Remote Pilot Certificate & Currency
~11 min read · Know eligibility, the 24-calendar-month recurrent rule, and what keeps a certificate valid.
Every commercial drone flight in the US happens under the authority of a remote pilot certificate, and the FAA tests whether you know how to get one, keep it current, and what makes it invalid. The trap: the certificate never expires, but your currency does.
Who can hold a remote pilot certificate
To be eligible you must be at least 16 years old, able to read, speak, write, and understand English (with medical exceptions the FAA may accommodate), be in a physical and mental condition that allows safe sUAS operation, and pass the initial aeronautical knowledge test (UAG) at an FAA-approved testing center. There is no medical certificate requirement — you self-assess fitness for each flight.
- Minimum age: 16 (you can take the knowledge test earlier, but the certificate issues at 16)
- English proficiency required
- No FAA medical certificate needed — self-assessment instead
- TSA security vetting happens automatically during application
From test to certificate
After passing the UAG, you apply through IACRA (the FAA's online airman application system) using your knowledge test ID. A temporary certificate arrives by email once TSA vetting clears, and the permanent card follows by mail. Part 61 pilot certificate holders with a current flight review can take a different path: the free online training course (ALC-451) instead of the proctored knowledge test.
- Non-pilots: pass UAG at a testing center → apply in IACRA
- Existing Part 61 pilots with current flight review: free online course qualifies them
- Temporary certificate is valid for interim operations
Currency: the 24-calendar-month clock
The certificate itself never expires, but you may only exercise its privileges if you completed the initial test or recurrent training within the previous 24 calendar months. Since 2021, recurrency is a free online course rather than a paid retest. Calendar months means the clock runs to the END of the month: training completed on 15 March 2025 keeps you current through 31 March 2027.
- Recurrent requirement: every 24 calendar months
- Free online recurrent training replaced the paid retest in 2021
- 'Calendar month' = valid through the last day of the 24th month
- Night operations content is included in current initial/recurrent training
Carrying and presenting the certificate
The remote PIC must have the certificate accessible during flight operations and must present it, along with any other required documentation, upon request to the FAA, NTSB, TSA, or law enforcement. Change of permanent mailing address must be reported to the FAA within 30 days — after that, you may not exercise certificate privileges until the FAA is notified.
Worked example
Maria passed her initial UAG knowledge test on 10 June 2024. She completed no further training. A client books her for a roof-inspection flight on 20 June 2026. May she act as remote PIC?
Count 24 calendar months from June 2024: the period runs through the last day of June 2026, i.e., 30 June 2026. Her 20 June 2026 flight is inside the window, so she is legal — but only barely. If the job were on 1 July 2026, she would first need to complete the free online recurrent training. The certificate itself is still valid either way; it is the currency to exercise its privileges that lapses.
Common exam pitfalls
Thinking the certificate expires after 24 months.
The certificate never expires. What lapses is your ability to exercise its privileges — restored instantly by completing free recurrent training.
Counting 24 months to the exact day instead of the calendar month.
'Calendar months' always runs to the end of the month. A test passed 10 June 2024 gives currency through 30 June 2026, not 10 June 2026.
Assuming a medical certificate is required like manned aviation.
Part 107 has no medical certificate. You self-assess before every flight — and flying with a known disqualifying condition is itself a violation.
16-E-24: Sixteen years old, English, recurrent every 24 calendar months.
Recap
- Eligibility: 16+, English proficiency, safe physical/mental condition, pass the UAG
- Apply through IACRA; TSA vetting is automatic
- Part 61 pilots with a current flight review may use the free online course instead of the UAG
- Certificate never expires; currency lapses 24 calendar months after last training/test
- Recurrent training is free and online (includes night operations)
- Present the certificate to FAA/NTSB/TSA/law enforcement on request; report address changes within 30 days
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