Part 107 Test Changes on October 26, 2026

Beginning October 26, 2026, the Part 107 knowledge test, officially "Unmanned Aircraft General – Small" (UAG), may include image-based questions that are not in the testing supplement. The FAA announced the change in its September 2026 Airman Testing Community Advisory. The Part 107 rules themselves do not change.

What exactly changes?

The advisory says UAG and Instrument Rating Airplane (IRA) tests "will include image-based questions not found in the test supplements." It describes clearer, up-to-date images from the latest Sectional Charts, Instrument Approach Charts, and Low Altitude Enroute Charts. The two published UAG examples use VFR sectional excerpts, each shown with a chart name and effective dates, such as "Sectional: Washington, dated 12 JUN 2025 to 7 AUG 2025."

The FAA does not say that every UAG run will use every chart type, how many image questions will appear, or which active images a candidate will see. It does say the testing supplement remains available at test centers until a future removal date is announced. The practical change is simple: supplement figures are still worth studying, but they are no longer the only image format you should be ready to read.

FAA sample sectional excerpt around Millville Municipal Airport (MIV) with a dashed magenta Class E surface areaImage: FAA Airman Testing Community Advisory, September 2026

What do the new questions look like?

The FAA published two UAG samples:

1. On a Washington sectional excerpt: what type of airspace is associated with Millville Municipal (MIV), and is ATC authorization required to operate a small UA there? The keyed answer is Class E associated with an airport surface area, and authorization is required.
2. On a Las Vegas sectional excerpt: if the Grand Canyon National Park (GCN) control tower is not in operation, which frequency should be used as the CTAF? The keyed answer is 119.0.

Both test skills that were already on the exam: identifying airspace, knowing when §107.41 requires authorization, and reading airport data. What is new is that the image can come from outside the supplement. Both samples are worked through step by step in how to read an unfamiliar sectional chart.

What stays the same?

• The rules. Part 107 itself is unchanged.
• The testing supplement. The FAA says the date for removing testing supplements from test centers has not been set, the public will get ample notice, and until then candidates keep access to the supplement for their exam.
• Images you cannot preview. The FAA says images used in active test questions cannot be previewed, because that would compromise the exam.

The advisory also notes that some image questions may need measuring tools, that applicants will be given the tools they need, and that it cannot yet describe the on-screen tools. It encourages candidates to check the PSI True Talent site for sample questions in the new format.

What Clear107 added for this change

Clear107 currently has {{bank.chartQuestions}} published visual questions: {{bank.figureQuestions}} on {{bank.faaFigures}} FAA testing-supplement figures and {{bank.currentChartQuestions}} on {{bank.currentChartExcerpts}} excerpts from current VFR sectional charts. The current-sectionals questions are in the paid simulator and practice pool. They are study scenarios based on current FAA charts, not copies of active test questions and not a claim that they reproduce the exact images or chart mix on your exam.

That split matters. The testing-supplement set has depth; the newer current-chart layer is deliberately spread across many places. It is enough to make an unfamiliar chart a recurring study task, but it is not a reason to memorize a small set of images or to assume the bank covers every chart situation the FAA may use.

The chart trainer now has one free starting scenario (Figure 20). Clear107 Pro opens the remaining FAA figure scenarios, each with plain-English study cues, zoom and pan controls, and previous/next navigation. That gives you two complementary ways to practice:

• FAA testing-supplement figures to learn the recurring symbols and reference format.
• Current sectional learning loops in Clear107 Pro to identify a feature on an unfamiliar excerpt, read its FAA-linked meaning and Part 107 consequence, spot a common trap, then answer linked questions on that same chart.

The October 26 product update records the question-bank release and the ongoing chart-practice improvements.

Our advice: how to study now

1. Start with an unfamiliar excerpt, not an answer key. Before looking at choices, find the airport or landmark named in the question, trace the relevant airspace boundary, and read the airport data block.
2. Name the altitude reference before doing math. Chart airspace ceilings are generally MSL; the standard Part 107 operating limit is stated AGL. Mixing those two references causes avoidable misses.
3. Learn symbols, not a memorized figure. Magenta versus blue, solid versus dashed, and the location of airport data matter more than remembering a particular city. The sectional chart symbols post and reading airspace on a sectional cover the core.
4. Use both formats. Keep practicing the testing supplement because it remains available at the test center, then use current-chart questions to confirm that you can apply the same method to a new location. Rotate through excerpts instead of repeatedly answering the same one.
5. Use current FAA sources for a real flight. These exercises prepare you for a knowledge test. They are not an operational authorization or a substitute for checking current airspace, NOTAMs, and other required information before flight.

For everything else about test day, from ID to what PSI provides, see the test day checklist.