What changes on the Part 107 test on October 26, 2026
From October 26, 2026 the Part 107 test adds chart questions from current sectionals, not the supplement. What the FAA said and how to study for it.
If you’re studying for your drone license, you’ve either booked a test date or you’re about to pick one. This change should shape that choice. Starting October 26, 2026, the Part 107 test adds image-based questions that aren’t in the printed testing supplement. They come from current VFR sectional charts, the same maps pilots check before a flight.
As of September 13, 2026, that date is about six weeks away. If your test is booked for late October or later, it changes how you should practice chart questions. If you’re testing sooner, it’s still worth knowing, because the skill it tests is one you’ll use before any paid job near an airport.
What the FAA said
The announcement is in the FAA’s Airman Testing Community Advisory for August 2026, which you can read here. It covers two tests: the Instrument Rating Airplane test and the Unmanned Aircraft General, Small (UAG) test, which is the FAA’s name for the Part 107 test. In the FAA’s words, beginning October 26, 2026, both “will include image-based questions not found in the test supplements,” sourced from VFR charts.
The advisory includes a sample UAG question built from the Washington Sectional chart, the edition dated June 12 to August 7, 2025.
The FAA put an asterisk on the October 26 date, with a note saying it was corrected from the previous edition of the advisory. Since the date has moved once already, check the latest advisory on the FAA’s testing pages a week or two before your test.
What isn’t new
Pictures on the test aren’t new. The Part 107 test already includes questions with an image embedded in the question itself. What changes is where the images can come from: a current sectional chart, not only the printed supplement you’re handed at the desk.
What stays the same
The format of the test doesn’t change.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Scored questions | 60 |
| Unscored validation questions | 5 |
| Time | 120 minutes |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Printed testing supplement (FAA-CT-8080-2H) | Still provided by the test center |
The FAA hasn’t set a date to stop handing out printed supplements, and you keep access to one until it does. Questions on the supplement figures still count, so expect both kinds on the same test.
Why this makes chart questions harder
The supplement you get at the test center is FAA-CT-8080-2H, dated 2018, and its chart excerpts and legend come from that edition. Current sectionals are printed to today’s charting standards, and the FAA’s Aeronautical Chart Users’ Guide in effect now dates from July 9, 2026.
Until now, you could practice chart questions on the same supplement figures you’d see on test day. From October 26 you also have to read a chart excerpt you’ve never seen before. The symbols and conventions are the ones the Chart Users’ Guide defines, so nothing is hidden from you, but reading them cold takes practice.
Airspace is a big slice of the test. Under PSI’s current weighting it carries 20%, and chart reading also feeds operations questions about airports and radio frequencies.
Why it matters on a real job
This change actually brings the test closer to the work. Say a real estate agent books you for a listing on a Saturday, and the house turns out to be near a small airport with a control tower. Before you quote the job, you open a current sectional to see whether the house sits inside Class D airspace. If it does, you need ATC authorization before you fly, which you request through LAANC in an app, or through FAADroneZone at airports that aren’t LAANC-enabled.
On a job like that there’s no printed supplement to lean on. You’re reading the current chart cold, which is exactly what the new questions ask you to do. Our guide to airspace classes and when you need LAANC walks through that decision for each class.
What chart knowledge the standards cover
The Airman Certification Standards (the FAA’s official list of what the test can ask) don’t have a single “sectional charts” topic. Chart reading supports several knowledge elements instead:
| ACS element | What it covers |
|---|---|
| UA.II.A.K1a to K1e | Class B, C, D, E and G airspace |
| UA.II.A.K2 | Special use airspace: prohibited, restricted, warning, MOA, alert areas |
| UA.II.A.K3 | Other airspace areas, including military training routes and TFRs |
| UA.V.A.K2 | Using a CTAF to monitor manned traffic |
| UA.V.B.K6a | Aeronautical charts as a source of airport data |
Any of these can be tested on a chart image, so a current sectional excerpt is a fair source for questions in two test areas, airspace and operations.
How to adjust your study
Learn symbols from the current Chart Users’ Guide. The supplement’s legend dates from 2018, so don’t stop there. The FAA publishes the guide as a PDF, and it defines the symbols on a VFR sectional, including airspace lines, altitude figures, airport data and obstacles.
Practice on charts you’ve never studied. Take an excerpt from a current sectional and work through it cold. Identify the airspace at a point, read its floor and ceiling, find the tower frequency, then find the tallest obstacle. It’s the same check you’d run before quoting a shoot near an airport.
Drill the conversions. Chart altitudes are in feet MSL (above mean sea level) unless marked otherwise, while Part 107’s 400-foot limit is AGL (above ground level). On a chart you don’t know, the MSL-to-AGL step is the easiest place to slip.
Keep the core facts sharp. Know which airspace needs ATC authorization (Class B, C, D and a Class E surface area), how Class C shelves and Class D ceilings are labeled, and what the magenta and blue vignettes tell you about Class E floors.
Here’s a quick reference for what those look like:
| On a current sectional | Means |
|---|---|
| Solid blue altitude figures | Class B, MSL ceiling and floor with two zeros dropped |
| Solid magenta altitude figures | Class C |
| Dashed blue line | Class D; a minus before the ceiling means up to, not including |
| Dashed magenta line | Class E surface area |
| Magenta vignette | Class E from 700 ft AGL |
| Blue vignette | Class E floor other than 700 ft, next to Class G |
Our guide to reading a sectional chart for the Part 107 test goes through each of these with worked conversions.
Should you take the test before October 26?
We’d decide on readiness, not on the date alone. If you’re ready now and comfortable with the supplement’s chart figures, testing before the change means you only see question types you’ve already practiced. If you’re still weeks away, plan for the new format and practice on current charts from the start, so the switch doesn’t catch you out.
Either way, the passing score, the question count and the time limit stay the same. Before you pick a date, take the free 20-question practice test. It gives you a score by area, so you can see your airspace score on its own.
Keep the retake rule in mind if you’re cutting it close. After a failed attempt you have to wait 14 calendar days, so a failed attempt on or after October 12 puts your retake under the new format.
Your score report helps either way
Whenever you test, your Airman Knowledge Test Report lists the ACS codes for the questions you missed. If you pass, the report is valid for 24 calendar months for your certificate application. If you don’t, those codes are your study list for the retake, and any code starting with UA.II points you at airspace.
Where Liftoff fits
Chart Lab in Liftoff has 40+ chart questions on the FAA testing supplement figures, which still count after October 26. Every answer cites its FAA or eCFR source, so when you miss one you can see where the rule comes from. For current sectionals, pair it with the Chart Users’ Guide and a few real chart excerpts. Liftoff is $49 once with lifetime access, and you can see what’s included before you decide.
If you’re earlier in the process and still deciding whether this is for you, start with how to become a drone pilot, or check whether you need a drone license for the flying you have in mind. For the full test path, from IACRA registration to your temporary certificate, see the Part 107 test guide.
If you’re planning your test date around a deadline, how long it takes to get a Part 107 license lays out each step, and Part 107 test tips from people who passed covers how to study.