Part 107 night flying rules: what you need to fly after dark

Yes, you can fly a drone after dark under Part 107, and you no longer need a waiver to do it. Routine night operations have been permitted that way since April 21, 2021 (FAA, Operations Over People), as long as two things are true: the pilot's training is recent enough, and the drone carries the right lights (14 CFR 107.29(a)). The same lights are needed during civil twilight. Nothing else in Part 107 is switched off at night.

When the clock says "night"

The regulations split the 24 hours into daytime, civil twilight and night, and what you need depends on which one you are flying in.

Night has a formal definition: the stretch that begins when evening civil twilight ends and lasts until morning civil twilight begins, as the Air Almanac publishes those times, expressed in local time (14 CFR 1.1). Civil twilight, everywhere except Alaska, means two half-hour windows: the 30 minutes leading up to official sunrise and the 30 minutes following official sunset. Alaska uses the civil twilight periods in the Air Almanac instead (14 CFR 107.29(c)). Daytime is simply official sunrise to official sunset.

For the continental United States, FAA guidance lines these up neatly: evening twilight lasts from sunset until 30 minutes later and morning twilight covers the last 30 minutes before sunrise, which leaves night as everything between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise (AC 107-2A, para. 5.7). Take a dawn job where official sunrise is 6:50 a.m.: until 6:20 a.m. you are flying at night, from 6:20 to 6:50 a.m. you are in civil twilight, and after 6:50 a.m. it is daytime. Look up the official times for your own site on the day you fly.

Two requirements for flying after dark

The pilot: training completed after April 6, 2021

The remote pilot in command has to have completed either an initial knowledge test or training (whichever applies) under 107.65, and it has to have been completed after April 6, 2021 (14 CFR 107.29(a)(1)). The updated test and the recurrent training both cover night physiology and night visual illusions (AC 107-2A, para. 5.7.2.1), and operation at night appears in the list of knowledge areas for both (14 CFR 107.73(m)).

If you are current, you already qualify. Acting as remote pilot in command at all requires a passed initial test or completed recurrent training within the previous 24 calendar months, or the matching training for Part 61 certificate holders (14 CFR 107.65), and any date inside that window falls long after April 6, 2021. Recurrent training is free and online: the FAA's course for certificate holders is ALC-677 (FAA: Become a Drone Pilot).

The drone: lights that can be seen 3 statute miles away

At night the drone's anti-collision lighting must be lit, be visible from at least 3 statute miles, and flash at a rate high enough to avoid a collision (14 CFR 107.29(a)(2)). Three practical points:

• The spec sheet is a starting point. A manufacturer's 3-statute-mile claim may be relied on, but confirming at your location that the light works, reaches that far and flashes fast enough is still your job (AC 107-2A, para. 5.7.2).
• Turning it down is allowed; turning it off is not. When conditions make it safer, the remote pilot in command can lower the light's intensity, never extinguish it (14 CFR 107.29(a)(2)). The FAA's example is a bright strobe close to you, which can make it hard to judge where the drone is, how fast it is going, or its attitude and altitude (AC 107-2A, para. 5.7.2.2).
• Budget the battery. Check the lights before a twilight or night flight, and consider whether they cut into the power available. A shorter flight may be the price of keeping them on right through a normal landing (AC 107-2A, para. 5.11.1).

Twilight is not daytime

Those two half-hour twilight windows carry the lighting rule but not the training rule. The same 3-statute-mile anti-collision lighting, with the same flash rate and the same "dim but never off" allowance, is required during civil twilight (14 CFR 107.29(b)). The April 2021 training condition is written into the night paragraph only.

In full daylight there is no lighting requirement at all. FAA guidance says that in daylight such lighting is generally not effective against collisions, though you may still fly with it on (AC 107-2A, para. 5.7.2.2).

The daytime rules still apply

Night is an extra layer on top of Part 107, not a separate rule book. Some limits get harder to meet in the dark.

