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After the Part 107 Test: IACRA and Your Remote Pilot Certificate

What happens after passing the initial UAG knowledge test: the IACRA application, TSA security review, and FAA-issued temporary and permanent Remote Pilot Certificates.

Reviewed November 1, 2026.

Always confirm with current FAA sources (faa.gov/uas).

Passing the test is not receiving the certificate

A passed Unmanned Aircraft General–Small (UAG) knowledge test is evidence for your application, not the Remote Pilot Certificate itself. The FAA’s Become a Certificated Remote Pilot page puts the application, security review, and certificate issuance after the passed test. Under 14 CFR § 107.12, acting as remote pilot in command requires the issued certificate and applicable knowledge recency. Wait until your FAA-issued temporary or permanent certificate is available before acting as a Part 107 remote pilot in command; a test report or submitted application does not establish that privilege. The certificate also does not replace the other requirements for a particular flight. This guide follows the initial knowledge-test path, rather than the separate Part 61 online-training path.

1. Keep your test report and allow time for IACRA posting

Keep your Airman Knowledge Test Report and locate its 17-digit knowledge-test Exam ID. The FAA certification page says the test may take up to 48 hours from the test date to appear in IACRA. IACRA’s New User Guide — Remote Pilot with Knowledge Test says it can take up to 72 hours. These current official sources differ: use IACRA’s more conservative 72-hour window when planning to associate the result. Neither statement guarantees that your result will be ready at a particular hour. Your FTN identifies you in the FAA system; the Exam ID identifies the test result you need to associate. Posting in IACRA is an administrative step, separate from testing-center appointment or check-in logistics.

2. Start the Remote Pilot application after passing

Sign in to your existing IACRA account. Following the FAA certification page, choose Start New Application, application type Pilot, certification Remote Pilot, Other Path Information, then Start Application. Complete FAA Form 8710-13, the Remote Pilot Certificate and/or Rating Application, through the IACRA prompts. The FAA’s official form page identifies that form and directs readers to IACRA for detailed information. Review the prepopulated personal information and complete the supplementary questions. This application process follows the passed test, even though you created an IACRA profile to obtain your FTN before testing.

3. Associate the knowledge test, review, sign, and submit

In IACRA’s Basis of Issuance section, enter the requested photo-ID information and search for your 17-digit knowledge-test Exam ID. When the matching test is found, choose Associate Test, then Save & Continue. Follow Review and Submit, answer the requested questions, and view the Pilot’s Bill of Rights, Privacy Act, and application review before continuing. Sign the Pilot’s Bill of Rights acknowledgment and electronically sign and complete the application. The IACRA guide says the completed application is automatically sent to the Airman Registry; the FAA page describes signing and submitting it for processing. Finding the test or saving an unfinished application alone does not complete submission. Section 107.63 establishes the application and evidence-of-passing requirement; these screen-by-screen instructions describe the FAA’s administrative process.

4. Allow the TSA security review to finish

The FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, section 11-5-4, says all applicants, regardless of nationality, must pass a TSA Security Threat Analysis before the FAA will issue a temporary or permanent Part 107 pilot certificate. The FAA certification page says a confirmation email will be sent after completion of the TSA security background check, with instructions for printing the temporary remote pilot certificate from IACRA. Follow that email and your IACRA application status. A passed UAG test does not bypass this review, and a testing-center estimate does not set the FAA’s security-review or certificate-issuance timeline.

5. Retrieve the FAA-issued temporary certificate

IACRA’s guide says the temporary certificate will be available in IACRA after about 7 days, with an email reminder. The FAA FAQ on the process after passing says applications should be validated within 10 days, after which applicants receive instructions to print the temporary certificate. These are FAA/IACRA processing guidance for different milestones, not guaranteed service times or a countdown from your test appointment. Use the actual certificate availability and FAA instructions to determine when it has been issued. The FAA FAQ describes the temporary certificate as good for 120 days. The regulation, § 107.64, specifies up to 120 calendar days and says it expires on the printed expiration date, on receipt of the permanent certificate, or on receipt of notice that the certificate sought is denied or revoked. Check your document’s actual expiration date and keep the certificate available when exercising its privileges.

6. Watch for the permanent certificate in the mail

The FAA certification page says the permanent Remote Pilot Certificate is sent by mail once the remaining FAA-internal processing is complete. The FAA FAQ on a missing permanent certificate says processing typically takes 6–10 weeks from the date the temporary certificate was issued. That starting point is temporary issuance, not the knowledge-test date. The separate process FAQ says the permanent certificate will be mailed within the temporary certificate’s 120-day period; treat that as FAA guidance, not a promised delivery date or an extension of temporary privileges. The missing-certificate FAQ directs you to contact the Airmen Certification Branch if more than eight weeks have passed since receiving the temporary certificate. Use the contact link in that FAQ for assistance, especially as the printed expiration date approaches; do not assume a processing delay extends the temporary certificate.

Keep the certificate and knowledge recency separate

Once the FAA has issued your certificate, keep it accessible during UAS operations and meet the requirements for each flight. Permanent-certificate delivery is not recurrent training, and passing the initial test does not remove the ongoing knowledge-recency requirement in § 107.65. Our related recurrent-training guide covers that separate topic. For application or certificate questions, use the official FAA/IACRA sources below; SkyPilot Prep provides independent study material and does not issue certificates or manage FAA processing.

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