Part 107 Renewal: How to Renew Your Drone License Online for Free (2026)

Last Updated: July 28, 2026

Here’s the good news right up front: Part 107 renewal is free. To renew your FAA drone license, you complete a free online recurrent training course — ALC-677: Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent — on the FAA Safety Team website every 24 calendar months. There’s no testing center, no proctor, and no fee.

It wasn’t always this easy. Before April 2021, staying current meant driving to an FAA-approved testing center and paying around $175 for a proctored recurrent exam. The FAA scrapped that system, and plenty of pilots who got certified years ago still don’t realize the process changed.

At Drone Launch Academy, we’ve helped tens of thousands of pilots earn their Part 107 certificates since 2015, and renewal questions land in our inbox every single week. This guide walks you through exactly how the 2026 renewal process works, what’s on the recurrent training, and what to do if you’ve let your currency lapse.

Key Takeaways

• Part 107 renewal is 100% free and online — you complete the FAA’s ALC-677 recurrent training course through FAASafety.gov, with no testing center visit required.
• You must renew every 24 calendar months to maintain your “recency of aeronautical knowledge.” Your certificate itself never expires — only your currency does.
• The training takes about 2 hours and ends with a 45-question, open-book test. You have 90 minutes and can correct wrong answers until you reach 100%.
• If your currency lapses, there’s no penalty — you simply can’t fly commercially until you complete the training. You never have to retake the $175 initial exam.
• Watch out for third-party “renewal” services that charge a fee. The official FAA renewal is always free and only available on FAASafety.gov.
• Save your Certificate of Completion PDF — it’s your proof of currency. The FAA doesn’t mail you a new license card.

Does Your Part 107 License Actually Expire?

No — your Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate never expires. What expires is your recency of aeronautical knowledge, which you must refresh every 24 calendar months by completing the FAA’s free online recurrent training. Once your currency lapses, you can’t legally fly commercially until you complete the training again.

This distinction trips up a lot of pilots, and it’s why you won’t find an expiration date printed anywhere on your certificate. According to the FAA’s official FAQ, “your certificate is permanent unless revoked by the Administrator.” The card in your wallet stays valid forever — it’s your knowledge currency that runs on a two-year clock.

And here’s a detail worth knowing: the FAA counts in calendar months, not exact dates. Your currency runs through the end of the month, two years after you last completed your training or initial exam. That buys you a little extra breathing room.

One more nuance: if you renew early, your new 24-month window starts from the new completion date — you don’t “lose” anything meaningful, and you gain peace of mind. More on that strategy later.

How Do You Renew Your Part 107 Certificate? (Step-by-Step)

To renew your Part 107, log in to FAASafety.gov, enroll in the free ALC-677 Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent course, work through the training modules (about 2 hours), pass the open-book final test, and download your Certificate of Completion. You’re current again for another 24 calendar months — same day.

Here’s the full process, step by step:

Step 1: Create or log in to your FAASafety.gov account. Head to FAASafety.gov and sign in. If you’ve never used the site, create a free account — use the same name and email tied to your FAA airman records so everything matches cleanly. This is the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) site, which is separate from FAA DroneZone. If you’re not sure which FAA portal does what, our FAA DroneZone guide breaks it down.

Step 2: Find the ALC-677 course. Search the course catalog for “Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent” or jump straight to the ALC-677 course page. Double-check the course number — ALC-677 is the one for most drone pilots. (If you also hold a current Part 61 manned aircraft certificate, you’ll take ALC-515 instead — see the comparison below.)

Step 3: Enroll and work through the training modules. The course covers regulatory updates, airspace, weather, night operations, and more. Budget about two hours. You don’t have to finish in one sitting — your progress saves automatically, so you can knock it out over a lunch break or two.

