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Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to your FAA questions.
Read the ASSURE Small UAS Ground Collision Report for more information.
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Airlines allow passengers to travel with a certain amount of personal checked baggage free of charge. An airline considers anything that exceeds its baggage restrictions excess baggage and may charge you for it.
Depending on the airline, type of travel, and origin or destination, airlines may limit either the number of pieces or the weight of your baggage.
Please check with the airline you will be traveling with for restrictions.
Knowledge Testing Centers charge approximately $175 to people seeking to take the initial aeronautical knowledge test.
We ask AMEs to transmit as often as possible--transmitting often will help us process the applications in a more timely fashion. We ask that any deferred or denied certificates be transmitted immediately.
Exam information must be transmitted within 14 days of the exam.
Under a performance based rule, the FAA does not propose how an applicant obtains the impact data. The FAA only evaluates the testing scenarios and data to ensure the operation remains acceptably safe.
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Upon successful submission of your electronic application, you will be given a confirmation number. Your AME will be able to access your application using this number. Take your confirmation number with you when you arrive for your exam. Your AME will NOT be able to access your application without the confirmation number.
Operators are required to provide valid contact information on their airspace authorization request. This contact information will be used to call the responsible person/operator if necessary.
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The UPP will demonstrate transfer of NASA’s UTM research technologies to the FAA. The results from the UPP will provide a proof of concept for UTM capabilities currently in research and development and will serve as the basis for initial deployment of UTM capabilities.
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If your report involves a drone not following the FAA rules or regulations while flying within the National Airspace System, contact your local Flight Standards District Office.
Here are the FAA rules that must be followed while flying a drone within the National Airspace System:
- Recreational Flyers & Modeler Community-Based Organizations
- Certificated Remote Pilots including Commercial Operators
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Yes. To act as a remote pilot in command under Part 107, you must have a remote pilot certificate. However, part 61 pilot certificate holders who have completed a flight review within the past 24 months may elect to take an online training course focusing on UAS-specific areas of knowledge instead of the aeronautical knowledge test. The online training for current pilot certificate holders is available at www.faasafety.gov (ALC-451: Part 107 Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems). All other members of the public must take and pass the initial aeronautical knowledge test to obtain a remote pilot certificate.
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The following are steps for obtaining a U.S. license with an instrument rating:
If your foreign license has an instrument rating:
You can obtain a U.S. license but we must verify your present license by checking with the civil aviation authority in the country that issued your license. You must fill out the "Verification of Authenticity of Foreign License, Rating, and Medical Certification" form and send it with the documents the form requires to:
By Mail:
Airmen Certification Branch, AFS-760
P.O. Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0082
By Fax:
Fax the form and required documents to (405) 954-9922.
Confirmation of Your License:
It will take FAA about 45-60 days to confirm your license. We will send you a letter when it’s approved.
Take the Written Test:
The instrument foreign pilot written test is available at any computerized knowledge testing center that gives FAA written tests.
Take These to Your Flight Standards District Office (FSDO):
Contact an operations inspector at your local FSDO.
You must bring:
- Your license
- A current medical certificate
- The confirmation letter from Oklahoma City
- Another picture ID and
- Results of the computerized test
Fees in the United States:
There is no fee if you are applying in the United States.
Invalid Medical Certificate Information:
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If your License and Medical Certificate are ONE Document--You must revalidate the medical portion in your country of origin before you apply for your U.S. license.
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If your License and Medical Certificate are SEPARATE Documents--You may be able to get a U.S. medical certificate. Contact a U.S. aviation medical examiner.
If you are not able to verify the previous employer is DOT-regulated or conducts Federal drug and alcohol testing, you should talk to the employee or applicant to find out more information or search the internet to learn more about the former employer’s business or contact information. If you exhaust your search and you still cannot find information about the company, you may reach out to the FAA’s Drug Abatement Division for help. When you do, please provide a copy of the written release and any other documentation (e.g., the applicant’s resume or any communications with the former employer). You may submit your documentation via email to FAA's Drug Abatement Division at drugabatement@faa.gov or fax to 202-267-5200.
According to 49 CFR § 40.25(h), the employer from whom information is requested must transmit the information immediately. If you have confirmed receipt from the previous employer and they are refusing to provide information, you must document your good faith efforts. We strongly encourage you to report the non-response to the FAA’s Drug Abatement Division and provide a copy of the written release and documentation of your efforts. You must maintain the documents for three years from the date the employee first performs safety-sensitive duties for you.
