Flying at night under Part 107 without a waiver
Quick answer
Do I need a waiver to fly my drone at night under Part 107?
No, not since April 2021. A Part 107 remote pilot can fly at night with no waiver, as long as the drone has anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles and the pilot has completed knowledge training covering night operations. Waivers issued before the rule change stopped being necessary and eventually expired.
If you searched this because you assumed you needed to apply for something before your first night flight, the short version is: you probably do not. This page walks through exactly what changed, what you still have to do, and where people get it wrong.
What changed in 2021
Before April 2021, flying a small unmanned aircraft system (UAS, the FAA’s term for a drone) at night under Part 107 required a Certificate of Waiver, applied for individually through the FAA’s DroneZone portal, with no guarantee of approval and a processing time that could run weeks. The FAA’s Operations Over People and at Night final rule, effective 2021-04-06, replaced that waiver requirement with a conditions-based path: meet the conditions below, and you can fly at night with no application, no waiver, and no approval to wait on.
Every night-operation waiver issued before the rule took effect stopped being the authorizing document for night flight. Waivers issued before 2021-03-16 formally expired 2021-05-17; waivers issued between that date and 2021-04-21 stopped covering night operations once the new rule’s conditions became the operative requirement. If you are holding onto an old paper or PDF night waiver, it has no remaining function.
The two conditions you actually need to meet
Under 14 CFR 107.29 (the regulation governing night operation), a Part 107 remote pilot in command may operate at night without a waiver if both of these are true:
- Anti-collision lighting. The small unmanned aircraft is equipped with lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles that has a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision hazard. The regulation allows the pilot to reduce the light’s intensity if it would otherwise interfere with the pilot’s ability to perform their duties, but the light can never be turned off entirely during night operation.
- Knowledge recency covering night operations. The remote pilot has completed an initial knowledge test or recurrent training that covers night operations. Since the FAA folded night-operation content into the standard knowledge test and the standard recurrent course after the 2021 rule change, most certificate holders who tested or renewed after that date already satisfy this automatically. If your knowledge test or most recent recurrent training predates the update, confirm your specific certification history covers it, or complete a current recurrent course to be safe: see the free recurrent-training path.
There is no separate application, no separate certificate, and no fee. If your aircraft has the lighting and you are current on your knowledge recency, you are cleared to fly at night under Part 107 today.
What this does not change
Night operation without a waiver is still subject to every other Part 107 rule that already applies during the day: the 400-foot altitude ceiling, the requirement to yield right-of-way to manned aircraft, the ban on operating over people who are not participants unless a Category 1 to 4 exception applies (see the operations-over-people page), and controlled-airspace authorization through the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC, an FAA system that grants near-real-time approval to fly in Class B, C, D, and certain Class E airspace through an approved app instead of a manual waiver; see the LAANC page). Night flight also does not exempt you from a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR, a short-term no-fly zone the FAA issues over an area for safety or security reasons, commonly around wildfires, VIP movement, or major sporting events) or a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM, the FAA’s system for publishing time-sensitive safety information, including active TFRs) covering your operating area. Always check current NOTAMs and TFRs before any flight, day or night.
Practical night-flight considerations the rule does not spell out
The regulation sets the legal floor, not a full night-operations plan. Depth perception, distance judgment, and obstacle visibility are all harder at night, and the FAA’s own guidance material recommends additional precautions the rule text does not mandate: scouting your flight area in daylight first, keeping the aircraft closer and slower than you would by day, using a visual observer if one is available, and never relying on the aircraft’s onboard lighting as your only means of maintaining visual line of sight with the aircraft itself.
See the waivers & authorizations hub for the rest of the post-certification surface, or check your recurrent-training window on the renewal checker if you are not sure your knowledge recency covers night operations.