Night Operations Under Part 107
Flying a drone after dark used to require an individual FAA waiver, granted case by case. Since April 2021, 14 CFR 107.29 permits night operations under Part 107 without a waiver, as long as the remote pilot and the aircraft both meet specific conditions. This lesson covers that history, the exact structure of 107.29, and the civil twilight period that sits between daylight and full night with its own, lighter-touch rule.
Historical context: the pre-2021 waiver-only framework
This section describes a superseded rule, included for historical context only — it does not reflect the current requirement. Before the 2021 final rule, 14 CFR 107.29 simply prohibited operating a small unmanned aircraft at night, full stop, unless the remote pilot in command held a waiver under 14 CFR 107.200 specifically authorizing night operations. Getting one meant submitting a safety case to the FAA and waiting for individual approval, the same waiver-only pattern that applied to operations over people before the same rule change. There was no standard, pre-approved way to fly after dark for routine commercial work like evening real estate photography or dusk security patrols.
What changed: the 2021 final rule
The same "Operations Over People and at Night" final rule that added Subpart D also rewrote 14 CFR 107.29, replacing the blanket night prohibition with a conditional permission. Since the rule's effective date, a remote pilot may operate at night without a waiver, provided two conditions are met together: the remote pilot in command has completed an initial knowledge test or training, as applicable, under 14 CFR 107.65, after April 6, 2021; and the aircraft has lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision. Both conditions must be satisfied — meeting only one is not enough to legally fly at night under 107.29(a).
Lesson B in this module goes deep on the lighting condition, and Lesson C goes deep on the training condition and exactly why the April 6, 2021 date matters so much for pilots who were certificated before it.
Civil twilight: a lighter-touch rule between daylight and full night
14 CFR 107.29(c) defines civil twilight as the transition period around sunrise and sunset: except in Alaska, it begins 30 minutes before official sunrise and ends at official sunrise, and it begins at official sunset and ends 30 minutes after official sunset; in Alaska, civil twilight follows the period defined in the Air Almanac instead. Critically, 107.29(b) applies a narrower rule during civil twilight than 107.29(a) applies at full night: during civil twilight, the aircraft must still have the same anti-collision lighting (visible at least 3 statute miles, sufficient flash rate) — but the training/testing condition of 107.29(a)(1) is not part of the civil twilight rule. A remote pilot who has not yet completed a post-April-6-2021 knowledge test or training can still legally fly during civil twilight with proper lighting; that same pilot could not legally fly during full night until that training condition is also met.
Reducing anti-collision lighting without extinguishing it
Both 107.29(a) and (b) include the same safety-judgment clause: the remote pilot in command may reduce the intensity of the anti-collision lighting, but may not extinguish it entirely, if the pilot determines that doing so is in the interest of safety given the operating conditions. This exists for situations where full-intensity lighting could actually work against safety — for example, if it were bright enough to cause glare that interferes with the remote pilot's own ability to see the aircraft. Reducing intensity is a judgment call available to the pilot; turning the lighting off completely is never permitted under 107.29.
Historical footnote: what happened to existing night waivers
14 CFR 107.29(d) addressed the transition for remote pilots who already held individual night-operation waivers issued under the old framework: after May 17, 2021, no person may operate at night under a certificate of waiver issued before April 21, 2021, and waivers issued before March 16, 2021 that authorized deviation from 107.29 terminated on May 17, 2021 specifically. In plain terms, once the built-in night-operations rule took effect, the FAA phased out the old individual waivers rather than leaving two parallel systems in place indefinitely. A remote pilot today does not need to know the specifics of an old waiver's expiration date — this is historical context explaining why "I have an old night waiver" is not a valid basis for operating at night today.
Civil twilight timing: why this course does not offer a live calculator
The exact clock times for civil twilight begin and end depend on the specific date and the specific geographic location of the flight — both change every day and vary significantly by latitude and by season. A static study page like this one cannot compute those exact times without a live date/location lookup, and this course does not build a fake calculator that cannot actually produce a correct answer for real conditions.