Step 4: Take the final knowledge check. At the end, you’ll face a 45-question multiple-choice test with a 90-minute time limit. It’s open-book: you can review the course material and FAA references while answering. Miss a question? You can go back and correct it until you reach 100%. This is nothing like the proctored initial exam — most pilots describe it as a structured review rather than a test.

Step 5: Download your Certificate of Completion. The moment you pass, your certificate PDF is available for download. Save it immediately — this document is your legal proof of currency. The FAA won’t mail you anything new.

Step 6: Store your proof and set your next reminder. Keep a copy of the certificate with your remote pilot certificate and ID whenever you fly commercially. Clients, insurers, and (in rare cases) law enforcement may ask for it. Then set a calendar reminder for about 22 months out so your next renewal never sneaks up on you.

How Much Does Part 107 Renewal Cost?

Part 107 renewal costs nothing. Since April 2021, the FAA has offered recurrent training completely free through FAASafety.gov. The only Part 107 expense the FAA requires is the $175 fee for the initial knowledge test at a PSI testing center — renewals never involve a fee, a testing center, or a proctor.

The difference between your first certification and every renewal after it is night and day:

A word of caution: because “free” doesn’t make anyone money, you’ll find third-party websites and ads offering to “renew your drone license” for a fee. Some sell legitimate refresher courses, which is fine — but none of them can issue your official renewal. That only happens on FAASafety.gov, and it’s always free. If a site asks for payment to process your renewal, close the tab.

What’s Covered in the Part 107 Recurrent Training?

The recurrent training focuses on operational rules and safety knowledge — the things that change or fade from memory over two years. Expect modules on updated regulations, airspace classification and authorization, weather effects on drone performance, night operations, operations over people, and emergency procedures.

Here’s roughly what you’ll review in ALC-677:

• Regulatory updates — changes to Part 107 since your last certification or renewal, including Remote ID requirements and the operations-over-people categories introduced in 2021.
• Airspace classes and flight restrictions — where you can fly, when you need LAANC authorization, and how to read airspace on a sectional chart.
• Weather and micrometeorology — density altitude, winds, and how weather sources apply to small UAS operations.
• Night operations — lighting requirements and the training that lets you fly at night without a waiver.
• Emergency procedures and crew resource management — lost-link procedures, flyaway responses, and coordinating with visual observers.

Notably absent: the deep chart-reading, loading-and-performance math, and radio-communication material that made the initial exam a grind. The recurrent training assumes you’ve already proven that foundation. If you’re curious how the initial exam compares, we’ve broken down exactly what’s on the Part 107 test question by question.

ALC-677 vs ALC-515: Which Renewal Course Should You Take?

Most drone pilots take ALC-677. The only exception: if you hold a current Part 61 manned aircraft pilot certificate with a valid flight review, you take the shorter ALC-515 course instead. Both renew your Part 107 currency for 24 calendar months — the FAA just assumes Part 61 pilots already know the airspace fundamentals.

If you take the wrong course by accident, don’t panic — ALC-677 satisfies the requirement for everyone with a Part 107 certificate, regardless of Part 61 status. When in doubt, ALC-677 is the safe pick.

What Happens If Your Part 107 Currency Lapses?

Nothing dramatic — there’s no fine, no penalty, and no requirement to retake the initial $175 exam. You simply lose the legal ability to fly commercially until you complete the free online recurrent training. The moment you finish ALC-677, your currency is restored and you can fly for pay again that same day.

This surprises a lot of pilots who got certified in the early days. Maybe you passed the exam in 2017, let things slide during 2020, and assumed your “expired license” meant starting from scratch. It doesn’t. Your certificate is still valid — you’re just out of currency. Log in to FAASafety.gov, complete the recurrent course, and you’re back in business without spending a dime.

One important note for long-lapsed pilots: if your last renewal happened before April 2021, you’ve never experienced the online system — your last recurrent step was probably a paid test at a testing center. That entire process is gone. Everything now happens online, and once you complete the current training you’ll be on the modern 24-month cycle like everyone else.