• Keeping the drone in sight. You, or a visual observer, must still be able to tell where the drone is and work out its attitude, altitude and direction of flight by eye (14 CFR 107.31). FAA guidance says you may need to restrict the operating area in almost all night operations, and that the anti-collision light and the telemetry on your controller, alone or together, don't satisfy this rule (AC 107-2A, para. 5.9.3).
• Visibility, altitude, speed and clouds. The 3-statute-mile minimum for flight visibility from the control station stays; after dark, you measure it by the distance at which prominent lighted objects can be seen and identified. The 400-foot altitude limit, the 87-knot speed limit and the cloud clearances are unchanged (14 CFR 107.51).
• Controlled airspace. Class B, C and D airspace, plus an airport's designated Class E surface area, still require air traffic control authorization before you fly (14 CFR 107.41), and the FAA reminds pilots that this holds for night operations in controlled airspace too (FAA, Certificated Remote Pilots). Our post on LAANC airspace authorization explains how to get one.
• People below. Darkness doesn't change the operations over people categories: a drone that qualifies for one can fly over people at night, provided the night conditions are met as well (AC 107-2A, paras. 8.14 and 8.14.1). See Part 107 operations over people.
• Old paperwork. After May 17, 2021, a night waiver the FAA issued before April 21, 2021 no longer covers flying at night (14 CFR 107.29(d)).

Getting ready while it is still light

FAA guidance asks you to fold night hazards into your risk assessment, including flights that start in daylight and finish in the dark. Among the hazards it lists: night vision adaptation where unlit towers and buildings stand in the area, and weather (current or forecast) or terrain features that might keep other aircraft in the area from seeing your anti-collision light at 3 statute miles (AC 107-2A, para. A.4). In practice that means scouting the area in daylight for obstacles you won't see later, checking the light and the battery before you launch, getting any airspace authorization for the exact time window, and keeping the flight close enough that you never lose sight of the drone.

Waivers and night flying

If you need to fly at night or in twilight without the anti-collision lighting, that part can be waived: 107.29(a)(2) and (b) are on the waiver list (14 CFR 107.205(b)). You will not find the training condition, 107.29(a)(1), anywhere on that list, so no waiver can stand in for it (14 CFR 107.205). And if you want to use any Part 107 waiver after dark or in twilight, the FAA asks how you will reduce the added risk; without a good answer, the waiver may be limited to daylight (FAA, Part 107 Waivers). See Part 107 waivers explained for how applications work.

Flying for fun at night?

This post is about Part 107. Recreational flyers work under a different set of rules: at night they must follow the safety guidelines of a community-based organization that include night procedures and the lighting required (FAA, Getting Started). Not sure which group you are in? Read Part 107 vs recreational drone flying.

Night rules and your knowledge test

The night rules are full of exact figures: two 30-minute twilight windows, 3 statute miles of lighting and the April 6, 2021 training date. Our Part 107 key numbers page lists them with their sources, and the Part 107 glossary defines night and civil twilight. More rules practice is on the Part 107 regulations topic page.

To check what you remember, take the free 20-question Part 107 practice test. Part 107 Complete ($39, one-time) goes further, with a lesson on daylight, twilight and night operations, practice questions, timed mock exams and flashcards.

Questions people ask

Can I fly a drone at night under Part 107 without a waiver?

Yes, since April 21, 2021, provided two conditions are met (14 CFR 107.29). The remote pilot in command needs an initial knowledge test or training under 14 CFR 107.65 completed after April 6, 2021, and the drone's anti-collision lighting must be lit, visible from at least 3 statute miles, and flash often enough to avoid a collision.

When does night start for Part 107 drone pilots?

At the end of evening civil twilight (14 CFR 1.1). In the continental United States, FAA guidance puts that 30 minutes after sunset, so night lasts from half an hour after sunset to half an hour before sunrise (AC 107-2A). Outside Alaska, the half hours just before official sunrise and just after official sunset are civil twilight, and anti-collision lighting is required then too (14 CFR 107.29).

Can I turn off my drone's strobe if it is too bright?

No. In civil twilight and at night you may lower the anti-collision light's intensity when that is safer, but it has to stay on (14 CFR 107.29).

Do I need LAANC or another airspace authorization to fly at night?

Only where you would need one in daytime. Class B, C and D airspace, and the Class E surface area designated for an airport, need prior air traffic control authorization at any hour (14 CFR 107.41). LAANC is one way to get it.

Can a waiver replace the night training requirement?

No. The waiver list in 14 CFR 107.205 includes only the lighting rules, 14 CFR 107.29(a)(2) and (b), so the training condition always applies.