes the Secretary of State.

Three dates, one calendar, five minutes a year. A pilot running a company has the extra wrinkle that clients, lenders and the state each check a different one, and the setup guide explains which document answers to whom.

November 15A North Dakota LLC must file its annual report by November 15 each year, and a missed report places the business in Not Good Standing status with the Secretary of State. — North Dakota Secretary of State, retrieved 2026-09-29

3 yearsDrone registration is valid for three years and renews through FAADroneZone using the email address used for the original registration. — Federal Aviation Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

Questions