Anyone who wants to fly a drone for work in the United States, whether for real estate photography, infrastructure inspection, agriculture, mapping, or public safety support, generally needs a Remote Pilot Certificate with a small unmanned aircraft systems rating under 14 CFR Part 107. Applicants often assume the only hurdle is the aeronautical knowledge test. In practice, a security review also runs quietly in the background before the certificate is issued. Understanding what that review actually covers, and what it does not cover, matters for applicants and for the businesses that hire them.
How the Part 107 certification process works
The path to a Remote Pilot Certificate starts with registering in the FAA’s Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application system, known as IACRA, and passing the initial aeronautical knowledge test at an approved testing center. After the application is submitted and signed electronically in IACRA, the FAA describes a distinct step in the process: a confirmation email is sent once the applicant has completed the TSA security background check, after which the applicant can print a temporary certificate and later receives a permanent certificate by mail. That sequencing tells you something important: the security review is handled separately from the knowledge test and from the FAA’s own internal processing, and it sits between submitting the application and getting a usable certificate.
What the TSA security review actually checks
The FAA’s own guidance describes this step plainly as a TSA security background check, but it is not the same thing as the fingerprint based criminal history checks that many people picture when they hear the phrase background check. Nothing in the FAA’s public description of this step says it pulls county court records, verifies employment, or checks a driving record. It functions as a security screening tied to aviation credentialing, the kind of review the Transportation Security Administration has long applied to airman certificates generally, rather than a consumer style criminal history report. Applicants should not assume that passing this review means an employer’s own criminal background check will come back clean, and they should not assume that a certificate being issued means no criminal history exists at all. The two processes answer different questions.
What 14 CFR Part 107 itself requires
The regulatory text of 14 CFR Part 107 lays out the eligibility standard for a remote pilot certificate in section 107.61. An applicant must be at least 16 years old, able to read, speak, write, and understand English (with some accommodation for medical limitations), and must not know or have reason to know of a physical or mental condition that would interfere with safely operating a small unmanned aircraft. The rule also requires passing an aeronautical knowledge test or completing recurrent training every 24 calendar months to keep the certificate current. Notably, the eligibility section does not list a criminal conviction, in and of itself, as an automatic bar to certification. That does not mean a security concern can never affect an application. It means the conviction history rule that applies to, say, a commercial driver’s license is not written into Part 107 the same way.
Part 107 also addresses conduct directly tied to safety rather than general criminal history. Offenses involving alcohol or drugs connected to operating a small unmanned aircraft, or refusing a required alcohol test, can affect a certificate under the rule’s own terms. That is a narrower, aviation specific safety standard, separate from the security review and separate from the kind of broad criminal history search an employer typically runs.
Why employers still add their own screening
Because the Part 107 certification process is not designed to tell an employer whether a candidate has a disqualifying criminal record, a weak driving history, or a history of safety violations on the job, most businesses that hire commercial drone operators run their own checks on top of the certificate. A typical employer screening package for a commercial drone pilot role might include a criminal history search, verification that the Remote Pilot Certificate is active and in good standing, and a motor vehicle record check if the role involves driving between job sites or operating a support vehicle. For roles that involve access to sensitive sites, employers sometimes add drug testing as part of a broader safety program, consistent with their own written policy.
Any employer that orders this kind of report from a consumer reporting agency has to follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act. That means a standalone disclosure, written authorization from the applicant, and, if the employer decides not to move forward based in whole or in part on the report, a pre adverse action notice followed later by an adverse action notice along with a copy of the report and a summary of rights. A security review completed during drone certification does not replace any of these employer obligations, and employers should not treat it as if it does.
Airport and critical infrastructure access: a separate, heavier check
Flying a drone professionally often means working near places that already carry their own access rules, and those rules can require a far more rigorous check than anything built into Part 107. Airport operators, for example, must ensure that anyone granted unescorted access to a secured area of an airport, which can include drone operators conducting inspections on airport property, has passed a fingerprint based criminal history records check under 49 CFR 1542.209. That rule lists specific disqualifying offenses and generally covers convictions within a defined look back period, and it is administered by the airport operator rather than by the FAA’s drone certification process. A drone pilot who only holds a Part 107 certificate has not automatically cleared this separate hurdle, and anyone expecting to work inside a secured airport area should plan for it as its own step.