More guidance on the drug and alcohol records check is available in the FAA’s Advisory Circular (AC 120-126A) and the DOT’s pamphlet titled "What Employers Need to Know About DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing".
If you have any further questions or need additional guidance that is more specific to your situation, please contact the FAA Drug Abatement Division at 202-267-8442 or drugabatement@faa.gov.
Please visit our website to learn more about our program.
Applicable Regulation:
The FAA has posted a letter to your docket folder on www.regulations.gov. If your operation can be conducted under the Small UAS Rule (Part 107), your petition will be closed out. If your operation requires a waiver to Part 107 or cannot be conducted under the Rule, the FAA will contact you with specific information about the status of your petition.
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If you registered using the FAA IACRA system, the FAA will mail you your license. It typically takes 6-10 weeks from the date the temporary certificate was issued to process the permanent certificate. If it has been more than eight (8) weeks since you received your temporary certificate, contact the Airmen Certification Branch for assistance. If you haven’t registered yet, please visit Become a Drone Pilot and follow Step 3.
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There are two registration systems available to small UAS or drone owners – the web-based system, designed exclusively for small unmanned aircraft, and the legacy paper-based registration system. If you don't have access to a computer to register, you may use the paper registration process.
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Your certificate is permanent unless revoked by the Administrator. After completing the initial knowledge test, you must update your recency of aeronautical knowledge within 24 calendar months to maintain currency. To update your recency of aeronautical knowledge, complete the appropriate online ALC training course.
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If your old drone was registered under Recreational Flyer, simply re-attach your current registration number. If it was registered under Part 107, then you would have to register the replacement drone as a new drone since the old registration number is tied to the serial number of the old drone.
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A test conducted by law enforcement is not regulated under 14 CFR Part 120; however, it may demonstrate a violation by the pilot of 14 CFR § 91.17. Under § 91.17, a flight crewmember is strictly prohibited from operating or attempting to operate an aircraft while having a breath alcohol concentration 0.04 or above, or while under the influence of alcohol. Although non-DOT tests like this are not required to be reported to the Federal Air Surgeon, we encourage you to report it to the Drug Abatement Division. We provide a sample form on our 'Suggested Forms & Formats' web page.
If you have any further questions or need additional guidance that is more specific to your situation, please contact the FAA Drug Abatement Division at 202-267-8442 or drugabatement@faa.gov.
Please visit our website to learn more about our program.
Applicable Regulation:
There are several sources for information regarding medical conditions and airman medical certification.
- Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs): There are approximately 3,500 physicians around the globe who are FAA-designated AMEs. AMEs are authorized to receive applications, to perform physical examinations and to issue airman medical certificates.
- Aerospace Medical Certification Division, AAM-300
Federal Aviation Administration
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
P.O. Box 25082
Oklahoma City, OK 73125
(405) 954-4821 - FAA, Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners
- FAA, Regional Flight Surgeons.
- Pilot organizations: Two of the largest pilot organizations are the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA, 800.236.4800) and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA, 800.872.2672).
Yes. If you hire any individual, either directly or by contract (including subcontract at any tier), to perform safety-sensitive functions, you must first conduct a pre-employment drug test and obtain a negative result in accordance with 14 CFR § 120.109(a)(1). You are responsible for meeting all the requirements for testing under 14 CFR part 120, subpart E and F.
If you use a contract employee who is not included under your FAA-mandated drug and alcohol testing program, you must ensure the employee is included under the contractor’s FAA-mandated drug and alcohol testing program and performing safety-sensitive functions on behalf of the contractor (i.e., within the scope of employment). The best way to verify a valid federal testing program is to request and obtain a copy of the contractor’s active program registration or Operations Specification paragraph (A449 or A049). If you rely on a copy of the contractor’s contract with a consortium or own statement, you may unknowingly fail to meet the requirement to ensure the contract employee is covered.
Employers and contractors that conduct their own FAA-mandated drug and alcohol testing must meet all the testing requirements. As prescribed by the regulations, the release of any drug or alcohol testing information or results to a third party is prohibited under 14 CFR §§ 120.111(c) and 120.219(c), and 49 CFR § 40.321.
If you have any further questions or need additional guidance that is more specific to your situation, please contact the FAA Drug Abatement Division at (202) 267-8442 or drugabatement@faa.gov.
Please visit our website to learn more about our program.
Applicable Regulations:
14 CFR § 120.7
14 CFR § 120.105
14 CFR § 120.109(a)
14 CFR § 120.111(c)
14 CFR § 120.117
14 CFR § 120.215
14 CFR § 120.219(c)
14 CFR § 120.225
49 CFR § 40.321