Module 1: Getting Your Remote Pilot Certificate
Before you can fly a drone commercially in the United States, you need an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) rating. This module walks you through the entire certification pathway end to end ? what the certificate is, why it exists, whether you're actually required to have one, and the exact administrative steps to get one: eligibility, your FAA Tracking Number (FTN), the IACRA account, scheduling and passing the FAA Knowledge Test, reading your test results against the Airman Certification Standards (ACS), completing FAA Form 8710-13, and staying current with recurrent training every 24 calendar months. By the end of this module you will know precisely what to do, in what order, to legally hold and keep a Remote Pilot Certificate.
Learning outcomes
- Explain what 14 CFR Part 107 covers and identify who is legally required to hold a Remote Pilot Certificate versus who can fly under the recreational exception.
- Summarize how drone regulation evolved from Section 333 exemptions to Part 107 in 2016 and the major rule changes since (2021 Operations Over People/Night, 2024 Remote ID).
- State the exact eligibility requirements in 14 CFR 107.61 and identify disqualifying factors under 107.57 and 107.59.
- Obtain an FAA Tracking Number (FTN) and create an IACRA account in the correct order.
- Schedule, prepare for, and pass the Part 107 Aeronautical Knowledge Test at an authorized PSI testing center.
- Read an Airman Knowledge Test Report and map missed ACS codes back to specific study topics.
- Complete FAA Form 8710-13 in IACRA and understand the TSA vetting and certificate issuance timeline.
- Explain the 24-calendar-month recurrency requirement under 14 CFR 107.65 and the three ways to satisfy it.
- Describe what the certificate does and does not authorize, and how to keep FAA records current.
This module is entirely procedural and administrative ? it is the only module in the course that is not primarily about aviation knowledge itself, but about the process of becoming, and remaining, a certificated remote pilot. It maps to ACS Task UA.I.C, Remote Pilot Certification with an sUAS Rating, which the FAA tests directly on the Knowledge Test even though it is process knowledge rather than flight-operations knowledge.
The ten lessons are sequenced to match the real order a first-time applicant follows: first understanding what Part 107 is and whether it applies to you (Lessons A-B), then confirming you meet the legal eligibility bar (Lesson C), then working through the FAA's own online systems in the exact order they must be used ? FTN before IACRA, IACRA before test scheduling, test before Form 8710-13 (Lessons D-G) ? and finally understanding the certificate's ongoing obligations once you hold it (Lessons H-I). The module closes with a practical lesson on how to use the rest of this course to prepare for every other ACS Area of Operation (Lesson J).
Every other module in this course (Modules 2 through 17) assumes you already understand the certification process covered here ? treat this module as the foundation the rest of the course is built on, not a formality to skim past.
What 14 CFR Part 107 regulates and the line between recreational and Part 107 commercial flying.
How FAA drone regulation evolved from exemptions to a standing rule, and the major updates since.
The exact age, language, and medical-fitness bar set by 14 CFR 107.61, 107.57 and 107.59.
The two accounts every applicant must set up before test day, and the order they must be created in.
Booking your test through PSI, what to bring to the test center, and what test day looks like.
How to read your Airman Knowledge Test Report and use ACS codes to target further study.
Applying for the certificate itself in IACRA, TSA vetting, and the temporary-to-permanent certificate timeline.
The three ways to satisfy 14 CFR 107.65's ongoing aeronautical knowledge recency requirement.
What the certificate authorizes, what it doesn't, and how to keep FAA records accurate over time.
A study roadmap tying every remaining module to the ACS Areas of Operation it covers.