That said, don’t treat the lapse as harmless if you’re actively flying. Operating commercially without currency violates FAA regulations and can void your drone insurance — and FAA enforcement for Part 107 violations can reach thousands of dollars per infraction. If a client project lands in your lap and your currency lapsed last month, complete the training before the flight, not after.

5 Tips to Stay Current Without the Stress

Renewal is easy, but forgetting it is even easier. A few habits we recommend to every pilot who comes through our courses:

1. Set two calendar reminders, not one. Put the first at 22 months after your completion date and a backup two weeks before your currency ends. The FAA won’t remind you — staying current is entirely on you.

2. Renew early, strategically. Your new 24-month clock starts from your new completion date, so renewing a month early “costs” you a month of the old window but guarantees you’re never grounded. For working pilots, an unplanned lapse in the middle of a contract is far more expensive than renewing early.

3. Store your Certificate of Completion in three places. Cloud storage, your email, and a printed copy in your flight bag. Clients and insurance carriers ask for proof of currency more often than you’d think.

4. Refresh your knowledge before the training if you’re rusty. The recurrent test is open-book, but if sectional charts and airspace classes have gone fuzzy, a structured review pays off in the field — not just on the test. Our free 60-question Part 107 practice test is a quick way to find your weak spots.

5. Track currency for your whole team. If you run a drone services business, keep a shared spreadsheet of every pilot’s completion date and next deadline. One lapsed pilot can ground a project — and an audit trail of completion certificates keeps clients and insurers happy.

FAQs

How often do you have to renew your Part 107 license?

Every 24 calendar months. Your currency runs through the end of the month two years after your last initial exam or recurrent training. So if you completed training on July 28, 2026, you’re current through July 31, 2028.

Can I renew my Part 107 online?

Yes — online is the only way to renew. The FAA’s recurrent training courses (ALC-677 for most pilots, ALC-515 for current Part 61 pilots) are hosted on FAASafety.gov, and both are completely free. In-person recurrent testing was discontinued in April 2021.

How long does the Part 107 renewal take?

Plan on two to three hours total. The training modules take about two hours, and the 45-question final test has a 90-minute limit, though most pilots finish faster. Your progress saves automatically, so you can split it across multiple sessions.

What score do I need to pass the recurrent test?

Technically 100% — but it’s open-book, and you can review and correct any missed questions until everything is right. It’s designed as a learning exercise, not a pass/fail gauntlet. Virtually everyone who finishes the course passes.

Do I get a new drone license card after renewing?

No. Your original Remote Pilot Certificate stays valid forever, so the FAA doesn’t issue a new card. Your proof of renewal is the Certificate of Completion PDF you download after passing — keep it accessible whenever you fly commercially.

Do recreational flyers need to renew Part 107?

Only if they want to keep commercial privileges. If you fly purely for fun, you can operate under the Exception for Recreational Flyers with a TRUST certificate, which never expires. But the moment any flight is for business or compensation, you need a current Part 107 — recency and all.

Final Thoughts

Part 107 renewal in 2026 is about as painless as FAA compliance gets: free, online, open-book, and done in an afternoon. The real risk isn’t the test — it’s forgetting the deadline and taking a paid job while out of currency. Set your reminders, knock out ALC-677 every two years, and keep that completion certificate where you can find it.

And if you’re reading this because your certificate lapsed years ago — or you’re still working on getting certified in the first place — Drone Launch Academy founder David Young and our team of FAA-certificated instructors have helped tens of thousands of pilots pass the Part 107 exam since 2015. Our FAA Part 107 Exam Prep Course comes with structured lessons, practice exams, and lifetime access — which means every future renewal cycle, you’ll have current study material ready when you want a refresher.

Related Resources

• How many questions are on the Part 107 test?
• FAA DroneZone: registration, renewal & airspace authorization guide
• Free 60-question Part 107 practice test
• Get your Part 107 drone license in 11 easy steps