Regulations
Night Operations Under Part 107: What It Requires
✓ Reviewed against current FAA sources on October 22, 2026
In this guide
In short
Section 107.29 (opens in a new tab) permits night operations without a waiver when two conditions are met: the remote pilot in command completed the initial knowledge test or recurrent training required under Section 107.65 (opens in a new tab) after April 6, 2021, and the aircraft has lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.
Night flight under Part 107 no longer requires a waiver, and the rule that replaced the waiver is short enough to read in a minute. The test examines it closely because the numbers are easy to confuse.
The two conditions
Under Section 107.29 (opens in a new tab)(a), a person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system at night only if both of the following are true:
- the remote pilot in command has completed the initial knowledge test or the training required under Section 107.65 (opens in a new tab) after April 6, 2021; and
- the aircraft has lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles, with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.
The remote pilot in command may reduce the intensity of that lighting, but may not turn it off, if doing so is in the interest of safety given the operating conditions.
Civil twilight carries the same lighting requirement
Section 107.29 (opens in a new tab)(b) applies the same anti-collision lighting requirement during civil twilight. The lighting rule is not a night-only rule.
What civil twilight means
Section 107.29 (opens in a new tab)(c) defines it. Outside Alaska, civil twilight is the period from 30 minutes before official sunrise until official sunrise, and from official sunset until 30 minutes after official sunset. In Alaska it is the period defined in the Air Almanac.
The figure people get wrong
Three statute miles is the visibility distance for the anti-collision lighting. It is not a flight visibility minimum and it is not a distance from clouds. Section 107.51 (opens in a new tab) holds the operating limitations for visibility and cloud clearance, and they are separate numbers.
Old waivers
Section 107.29 (opens in a new tab)(d) records that waivers permitting night operations issued before the rule change terminated in 2021. If you hold an old certificate of waiver, it is no longer the authority you fly under.
Sources: 14 CFR 107.29 (opens in a new tab), 107.51 (opens in a new tab), 107.65 (opens in a new tab).