FAA Part 107 Knowledge Test Adds Current Chart Questions Starting October 26, 2026

The Federal Aviation Administration has scheduled a change to the Unmanned Aircraft General–Small knowledge test that every new Part 107 applicant must pass. Beginning October 26, 2026, the exam will include image-based questions drawn from current FAA VFR sectional charts. Those images will not appear in the printed Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement that testing centers still provide.\n\nThe announcement appears in the FAA’s September 2026 Special Edition of the Airman Testing Community Advisory. The document states that the Instrument Rating Airplane and UAG tests “will include image-based questions not found in the test supplements.” The update is part of the agency’s Graphics Conversion Project with testing provider PSI. The goal is to place clearer, current chart images directly into the questions. An earlier advisory had listed October 27; the August and September editions corrected the date to October 26.\n\nThe test itself stays the same in structure. It remains 60 scored multiple-choice questions, two hours allowed, and a 70 percent passing score. The printed supplement (FAA-CT-8080-2H) continues to be available at test centers. The FAA has not set a date for removing the supplements and has said it will give ample notice before it does. Part 107 operating rules, airspace requirements, and certification standards are unchanged. The shift is in the source of some of the graphics applicants will see on screen.\n\nThe September advisory publishes two UAG sample questions that illustrate the new format. Both use cropped excerpts from 2025 sectionals.\n\nOne sample shows Millville Municipal Airport (MIV) on the Washington sectional. The question asks what type of airspace is associated with the airport and whether ATC authorization is required to operate a small unmanned aircraft there. The correct answer is Class E associated with an airport surface area, and authorization is required. The chart excerpt displays the dashed magenta ring that marks the Class E surface area.\n\nThe second sample shows Grand Canyon National Park Airport (GCN) on the Las Vegas sectional. It asks which frequency to use as the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency when the control tower is not in operation. The correct choice is 119.0, the frequency marked with the star that indicates a part-time tower.\n\nThese samples are the only ones the FAA has released. Live test images will not be previewed; once an image is embedded in an active question, the agency keeps it confidential to protect exam integrity. Candidates can review the sample format through PSI’s testing resources.\n\nFor applicants, the practical effect is that pattern recognition of a handful of known supplement figures is no longer sufficient for the chart questions that appear. The new items require reading an unfamiliar sectional excerpt: identifying airspace boundaries and their floors and ceilings, reading airport data blocks, noting obstacle elevations in both MSL and AGL, and interpreting the maximum elevation figure. The same skills are already required for actual flight planning under Part 107. The test is simply aligning more closely with the document pilots use in the field.\n\nPreparation steps that match the advisory:\n\nDownload current digital VFR sectional charts from the FAA’s Aeronautical Charting website. Practice identifying Class E surface areas (dashed magenta), part-time tower frequencies (star notation), and the authorization rules that apply inside those areas. Work the two published samples until the reasoning is automatic. Then open other current charts and create similar questions for airports near planned operations. The printed supplement remains useful for the questions that still reference its figures; treat it as one resource among others rather than the only source of chart images.\n\nCertificated remote pilots who are not sitting the test still benefit from the change. Hiring managers and mentors can use the same practice materials to confirm that new operators can read a chart before they are sent on a job. The sectional is the document that shows whether a nearby airport has a Class E surface area or a part-time tower, and it is updated on a regular cycle. Testing against current charts tests the skill that matters on the job site.\n\nThe change takes effect in less than two weeks. Applicants who have already scheduled a test for October 26 or later should adjust their final review to include current chart practice. Those testing before the date can continue with existing materials, but the same chart-reading discipline improves real-world operations either way.