Recurrent Training: The 24-Month Rule
Getting your Remote Pilot Certificate isn't a one-and-done event ? 14 CFR 107.65 requires every remote pilot to demonstrate current aeronautical knowledge on a rolling basis, at least once every 24 calendar months, for as long as they intend to exercise the certificate's privileges. This lesson explains exactly how that recency requirement works, why it is not the same thing as the certificate expiring, and the three ways to stay current.
The certificate does not expire ? but your privileges depend on recency
This is the single most important distinction in this lesson: a Remote Pilot Certificate with an sUAS rating, once issued, does not have an expiration date printed on it and does not need to be renewed or reissued. What DOES have a time limit is your ability to legally exercise the certificate's privileges ? that is, to act as a remote pilot in command under Part 107. If you go more than 24 calendar months without satisfying one of the recency pathways below, you are not legally permitted to act as remote pilot in command, even though the physical certificate itself is still a validly issued document.
Pathway 1: Passing the initial Knowledge Test
Passing the initial Aeronautical Knowledge Test itself (Lesson E) satisfies the recency requirement for the 24 calendar months following the pass date. Every new remote pilot starts their recency clock the moment they pass that first test ? there is no separate "starter" recurrency requirement in the first two years.
Pathway 2: Completing recurrent training (the ongoing path for most pilots)
After that first 24-month window, remote pilots do NOT need to return to a PSI testing center and pay for another full proctored exam. Instead, the FAA offers a free online recurrent training course covering the same 107.73 knowledge areas. Completing this course within the 24 calendar months before your privileges would otherwise lapse resets your recency clock for another 24 months. This is the pathway the large majority of working remote pilots use for the rest of their flying career.
Pathway 3: Part 61 certificate holders using a current flight review
A remote pilot who holds a Part 61 certificate (other than student pilot) can alternatively satisfy recency by completing training covering the 107.74 knowledge areas, provided their manned-aircraft flight review under 14 CFR 61.56 is current. This mirrors the streamlined initial-certification pathway covered in Lesson C and continues to apply on an ongoing basis for pilots who maintain that Part 61 currency.
- Grandfather note: Remote pilots who satisfied recurrent testing or training requirements before April 6, 2021, within the prior 24 calendar months, were treated as already in compliance under a transitional provision when the current rule took effect ? a historical detail relevant mainly to pilots certificated in the earliest years of Part 107.
Real-world scenario: a working pilot's recency timeline
Tom?s passes his initial Knowledge Test and receives his Remote Pilot Certificate in March 2024. That single event satisfies his recency requirement through March 2026. Sometime before March 2026 ? ideally with some buffer rather than waiting until the last week ? Tom?s logs into the FAA's recurrent training platform, completes the free online course covering the same knowledge areas, and receives a certificate of completion. That resets his recency clock to run through roughly the corresponding date in 2028. His physical Remote Pilot Certificate never changes, expires, or gets reissued through this entire process ? only his eligibility to exercise its privileges depends on staying current.
The 24-month recency window resets each time recurrent training (or an equivalent pathway) is completed ? the certificate itself never expires.
View Larger| Pathway | Who uses it | What's required | Regulation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Knowledge Test | First-time applicants (no Part 61 certificate) | Pass the proctored UAG exam at a PSI center | 14 CFR 107.65(a); 107.73 |
| Recurrent training | Existing remote pilots, every 24 months thereafter | Complete free online training covering 107.73 areas | 14 CFR 107.65(a) |
| Part 61 flight review alternative | Non-student Part 61 certificate holders | Complete 107.74 training and maintain a current 61.56 flight review | 14 CFR 107.65(a); 107.74; 61.56 |
Completing recurrent training before your recency lapses
Don't wait until the last day of your 24-month window ? build in a buffer.
Track your recency deadline
Note the date you passed your initial test (or last completed recurrent training) and calendar a reminder well before the 24-month mark.
Locate the FAA's approved recurrent training course
The course is free and available online, covering the same 107.73 subject areas as the initial test, delivered in a training format rather than a proctored exam.
Complete the course and save your certificate of completion
Keep a copy of your completion record ? it establishes the date your new 24-month recency window begins.
Continue exercising Part 107 privileges under the new window
No changes to your physical certificate are needed ? your recency simply resets for another 24 calendar months from the completion date.
| Mistake | Why it happens | Correct understanding | Regulation / source |
|---|---|---|---|
| "My Remote Pilot Certificate expires after 24 months." | Confusing certificate validity with recency of privileges | The certificate itself does not expire; only the ability to exercise its privileges depends on 24-month recency. | 14 CFR 107.65 |
| "I need to retake the full proctored PSI exam every 2 years." | Assuming recurrent requirements mirror the initial test exactly | After the first 24 months, most pilots use the free online recurrent training course instead of a proctored retest. | 14 CFR 107.65(a) |
| "If my recency lapses, I lose my certificate entirely." | Overestimating the consequence of a recency lapse | A lapse means privileges cannot legally be exercised until recency is restored ? it does not revoke the certificate itself. | 14 CFR 107.65 |
Does my Remote Pilot Certificate expire after 24 months?
No. The certificate itself has no expiration date. The 24-month clock under 14 CFR 107.65 governs whether you may currently exercise the certificate's privileges, not whether the certificate is still validly held.
Do I have to go back to a testing center every 2 years?
No, not after your first 24-month window. The ongoing recurrency requirement is satisfied through a free online training course rather than another proctored PSI exam.
What happens if I let my recency lapse and then fly commercially anyway?
Operating without current recency under 107.65 means you are not legally authorized to act as remote pilot in command, which is a regulatory violation independent of whether the flight itself was otherwise safe. Complete recurrent training before your window lapses to avoid this entirely.
Test Your Knowledge
Answer the questions below to check your understanding. Every answer can be found in the lesson above.