Operation at Night

14 CFR § 107.29 requires two things before any night flight: the remote pilot in command must have completed initial knowledge testing or recurrent training under 14 CFR § 107.65 after April 6, 2021, and the small unmanned aircraft must carry anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision. Both conditions apply together — training alone, or lighting alone, is not enough.

"(a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, no person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system at night unless— (1) The remote pilot in command of the small unmanned aircraft has completed an initial knowledge test or training, as applicable, under § 107.65 after April 6, 2021; and (2) The small unmanned aircraft has lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles that has a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision. The remote pilot in command may reduce the intensity of, but may not extinguish, the anti-collision lighting if he or she determines that, because of operating conditions, it would be in the interest of safety to do so."

This is the rule that ended the old waiver-only night regime. Before the January 15, 2021 amendment (Amdt. 107-8), flying a drone at night required a Part 107 waiver. Now night operations are a standard privilege — as long as you meet the training requirement and the lighting requirement in 14 CFR § 107.29.

14 CFR § 107.29 applies to two distinct windows: full night and civil twilight. The training requirement is tied to night; the anti-collision lighting requirement applies to both night and civil twilight. If you are flying during the civil-twilight window, 14 CFR § 107.29(b) requires the same anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles.

"(b) No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system during periods of civil twilight unless the small unmanned aircraft has lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles that has a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision."

14 CFR § 107.29(c) defines civil twilight precisely — and gives Alaska its own rule:

"(c) For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, civil twilight refers to the following: (1) Except for Alaska, a period of time that begins 30 minutes before official sunrise and ends at official sunrise; (2) Except for Alaska, a period of time that begins at official sunset and ends 30 minutes after official sunset; and (3) In Alaska, the period of civil twilight as defined in the Air Almanac."

14 CFR § 107.29 contains four hard numbers a remote pilot in command must know cold: the anti-collision lighting visibility distance, the training cutoff date, the civil-twilight window, and the waiver sunset date. Here they are in one extractable table.

One number people expect but the rule deliberately does not give: a fixed flash rate in Hz. The FAA wrote a performance standard — "sufficient to avoid a collision" — not a specification. Your job as remote pilot in command is to choose lighting that actually does the job at 3 statute miles. 14 CFR § 107.29 also sets no minimum or maximum altitude; the night rule is about who is flying and how the aircraft is lit, not how high it goes.

14 CFR § 107.29 prohibits operating a small unmanned aircraft system at night without both the § 107.65 training and the 3-statute-mile anti-collision lighting, prohibits operating during civil twilight without that lighting, and prohibits extinguishing the anti-collision lighting in flight. It also retired the pre-2021 night waivers. 14 CFR § 107.29(d) terminated the old waiver path:

"(d) After May 17, 2021, no person may operate a small unmanned aircraft system at night in accordance with a certificate of waiver issued prior to April 21, 2021 under § 107.200. The certificates of waiver issued prior to March 16, 2021 under § 107.200 that authorize deviation from § 107.29 terminate on May 17, 2021."

Translation: if you were flying at night on a pre-2021 waiver, that waiver stopped authorizing your night flights after May 17, 2021. The current path is the standard rule — train under 14 CFR § 107.65, light the aircraft, and go. Per 14 CFR § 107.205, only the anti-collision-light requirement of § 107.29(a)(2) and (b) is subject to waiver — the § 107.29(a)(1) training requirement is not waivable. And for a routine night operation, no waiver is needed at all.

The most common mistake is assuming a Part 107 certificate issued before April 6, 2021 already covers night operations. It does not. 14 CFR § 107.29(a)(1) ties night privileges to training completed after April 6, 2021, so a remote pilot in command who tested in 2019 or 2020 must complete the current recurrent training under 14 CFR § 107.65 before flying at night — even if their certificate has not "expired."

Per the FAA's own guidance, the recurrent training under 14 CFR § 107.65 must be re-accomplished within the previous 24 calendar months to keep exercising remote pilot in command privileges, and the post-2021 version of that training is what carries the night-operations content (anti-collision lighting, when the light may be dimmed, night physiology, obstacle avoidance without visual cues). AC 107-2A makes the related daytime point explicit, and it is worth stating so nobody over-equips by mistake:

"Section 107.29 does not require small unmanned aircraft operating during the day to have illuminated anti-collision lighting … lighting is generally not effective for mitigating risk of collision during daytime operations. However, remote pilots may exercise their discretion … and elect to have lighting on during all operating conditions."

14 CFR § 107.29 does not replace the rest of Part 107 at night — it stacks on top of it. Every other operating limitation still applies in the dark, and two of them get harder at night.

• 14 CFR § 107.31 (visual line of sight) still applies — the remote pilot in command must keep the small unmanned aircraft within visual line of sight. At night that is exactly why the 3-statute-mile anti-collision lighting matters: the lighting is how you maintain orientation and meet the see-and-avoid intent.
• 14 CFR § 107.33 (visual observer) remains available, and many operators add a visual observer at night specifically to help track the small unmanned aircraft.
• 14 CFR § 107.37 (right of way) still requires yielding to manned aircraft — and at night, per AC 107-2A, the remote pilot in command must stay aware of other aircraft that may be conducting low-level night operations.
• 14 CFR § 107.65 (aeronautical knowledge recency) is the gatekeeper: it is the section 14 CFR § 107.29 points to for the training that unlocks night ops, and it must be kept current within 24 calendar months.