What changes on the Part 107 test on October 26, 2026
The FAA has announced a change to the Part 107 knowledge test that takes effect on October 26, 2026. From that date, the test will include image-based questions that aren’t in the testing supplement, drawn from current VFR sectional charts.
If you’re booking your test for late October or later, this affects how you should practise chart questions.
What the FAA said
The announcement is in the FAA Airman Testing Community Advisory for August 2026. It covers two tests, the Instrument Rating Airplane test and the Unmanned Aircraft General, Small (UAG) test, which is the Part 107 test. In the FAA’s words, beginning October 26, 2026, both “will include image-based questions not found in the test supplements,” sourced from VFR charts.
The advisory includes a UAG sample built from the Washington Sectional chart, edition dated June 12 to August 7, 2025.
The FAA marks the October 26 date with an asterisk, noting that the date was corrected from the previous edition of the advisory. Before test day, check the latest advisory on the FAA’s testing pages in case it changes again.
What already exists
Image questions aren’t new. The UAG test already includes questions with an image embedded in the question itself. The change adds a new source of images: current sectional charts, not the printed supplement.
What stays the same
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Scored questions | 60 |
| Unscored validation questions | 5 |
| Time | 120 minutes |
| Passing score | 70% |
| Printed testing supplement (FAA-CT-8080-2H) | Still provided by the test center |
The FAA hasn’t set a date to stop handing out printed supplements, and candidates keep access to them until it does. Supplement figure questions still count. You’ll see both kinds.
Why it matters
The supplement you get at the test center is FAA-CT-8080-2H, dated 2018. Its chart excerpts and legend reflect that edition. Current sectionals are printed to today’s charting standards, and the FAA’s Aeronautical Chart Users’ Guide in effect now dates from July 9, 2026.
Until now, you could practise chart questions on the same supplement figures you’d be handed on test day. From October 26, you also need to read a chart excerpt you haven’t seen before. The symbols and conventions are the same ones the Chart Users’ Guide defines, but reading them cold takes practice.
The airspace area already carries 20% of the test under PSI’s current weighting, and chart reading also feeds into operations questions about airports and frequencies.
What chart knowledge the standards cover
The ACS doesn’t list “sectional charts” as one topic. Chart reading supports several knowledge elements:
| ACS element | What it covers |
|---|---|
| UA.II.A.K1a to K1e | Class B, C, D, E and G airspace |
| UA.II.A.K2 | Special use airspace: prohibited, restricted, warning, MOA, alert areas |
| UA.II.A.K3 | Other airspace areas, including military training routes and TFRs |
| UA.V.A.K2 | Using a CTAF to monitor manned traffic |
| UA.V.B.K6a | Aeronautical charts as a source of airport data |
Any of these can be tested on a chart image, so a current sectional excerpt is a fair source for questions across two test areas.
How to adjust your study
Learn symbols from the current Chart Users’ Guide. Don’t rely only on the supplement’s legend. The FAA publishes the guide as a PDF, and it defines the symbols on a VFR sectional, including airspace lines, altitude figures, airport data and obstacles.
Practise on unfamiliar charts. Take an excerpt from a current sectional you’ve never studied and work through it cold: identify the airspace at a point, read the floor and ceiling, find the tower frequency, read the tallest obstacle.
Drill the conversions. Chart altitudes are in feet MSL unless marked otherwise, and Part 107’s 400-foot limit is AGL. On a chart you don’t know, the MSL-to-AGL step is where most errors creep in.
Keep the core facts sharp. Which airspace needs ATC authorization (Class B, C, D and a Class E surface area), how Class C shelves and Class D ceilings are labelled, and what the magenta and blue vignettes mean for Class E floors.
| On a current sectional | Means |
|---|---|
| Solid blue altitude figures | Class B, MSL ceiling and floor with two zeros dropped |
| Solid magenta altitude figures | Class C |
| Dashed blue line | Class D; a minus before the ceiling means up to, not including |
| Dashed magenta line | Class E surface area |
| Magenta vignette | Class E from 700 ft AGL |
| Blue vignette | Class E floor other than 700 ft, next to Class G |
Our guide to reading a sectional chart for the Part 107 test covers each of these with worked conversions. Airspace classes and when you need LAANC covers the rules behind them.
Should you test before October 26?
It depends on how ready you are. If you’re ready now and chart questions are your strength with the supplement, testing before the change means you only see the question types you’ve practised. If you’re weeks away from ready, plan for the new format and practise on current charts from the start.
Either way, the passing score, question count and time limit don’t change. A readiness check helps: take the free 20-question practice test and look at your airspace score before you pick a date.
Remember the retake rule if you’re cutting it close. After a failed attempt you wait 14 calendar days, so a failed attempt on or after October 12 puts your retake under the new format.
Use your score report either way
Whenever you test, your Airman Knowledge Test Report lists the ACS codes of the questions you missed. If you pass, it’s valid for 24 calendar months for your certificate application. If you don’t, those codes are your study list for the retake, and codes starting with UA.II point you at airspace.
What we’re changing
Chart Lab in our trainer drills the supplement figures you’ll be handed at the test center, and every explanation cites its FAA source. Access is lifetime and includes every future question update, so changes we make for the new format reach existing buyers too. See pricing for what’s included.
For the full test path, from IACRA registration to your temporary certificate, see the Part 107 test guide.