Part 108 vs Part 107: What Actually Changes

Part 108 gets written about as if it were the next license after Part 107. It is not a license, and as of today it is not a rule either. It is a proposal, and what it proposes is narrower than the headlines suggest.

Where it stands

The record in the Federal Register is short:

• August 7, 2025: the FAA published the proposal, titled Normalizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations. Comments closed October 6, 2025, and the FAA denied a request to extend them.
• January 28, 2026: the FAA reopened the comment period, limited to two topics: electronic conspicuity and right-of-way.
• As of September 26, 2026: no final Part 108 rule has been published in the Federal Register.

What the proposal contains

The proposal is a set of performance-based rules for low-altitude BVLOS flights, plus rules for third-party services such as UAS traffic management. It covers aircraft weighing up to 1,320 pounds, and its stated goal is to make routine BVLOS operations possible without individual waivers or exemptions.

Operators would get one of two kinds of authorization. An operating permit covers narrower, lower-complexity operations. An operating certificate covers more complex work with larger and more numerous aircraft, and it comes with more FAA oversight, including a safety management system and a training program.

Is there a Part 108 pilot license? Not under the proposal

The FAA says it would not require airman certificates under Part 108. Instead, each operator would need an operations supervisor, who is responsible for the overall safety of the operation, and qualified flight coordinators, who monitor individual aircraft and step in when needed. Certain people in those roles, and anyone with unescorted access to the aircraft or its cargo, would also go through a TSA security threat assessment.

That answers the question people search most, whether Part 108 replaces the Part 107 certificate. The proposal does not create an individual certificate to replace it. It is still a proposal, though, and the final text could change.

What it would change in Part 107

The proposal amends Part 107 instead of replacing it. The most concrete change is to §107.205, the list of regulations the FAA can waive. Two entries would be removed:

• paragraph (c), the visual-line-of-sight rule in §107.31
• paragraph (h), the airspace rule in §107.41

For airspace, the FAA's reasoning is that authorization can already be requested online through systems like LAANC, so a separate waiver route is not needed. For visual line of sight, dropping the §107.31 waiver and the proposed change to the applicability section, §107.1, point the same direction: as proposed, BVLOS would move out of Part 107 waivers and into Part 108 permits and certificates. We have not found how existing BVLOS waivers would be handled during a transition. That detail belongs in the final rule.

What the exam tests today

The knowledge test covers the rules in force, and a proposed rule is not one of them. Today:

• §107.31 still requires you to keep the aircraft within visual line of sight.
• §107.41 still requires authorization to operate in certain airspace.
• §107.205 still lists both as waivable.

If a question asks what can be waived, the answer is the current list. The waivers post and the handbook's waiver policy section cover it, and the VLOS post and LAANC post cover the two rules the proposal touches.

So what applies to you now?

For flying within visual line of sight, Part 107 is what applies, and the proposal does not change that. For BVLOS today, a Part 107 operator needs a waiver of the visual-line-of-sight rule, or an FAA exemption. Part 108 would change that route only if it is finalized.