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The FAA Reference Shelf

The public-domain FAA handbooks, advisory circulars and regulations the knowledge tests are built on, each with what it covers and a link to the FAA's current edition.

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FAA Reference Shelf

The documents the tests are built on

The public-domain FAA publications the knowledge tests draw from, sorted into standards, regulations, handbooks and references. We check each edition monthly against the FAA's current release, so you study AC 107-2A and the ACS-10B test standard, not the outdated versions still linked around the web. Select any one to open it in the reader.

Test standards13

What each test measures and the supplement of figures it hands you.

Official FAA documentDefines exactly what the remote pilot knowledge test measures, area by area, with the code attached to every test question. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe standards for the private pilot knowledge test and checkride, organized into areas of operation and tasks. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe standards for all three mechanic knowledge tests and the oral and practical tests. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe standards for the instrument rating knowledge test and practical test. FAA-S-ACS-8C
Official FAA documentThe standards for the commercial pilot knowledge test and checkride. FAA-S-ACS-7B
Official FAA documentThe standards for the flight instructor practical test, including the fundamentals of instructing. FAA-S-ACS-25
Official FAA documentThe standards for the ATP certificate and aircraft type ratings. FAA-S-ACS-11A
Official FAA documentThe figure book handed to you at the testing center. Sectional excerpts, Chart Supplement entries, weather products and performance charts that test questions refer to by number. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe single figure book used with all three mechanic knowledge tests. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe figure book for the commercial pilot knowledge test. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe figure book for the instrument rating knowledge test, full of approach charts and en route excerpts. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe figure book for the flight and ground instructor knowledge tests. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe figure book for the ATP and aircraft dispatcher knowledge tests. ✓ Verified Sep 2026

Regulations25

The rules themselves, from Title 14 and Title 49 of the CFR.

Official FAA documentThe regulation itself: certification, operating rules, operations over people and at night, and waivers. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentWho may earn each pilot certificate, the aeronautical experience required, and the currency rules that keep a pilot legal. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe operating rules for nearly every flight, plus the inspection requirements every mechanic applies. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentWhat maintenance may be done, by whom, how it is recorded and how mechanics are certificated. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official NTSB documentWhen an accident or serious incident must be reported to the National Transportation Safety Board. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe official meaning of the terms every other rule uses, from aircraft to night. 14 CFR Part 1
Official FAA documentIncludes the FAA-wide rule against false or misleading statements in applications and records. 14 CFR Part 3
Official FAA documentHow aircraft and parts earn type and airworthiness certificates. 14 CFR Part 21
Official FAA documentThe design standards normal category airplanes are certificated under. 14 CFR Part 23
Official FAA documentHow manned aircraft are registered with the FAA. 14 CFR Part 47
Official FAA documentHow drones are registered and how the registration number is displayed. 14 CFR Part 48
Official FAA documentThe medical certificate classes and the standards for each. 14 CFR Part 67
Official FAA documentBasicMed, the alternative to a third class medical certificate. 14 CFR Part 68
Official FAA documentWhere each class of controlled airspace is designated. 14 CFR Part 71
Official FAA documentRestricted and prohibited areas and how they are designated. 14 CFR Part 73
Official FAA documentThe Remote ID rule: broadcast requirements, modules and FAA-recognized identification areas. 14 CFR Part 89
Official FAA documentSpecial flight rules for specific areas, including the Washington, DC area. 14 CFR Part 93
Official FAA documentAir defense identification zones and the security rules for flying in them. 14 CFR Part 99
Official FAA documentThe rules for parachute jumping and for pilots who carry jumpers. 14 CFR Part 105
Official FAA documentThe airline operating rules. 14 CFR Part 121
Official FAA documentThe rules for charter and commuter operations. 14 CFR Part 135
Official FAA documentThe rules for crop dusting and spraying, including by drone. 14 CFR Part 137
Official FAA documentHow FAA-approved pilot schools are certificated and run. 14 CFR Part 141
Official FAA documentHow FAA-approved mechanic schools are certificated and run. 14 CFR Part 147
Official FAA documentThe Department of Transportation rules for foreign civil aircraft, including drones, operating in the United States. 14 CFR Part 375

Handbooks14

The FAA's textbooks, one or more for each certificate.