What matters for the knowledge test and for real operations is understanding the definition conceptually: civil twilight is the 30-minute window immediately before official sunrise and the 30-minute window immediately after official sunset (in the continental United States and most of the country outside Alaska), and the anti-collision lighting requirement of 107.29(b) applies throughout that window, in addition to full night. Before any real flight near sunrise or sunset, look up the official sunrise and sunset times for your specific location and date using a reliable aviation planning tool, weather briefing service, or almanac-based sunrise/sunset calculator, and treat the 30 minutes on either side of those times as civil twilight for planning purposes.
Scenario: a real estate video shoot scheduled to run past sunset
A remote pilot schedules an aerial video shoot for a listing that is expected to run about 45 minutes past the day's official sunset time to capture both daylight and "golden hour" footage. For the first 30 minutes after sunset, the flight is operating during civil twilight under 107.29(b), so the aircraft needs its anti-collision lighting on and visible for at least 3 statute miles — but the pilot does not need to separately verify the 107.29(a)(1) training condition for that portion of the flight, since civil twilight does not carry that requirement. Once the shoot passes the 30-minute mark after official sunset, the flight has moved into full night under 107.29(a), and now both conditions apply: the lighting must remain on, and the pilot must have completed a knowledge test or training under 107.65 after April 6, 2021. A pilot who has not yet met that training condition would need to end the flight at the 30-minute mark rather than continue into full night.
Determining which operating window a flight falls under
Work through this before any flight planned near sunrise, sunset, or after dark.
Look up official sunrise and sunset for the specific date and location
Use a reliable aviation weather briefing tool or sunrise/sunset calculator for the exact site of the flight, not a general estimate.
Mark the 30-minute civil twilight windows on either side
Identify the period from 30 minutes before official sunrise to official sunrise, and from official sunset to 30 minutes after official sunset.
Confirm anti-collision lighting is functional for any portion in civil twilight or night
Verify the lighting is visible for at least 3 statute miles with a sufficient flash rate before launch, since this applies to both civil twilight and full night.
If any portion of the flight extends into full night, confirm the training condition
Verify the remote pilot in command has completed a knowledge test or training under 107.65 after April 6, 2021 before that portion of the flight, since civil twilight does not require this but full night does.
| Mistake | Why it happens | Correct understanding | Regulation / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Believing a waiver is still required by default to fly at night | This was true before April 2021, and older informal advice has not caught up | Since 2021, 107.29 permits night operations without a waiver, provided the training and lighting conditions are met | 14 CFR 107.29(a) |
| Assuming civil twilight and full night require exactly the same conditions | Both periods require anti-collision lighting, which makes them feel identical | Civil twilight (107.29(b)) requires only the lighting condition; full night (107.29(a)) requires both the lighting condition and the post-April-6-2021 training/testing condition | 14 CFR 107.29(a); 14 CFR 107.29(b) |
| Thinking "dusk" or "getting dark" is the same thing as the regulatory definition of civil twilight | Civil twilight sounds like a general description of fading light rather than a precisely defined 30-minute window | Civil twilight is a specific, defined period tied to official sunrise/sunset times, not a subjective impression of dim lighting | 14 CFR 107.29(c) |
| Believing anti-collision lighting can be turned off if the area is already well lit | The rule allows reducing lighting intensity for safety, which is sometimes misremembered as allowing it to be turned off | Intensity may be reduced for safety reasons, but the lighting may never be extinguished entirely during night or civil twilight operations | 14 CFR 107.29(a); 14 CFR 107.29(b) |
Do I need a waiver to fly at night?
Not by default, since April 2021. As long as the remote pilot in command has completed a knowledge test or training under 107.65 after April 6, 2021, and the aircraft carries proper anti-collision lighting, night operations are permitted under 107.29 without a waiver.
What is the difference between civil twilight and full night for Part 107 purposes?
Civil twilight only requires anti-collision lighting under 107.29(b). Full night requires both the anti-collision lighting and the post-April-6-2021 knowledge test or training condition under 107.29(a). Civil twilight is the 30-minute window before official sunrise and after official sunset.
Can I turn off my anti-collision lighting if the area is already well lit?
No. A remote pilot may reduce the intensity of the anti-collision lighting for safety reasons, but the lighting may never be extinguished entirely during night or civil twilight operations.
Test Your Knowledge
Answer the questions below to check your understanding. Every answer can be found in the lesson above.