Part 107 testing centers: where to take the exam

Part 107 testing centers are the physical piece of an otherwise online certification process: the initial knowledge exam must be taken in person, under a proctor, at a center approved by the FAA's testing partner, PSI. The network runs to several hundred locations across the country, many of them hosted at flight schools and airport businesses, so most candidates find a seat within reasonable driving distance. The exam itself is the Unmanned Aircraft General test, code UAG, and every center delivering it runs the same test under the same rules.

This article covers the prerequisite that must exist before any booking, how to find and schedule a center through the testing portal, what test day at a center looks like from identification through the score report, and the scheduling patterns that matter when an organization is moving a whole team through the exam rather than one person.

Before you search: the FTN comes first

The testing system will not book a Part 107 exam for a person the FAA cannot track, so the first step happens away from any center: create a profile in IACRA, the FAA's airman application system, and receive an FAA Tracking Number. The FTN is the identifier that ties the test result to the eventual certificate application, and centers require it at registration. Getting it is free and takes minutes, and doing it early avoids discovering the requirement at a checkout screen.

Details entered at this stage propagate forward, so precision pays. The name in the testing profile must match the government identification presented at the center, exactly, because proctors can refuse a candidate whose booking and ID disagree, with the fee at risk. Candidates who use nicknames, drop middle names, or let autofill misspell something are creating a test day problem weeks in advance. Register as the ID reads, record the FTN somewhere durable, and the administrative layer never surfaces again.

Finding a center and booking the UAG exam

Scheduling runs through PSI's FAA testing portal, which is available around the clock and organizes everything by exam code. Create an account, select the Unmanned Aircraft General - Small exam, and search by city or ZIP code to see the centers in range with their live appointment inventory. Availability varies more than price does: urban centers can book out a week or two while smaller centers nearby hold same week seats, so widening the search radius is the standard fix for a full calendar. The fee and the exam are identical everywhere, which makes distance and dates the only variables worth optimizing. The 175 dollar fee is paid at booking, and the confirmation email carries the address and arrival instructions that govern the appointment.

The portal also hosts the free resources that make the trip worthwhile, including a sample UAG test under its exam resources, and it handles rescheduling within the notice window described in the booking terms. Candidates outside the system's assumptions, without standard identification, or needing accommodations, resolve those through the testing provider before booking rather than at the center's front desk. The center delivers the exam. Every decision about it happens in the portal first.

Test day at the center

Arrive early, because the front desk process is real: identity verification against the booking, with acceptable identification establishing photo, signature, date of birth, and address, then the locker for phones and materials, then the proctored room. Centers commonly ask candidates to appear about thirty minutes ahead, and late arrivals risk losing the seat with the fee spent. The UAG session allows approved aids, and the center provides scratch materials. From seating, the candidate has 120 minutes for 60 scored multiple choice questions, with the possibility of unscored validation questions mixed in, and a 70 percent score passes.

The document that leaves the center with you is the Airman Knowledge Test Report, printed on site with the result and, for missed topics, the learning codes that map to the certification standards. Passing candidates use the AKTR's information in the IACRA application that follows, and the report is worth filing carefully, since it is the bridge between the test and the certificate. A failing report is a study map with a mandatory pause attached: 14 calendar days before a retake, at full fee, at any center that offers the exam.

The center visit produces a record worth keeping

For an individual, the testing center visit ends with a certificate application. For a program, it should end with an entry: this candidate, this date, this result, this report, filed in the pilot's record where the certificate, its number, and the recurrent training dates will accumulate. The knowledge test is the first document in a credential file that the program will consult for years, and programs that capture it at the source never find themselves reconstructing who tested when from old calendar invites.

Organizations moving groups through certification have a purchasing tool worth knowing: the testing provider sells vouchers that organizations buy in bulk and issue to candidates, valid for a year, which converts a pile of individual card payments into one procurement and gives the program visibility into who has redeemed a seat. Pairing voucher issuance with the pilot record, issued, scheduled, tested, passed, turns a testing push from a series of personal errands into a tracked pipeline with dates the program can plan against.

Common mistakes in scheduling the knowledge test

Booking before the FTN exists. Centers require the FAA Tracking Number at registration, and it comes from IACRA, not from the testing portal. Create the profile first and carry the number into the booking.

Registering under a name the ID does not show. Proctors match the booking against identification exactly, and mismatches can forfeit the appointment. Register precisely as the government ID reads, middle names included.

Treating the nearest full center as the only option. Appointment inventory varies by location, and smaller centers a bit farther out often hold same week seats. Widen the radius before accepting a two week delay.

Arriving unprepared for the desk, not the test. Candidates who studied for months still lose appointments to identification and arrival rules. Read the confirmation email's instructions the day before, not in the parking lot.

Discarding the test report. The AKTR carries the result and learning codes the next steps depend on. File it in the pilot's record instead of letting the bridge document ride home loose in a backpack.

FAQ

Where are Part 107 testing centers located?

At several hundred FAA approved sites nationwide, many hosted by flight schools and airport businesses. The testing portal's search shows every center in range of a city or ZIP code along with live appointment availability for the UAG exam.

How far in advance should I schedule the exam?

A week or two covers most locations, though busy urban centers book out further and smaller centers often have same week openings. Schedule once practice scores are consistently passing, and use the search radius rather than waiting on one full center.

What do I need to bring on test day?

Acceptable government identification matching your booking exactly, establishing photo, signature, date of birth, and address, plus your confirmation details. The center provides scratch materials, and approved aids are permitted under the testing rules.

Can my company schedule and pay for several pilots at once?

Yes, through the testing provider's voucher program, which lets organizations buy exam seats in bulk and issue them to candidates, with vouchers valid for a year. Pair issuance with internal records so the program can track who has tested.

Closing thought

Testing centers are the one appointment in a certification path that otherwise lives online, and they run on appointment logic: the right identifier before booking, the right name on the ID, the right center chosen for availability rather than habit. Handle the administration precisely and the visit reduces to what it should be, two hours with sixty questions, and a report worth filing the moment you walk out.

If you are scheduling knowledge tests for new drone pilots, FlybyOps was built for the operational record problem at the center of regulated drone work. A pilot registry that tracks candidates from test date through certification, a project and job hierarchy showing which work waits on which credentials, a document vault for test reports and certificates, and an append-only audit log are all part of how the platform keeps test dates and the certificates that follow them filed against each pilot.