Official FAA documentThe core textbook for pilots: aerodynamics, systems, weather, airspace, navigation and aeromedical factors. Remote pilots use selected chapters. FAA-H-8083-25C
Official FAA documentThe FAA's own corrections to the PHAK for the MOSAIC rule, which took effect October 22, 2025. It removes the light-sport aircraft definition from Chapter 1 and rewrites sport pilot privileges, medical qualification and the light-sport airworthiness material. Until the handbook itself is revised, the FAA treats this addendum as part of the current edition. FAA-H-8083-25C Addendum
Official FAA documentThe FAA's corrections to the Airplane Flying Handbook for the MOSAIC rule. Read alongside the 2021 handbook rather than instead of it. FAA-H-8083-3C Addendum
Official FAA documentHow to fly the maneuvers the checkride requires, from basic attitude flying to emergency landings. FAA-H-8083-3C
Official FAA documentThe FAA's combined weather reference: theory, hazards and how to read every weather product. FAA-H-8083-28B
Official FAA documentFlight by reference to instruments, navigation systems and the IFR system. FAA-H-8083-15
Official FAA documentDeparture, en route, arrival and approach procedures in the IFR system. FAA-H-8083-16
Official FAA documentHow people learn and how to teach them: the source for the Fundamentals of Instructing test. FAA-H-8083-9
Official FAA documentWeighing aircraft, computing center of gravity and keeping weight-and-balance records. FAA-H-8083-1
Official FAA documentThe FAA textbook for the mechanic general knowledge test. FAA-H-8083-30B
Official FAA documentThe FAA textbook for the airframe knowledge test. FAA-H-8083-31B
Official FAA documentThe FAA textbook for the powerplant knowledge test. FAA-H-8083-32B
Official FAA documentHow pilots identify hazards, assess risk and make sound decisions. FAA-H-8083-2
Official FAA documentThe FAA textbook for helicopter flight, from aerodynamics to emergencies. FAA-H-8083-21B

Guides and references17

Advisory circulars, FAA orders, the AIM, the Chart Supplement, the chart guide and the FAA study guide.

Official FAA documentThe FAA's guidance on how to comply with Part 107, from preflight to reporting. ✓ Verified Sep 2026
Official FAA documentThe FAA's free study guide for the remote pilot test. Useful background, but it predates operations over people, night operations and Remote ID. ⚠ Dated edition
Official FAA documentThe FAA's key to every symbol on sectional, terminal area and IFR charts. FAA Chart Users' Guide
Official FAA documentThe FAA's guidance on knowledge and practical test eligibility, including the sample instructor endorsements. AC 61-65
Official FAA documentBasic flight information and ATC procedures, plus the official glossary of pilot and controller terms. AIM
Official FAA documentThe FAA's airport directory: runways, frequencies, services and notices for every public airport. FAA Chart Supplement
Official FAA documentThe FAA's rules for running knowledge tests: identification, permitted test aids and retests. Order 8080.6H
Official FAA documentTraffic patterns, radio calls and right-of-way at airports without an operating control tower. AC 90-66C
Official FAA documentHow the NASA safety reporting program works and the protections a filed report can give. AC 00-46F
Official FAA documentSee and avoid, scanning technique and the situations where midair collisions happen. AC 90-48E
Official FAA documentHow stalls and spins develop and the training that prevents them. AC 61-67C
Official FAA documentLanding distance, runway condition and how runway excursions happen. AC 91-79B
Official FAA documentHow wake turbulence forms and how to avoid it. AC 90-23H
Official FAA documentThe FAA's foundational guidance on pilot judgment and decision-making. AC 60-22
Official FAA documentThe recommended altitudes over parks, refuges and other noise-sensitive areas. AC 91-36D
Official FAA documentFighting in-flight fires, including lithium battery fires. AC 120-80B
Official FAA documentThe standard reference for accepted inspection and repair methods. AC 43.13-1B

More free tools

Free download

Get the free Part 107 Starter Kit

The October 2026 test-change briefing, 20 practice questions and an exam-day checklist.

  • 01
    The October 2026 test-change briefing. What the new image-based questions look like and how to prepare for them.
  • 02
    20 practice questions, weighted to the test blueprint, with the reason every answer is right or wrong.
  • 03
    The exam-day checklist: what to bring, what to expect and how the time works.
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