Unmanned Aircraft General - Small (UAG) Airman Knowledge Test

About the exam

The Unmanned Aircraft General – Small (UAG) test is the FAA's initial aeronautical knowledge test for drone pilots. Passing it is the main step towards a Remote Pilot Certificate with a small UAS rating, which you need to fly a drone under the FAA's Part 107 rules, the route for commercial work and any other flying that does not qualify as purely recreational.

The test is about rules and judgement rather than stick skills: there is no flight test. You answer multiple-choice questions on regulations, airspace and charts, weather, loading and performance, and day-to-day operations, at a supervised testing centre run for the FAA by PSI.

What surprises many candidates is that the certificate itself does not lapse, but your right to use it does. To keep flying under Part 107 you must complete a free online recurrent training course every 24 calendar months; you do not have to sit the test again.

Who has to sit it

Anyone who wants to fly a drone under Part 107 needs the certificate: paid or business work, but also any flight that does not meet the FAA's recreational exception. To hold the certificate you must be at least 16, able to read, speak, write and understand English, and fit to fly safely; you may sit the knowledge test from age 14. Recreational flyers do not need it, but they must pass the FAA's free online Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) instead. Holders of a Part 61 pilot certificate with a flight review in the past 24 months can skip the UAG test and take the free online course ALC-451 instead. Nothing has to come before the test except an FAA Tracking Number (FTN), which you get by creating an IACRA profile.

What is on it

Regulations 15-25%

The Part 107 rules: operating limits, the certificate and its privileges, waivers, flying over people and Remote ID.

Airspace and requirements 15-25%

Airspace classes, when you need authorisation, flight restrictions, and reading sectional charts and chart supplements.

Weather 11-16%

Where aviation weather information comes from, how to read it, and how wind, density altitude and other conditions affect a small drone.

Loading and performance 7-11%

How weight and balance and the load on the aircraft change how it performs.

Operations 35-45%

Radio procedures, airport operations, emergency procedures, aeronautical decision-making and crew resource management, the effects of drugs, alcohol and fatigue, maintenance and preflight inspection, and flying at night.

The paper

• 60 multiple-choice questions, each with a single correct answer and independent of the others.
• You have up to two hours.
• The pass mark is 70%.
• Chart and figure questions use the FAA testing supplement, which the testing centre provides; you may ask for a printed copy of a graph to mark up, and hand it back at the end.
• Aviation calculators and basic arithmetic calculators are allowed, subject to the centre's checks; the centre may supply one or refuse yours.
• The test is in English, in line with the English-language requirement for the certificate.
• Reasonable accommodations can be requested with medical documentation and a proposed method of testing.
• Cheating ends the test, can cost you any certificate you hold, and bars you from FAA tests for a year.

How to book it

1. Create a profile in IACRA to get your FAA Tracking Number (FTN); you need it to register for the test.
2. Register, choose a testing centre and pay through PSI, the FAA's testing provider, online or by phone.
3. Bring identification showing your photo, signature and date of birth (and a residential address if your mailing address is a PO box); the FAA lists acceptable documents in AC 61-65.
4. You get your Airman Knowledge Test Report as soon as you finish. Keep the original.
5. Apply for the certificate in IACRA on Form 8710-13 using the 17-digit exam ID from your report; the result can take up to 48 hours to reach IACRA.
6. After the TSA background check you receive an email to print a temporary certificate; the permanent card follows by post.
7. If you fail, you must wait 14 calendar days, then book again and show your failed test report at the centre. No instructor sign-off is needed.

Fees and dates

Fee

About USD 175 (about EUR 161), charged by the testing centre (source 1)

When

On demand, by appointment at FAA-approved knowledge testing centres run by PSI (source 3)

Results

Printed test report immediately after the test; reaches IACRA within 48 hours (source 2)

Validity of a pass

A passing test report can be used to apply for the certificate for 24 calendar months (source 3)

Staying current

Free online recurrent training (ALC-677) every 24 calendar months (source 2)

Retake wait

14 calendar days after a failed attempt (source 3)

Fees and dates change: each is as its source stated it on 29 October 2026. Check it there before you book.

Questions people ask

How many questions are on the Part 107 test?

There are 60 multiple-choice questions, and you have up to two hours. Operations is the biggest area, at roughly 35-45% of the questions.

What is the pass mark?

You need 70% or better. On a 60-question test that means at least 42 correct answers.

Can I take the Part 107 test online?

No. The initial UAG test is taken in person at an FAA-approved knowledge testing centre, booked through PSI. What you can do online is the free recurrent training that keeps your certificate current, and the separate TRUST test for recreational flyers.

How much does it cost?

The FAA says testing centres charge about USD 175 for the initial knowledge test. The online recurrent training that keeps the certificate current costs nothing.

Does the remote pilot certificate expire?

The certificate does not have an expiry date, but you may only fly under Part 107 if you have completed the online recurrent training within the previous 24 calendar months.

What happens if I fail?

You can retake the test after 14 calendar days. Bring your failed test report to the centre; no endorsement is needed. The report shows the codes of the topics you missed, which tells you what to revise.

Do I need Part 107 to fly for fun?

Not if you meet the FAA's recreational exception. Recreational flyers must instead pass TRUST, a free online test offered by FAA-approved administrators.

How old do I have to be?

You can sit the knowledge test from age 14, but you must be 16 to be issued the Remote Pilot Certificate.

Sources

1. How much does it cost to get a remote pilot certificate? — FAA
2. Become a Certificated Remote Pilot — FAA
3. Remote Pilot – Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airman Certification Standards (FAA-S-ACS-10B)
4. The Recreational UAS Safety Test (TRUST) — FAA

Checked against these sources on 29 October 2026.