Security sensitive airspace can add another layer entirely. Certain high security locations maintain flight restricted zones with their own waiver process for unmanned aircraft operators who need to fly inside them, reviewed on security grounds separate from the pilot’s underlying certificate, as described in TSA’s general aviation guidance. Many critical infrastructure sites such as power generation facilities, pipelines, water treatment plants, and chemical facilities set their own site access and visitor screening rules for anyone working on location, drone crews included. Those rules come from the facility owner or operator rather than from a single nationwide drone specific statute, so the requirements can vary considerably from one site to the next, and applicants and employers should confirm site specific requirements directly with the facility rather than assume Part 107 covers it.
Comparing the three layers of screening
| Screening layer | Who runs it | What it is based on | Fingerprint based | What it affects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSA security review during Part 107 certification | TSA, through the FAA application process | Security and identity related screening tied to airman credentialing | No, based on FAA’s public description | Whether the Remote Pilot Certificate is issued |
| Airport secured area access check | Airport operator, under federal rule | Fingerprint based criminal history records check | Yes | Whether the person gets an unescorted access badge |
| Employer background check | Employer, through a consumer reporting agency | Criminal history, driving record, certificate verification, as chosen by the employer | Varies by employer and jurisdiction | The hiring decision, subject to FCRA notices |
Each of these layers asks a different question, and passing one does not mean a person has passed another. A commercial drone program that hires pilots for airport or critical infrastructure work typically needs all three in place before someone starts unsupervised work on site. Businesses building out a screening program for this kind of role, or any safety sensitive field position, can review options directly at Reveal Background.
Frequently asked questions
Does the TSA check a criminal record before issuing a Part 107 certificate?
The FAA states that a TSA security background check runs during the Part 107 application process in IACRA, but its public description of that step frames it as a security review tied to aviation credentialing rather than a fingerprint based criminal history search. It is a different exercise than the county or national criminal record search an employer might separately order.
Can a criminal conviction stop someone from getting a Part 107 certificate?
The eligibility standard in 14 CFR 107.61 does not list a criminal conviction as an automatic disqualifier. It requires that an applicant be at least 16 years old, able to read, speak, write, and understand English, and free of a known physical or mental condition that would interfere with safe operation. A security concern surfaced during the TSA review is a separate matter from a conviction history question, and outcomes can vary by individual circumstance.
Do commercial drone pilots need a separate background check for employers?
Many employers who hire Part 107 certificated pilots for inspection, mapping, or public safety work run their own criminal history check, verify the certificate’s current status, and sometimes review a motor vehicle record, because the certification process on its own does not tell an employer much about a candidate’s background. Any report ordered this way has to follow Fair Credit Reporting Act procedures, including disclosure, authorization, and adverse action notices.
Does flying near an airport require its own background check?
It can, depending on whether the work requires unescorted access to an airport’s secured area. Airport operators generally must ensure that anyone with that kind of access has passed a fingerprint based criminal history records check under federal rule, which is separate from anything tied to the Part 107 certificate itself.
Is the TSA review the same for every type of airman certificate?
The general concept of a TSA security review applies broadly across airman certification, but the specific process and documentation can differ by certificate type and by the individual’s history. Applicants should rely on the FAA’s current application instructions for their certificate type rather than assuming every certificate follows an identical path.
How long does the TSA security review take during Part 107 certification?
The FAA does not publish a fixed processing window for this step. Applicants receive a confirmation email once the TSA portion of the review is complete, after which they can print a temporary certificate from IACRA while the permanent certificate is mailed.
Drone programs that operate near airports or critical infrastructure often benefit from reviewing how a TSA security threat assessment works for other credentials, such as the hazmat endorsement process, and from understanding how a related but distinct check applies to airport badge background check requirements for anyone needing unescorted access to a secured area.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Employers and applicants should confirm current requirements directly with the FAA, TSA, and the relevant facility operator before making hiring or compliance decisions.
