Flying a Drone at Night Under Part 107: Rules, Lighting, and Night Vision

Updated July 2026 · Part 107 Quiz editorial team

Night flight used to be one of the hardest privileges to unlock under 14 CFR Part 107. For years, flying after dark meant filing a Part 107.29 waiver and waiting on FAA approval. That changed on April 21, 2021. Night operations are now built directly into the rule as a standard privilege, available to any remote pilot who meets two clear conditions — no waiver application required.

This guide walks through exactly what the FAA requires for flying at night and during civil twilight, how the two periods differ, and the night-vision physiology the Remote Pilot Certificate test still expects you to understand.

The Two Requirements for Night Flight

Since April 21, 2021, you may fly under Part 107 at night without a waiver as long as both of the following are true at the same time:

1. Training. You have completed either the updated initial Part 107 knowledge test or the current online recurrent training course. Both cover night operations, so if you tested or recurrently trained after the rule changed, this box is already checked.
2. Lighting. Your drone is equipped with anti-collision lighting that is visible from at least 3 statute miles away, with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.

Miss either condition and the flight isn't legal after dark. Before April 21, 2021, there was no standard path to night flight at all — every night operation required its own Part 107.29 waiver on file with the FAA. For background on how the rest of Part 107's operating limits fit alongside this one, see our guide to standard Part 107 operating rules.

Night vs. Civil Twilight

The FAA defines "night" precisely: it's the period between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight. In the continental United States, civil twilight is approximately the 30 minutes after sunset and the 30 minutes before sunrise. Alaska uses a different definition because of its extreme latitude. Here's the detail that catches pilots off guard: civil twilight isn't technically "night" by the FAA's definition, but it still requires the same lighting.

The anti-collision light itself has to stay functional and visible for the full 3 statute miles throughout the flight. If it fails or becomes obscured while you're in the air after dark, land as soon as practicable — once the light stops meeting that standard, the operation no longer satisfies the rule. Most consumer drones ship with small navigation or position lights that aren't bright enough to meet this requirement on their own, so a common workaround is an aftermarket strobe, white or red, mounted so it's visible from every direction around the aircraft.

Night Vision for Remote Pilots

Flying safely at night also means understanding how your own eyes work in the dark, and this is tested material on the Remote Pilot Certificate exam. The retina's rod cells are what give you night vision, and they sit outside the central fovea rather than inside it. That's why staring straight at an object in the dark is often the worst way to see it — the fovea, packed with cones, is nearly useless in low light. Instead, use off-center viewing: look roughly 5 to 10 degrees to the side of whatever you're trying to see, letting the rods surrounding your central vision do the work.

Rods also need time to reach full capacity. Full dark adaptation takes approximately 30 minutes, and it can be undone in an instant. A quick burst of bright light — a car's headlights, a flashlight beam, even glancing at a phone screen — resets that adaptation and forces you to start the 30-minute clock over. Once your eyes are adapted, avoid staring at any single point for too long; scan the sky slowly instead. Fixating on a stationary light can trigger autokinesis, a well-documented night-flying illusion in which a light that isn't moving at all appears to drift.

Practical Night-Flight Checklist

• Confirm your anti-collision light is charged, mounted for all-around visibility, and genuinely rated to be seen from 3 statute miles.
• Brief any visual observers or crew on their roles, and make sure everyone can tell the anti-collision strobe apart from the aircraft's orientation lights.
• Protect your night vision before launch: use a red-light headlamp, dim the controller screen, and keep phone screens out of sight during the flight.
• Plan to scan the sky slowly rather than stare at any one light — staring invites autokinesis, the illusion of a stationary light appearing to move.
• Keep every standard Part 107 limit in force: stay at or below 400 feet AGL, maintain visual line of sight, and hold any required airspace authorization.
• Have a land-now plan ready. If the anti-collision light fails or becomes hard to see, land as soon as practicable — the flight no longer meets the rule.

Test Yourself

Night operations show up regularly on the Remote Pilot Certificate exam, usually as questions about the two requirements, the civil-twilight distinction, or night-vision physiology like off-center viewing and autokinesis. Try our Night Operations practice questions to drill this topic specifically, or take a full Part 107 mock exam to see how it mixes with everything else on the test. You can also browse the rest of our Study Guide for more FAA knowledge areas.

FAQ