RECENCY / 24 CALENDAR MONTHSDrone Authority | FAA recurrent guide
Calculate the exact day your operating recency ends, choose the correct free FAA course, and keep the certificate you already earned working for you.
Measured by calendar month, not by 730 elapsed days.
No paid knowledge-center retest is required.
The credential stays valid unless the FAA revokes it.
Certificate vs. currency
Your plastic Remote Pilot Certificate has no printed expiration date because the credential itself is permanent unless the FAA revokes it.
To act as remote pilot in command under Part 107, your aeronautical knowledge must be current. FAA defines that recency in calendar months, and the exact final day is easy to miss.
The clean mental model
Certificate: permanent credential. Recency: permission to exercise remote pilot privileges right now.
Recency instrument
Enter the latest date on which you passed the initial knowledge test or completed qualifying recurrent training.
Use the most recent qualifying event, not the issue date printed on your plastic certificate.
Deadline readout
The calculation moves to the same month two years later, then uses the final day of that month.
"Due soon" is a planning cue used here for 60 days or less. FAA operating currency remains valid through the calculated deadline.
Choose your FAA route
Both courses are free and online. If you are unsure whether your manned-aircraft flight review is current, use ALC-677. It is open to every Part 107 certificate holder.
Default route / ALC-677
Take Part 107 Small UAS Recurrent, course ALC-677. FAA says it applies to any certificated remote pilot, regardless of current aeronautical knowledge recency.
Conditional route / ALC-515
You may take ALC-515 only if you hold a Part 61 pilot certificate and have a current flight review under 14 CFR 61.56.
A Part 61 certificate by itself is not enough. The flight review must also be current.
Open ALC-515Deadline logic
FAA AC 107-2A uses the end of the 24th calendar month. The original day of the month does not become the deadline.
Initial test
Sep 13, 2020
Complete by
Sep 30, 2022
Completing early resets the month.
If your deadline is September 30, 2026 and you complete training on July 15, 2026, the next deadline is July 31, 2028. The unused August and September time does not carry into the new cycle.
Use the date you passed the initial UAG knowledge test or the date you most recently completed qualifying recurrent training.
A completion in September 2020 points to September 2022, regardless of which day in September you completed it.
Your operating recency continues through the last calendar day of the 24th month. The month length determines whether that is the 28th, 29th, 30th, or 31st.
Early training begins a new cycle from the month in which you complete it. Unused time from the old cycle does not carry forward.
Complete and document
Use your existing FAA Safety Team account or create one before launching the course.
ALC-677 works for every Part 107 certificate holder. ALC-515 is limited to qualifying Part 61 pilots.
Finish every required section and the course review so FAASafety.gov records completion.
Download the record, note the completion date, and calculate the final day of the new 24th calendar month.
Knowledge refresh
The FAA uses recurrent training to keep core operating knowledge current as rules and real-world procedures evolve.
Retain the FAASafety.gov completion certificate in your pilot records. It documents the date that starts your new cycle.
If the date passed
There is no late fee or replacement application. Finish an eligible recurrent course before returning as remote pilot in command.
Frequently asked questions
No. The FAA says the certificate is permanent unless revoked by the Administrator. What expires is your ability to exercise its privileges as remote pilot in command without current aeronautical knowledge. You maintain that operating recency by completing eligible recurrent training within the required 24-calendar-month cycle.
Start with your latest initial knowledge test or qualifying recurrent course completion date. Move to the same calendar month 24 months later, then use the final day of that month. A September 13, 2020 initial test produces a September 30, 2022 deadline.
Any Part 107 certificate holder can take ALC-677, including a pilot whose operating recency has lapsed. ALC-515 is only for a Part 107 remote pilot who also holds a Part 61 pilot certificate and has a current flight review under 14 CFR 61.56.
No. The FAA recurrent courses are online and free. A current certificate holder does not need to schedule another paid PSI knowledge-center exam merely to restore Part 107 aeronautical knowledge recency.
Your Remote Pilot Certificate remains permanent, but you may not exercise its privileges as remote pilot in command until you complete eligible recurrent training. FAA guidance allows a noncurrent person to manipulate the controls only under the direct supervision of a current remote pilot in command who can take immediate direct control.
Yes. You do not have to wait for the final month. The tradeoff is that early completion starts a new 24-calendar-month cycle from the month completed, so unused months from the prior cycle do not carry forward.
Enter the most recent qualifying date: either the date you passed your initial Part 107 knowledge test or the date you last completed an eligible recurrent course. Do not use the issue date printed on the permanent certificate if a later qualifying event exists.