Part 107 recordkeeping, kept from the flight.
Part 107 asks a remote pilot to produce the certificate, and any record the rules require, on request. An insurer, a client or a waiver asks for a good deal more. This page lists what small UAS operators keep, says where the rule itself speaks and where practice does, and shows the RotorLab record each one becomes. It is a product page, not legal advice.
14-day trial, no card, every feature on, for up to 5 people and 3 registered aircraft. Or read a flight log free, no account.
Why the record has to come from the flight
A record typed after the fact proves that somebody typed it. A record read from the aircraft's own log proves what happened.
The flight is the spine.
Drop the log from ArduPilot, PX4, DJI, Parrot, Litchi, an Airdata export, a GUTMA file or a plain CSV. The flight record carries the aircraft, the date, the duration and the track, and every other record counts from it.
Each record says where it came from.
A pilot flight log states how much of its time came from logs held and how much was entered by hand. The reader sees the quality of the hours before trusting them.
Every document carries a code.
A register, a logbook, a maintenance log or a whole binder prints a document code, and anyone can check it at rotorlab.app/verify with no account.
What a Part 107 operator keeps, record by record
"The rule says" appears only where the text of 14 CFR is clear. Everything else is what operators typically keep because a waiver, an insurer, a client or their own program asks for it.
| The record | What the rule says, and what operators keep | The RotorLab record |
|---|---|---|
| Remote pilot certificate | The rule says the remote pilot in command must hold a remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating, and make it available to the Administrator on request with any other record the rules require.14 CFR 107.12, 107.7 | A credential on the pilot's record, with its number, issuer and the document attached. The pilot flight log prints every credential beside the flying. |
| Aeronautical knowledge recency | The rule says the initial knowledge test or recurrent training must have been completed within the previous 24 calendar months.14 CFR 107.65 | Currency standing counted to the end of the calendar month and named by the rule, with a lapse stated by the organization before anyone else finds it. |
| Aircraft registration and Remote ID | The rule says a small unmanned aircraft must be registered, and a Part 48 certificate of registration expires 3 years after issue unless renewed. Remote ID is 14 CFR Part 89.14 CFR 107.13, 48.100(c), Part 89 | The aircraft record with its registration expiry on the renewals run, soonest first, and a list of aircraft with no expiry recorded. The Part 107 manual outline reads the same register in its Remote ID section. |
| Preflight inspection | The rule says the remote pilot must, before flight, assess the operating environment and inspect the aircraft to ensure it is in a condition for safe operation. Operators typically keep a completed checklist per flight.14 CFR 107.49, 107.15 | A checklist run filed against the flight, frozen with the items as they read when completed. Revise the card next year and last year's run still says what was checked. |
| Maintenance and inspection | Part 107 sets no maintenance log format. Operators typically keep the maker's intervals, the work done, parts replaced and who released the aircraft, because a waiver and an insurer ask, and 107.15 asks whether it was in a condition for safe operation. | A maintenance program per aircraft, work orders, defects and deferrals, and a tech log of released records numbered in order and signed, with component life counted from the flights on record. |
| Flight logs | Part 107 itself does not require a pilot logbook. A waiver's conditions, an insurer, a client and your own recency rules usually do. | A flight register with one row per flight and person, time in h:mm so the rows add up, and a pilot flight log per person with totals, time by duty and currency as at the day it was issued. |
| Airspace authorizations and waivers | The rule says operation in controlled airspace needs prior authorization, and that a certificate of waiver may be issued for listed sections, with conditions the holder operates under.14 CFR 107.41, 107.205 | Each authorization with its number, conditions, expiry and the aircraft it covers, and an operations report built from the flights filed under it that says for every flight why it was counted. |
| Accident reports | The rule says the remote pilot must report to the FAA within 10 calendar days an operation that caused serious injury or loss of consciousness, or damage to property other than the aircraft above the rule's cost threshold.14 CFR 107.9 | An occurrence with your signed determination, the clock counted from the day it happened, and the filing with the reference you got back. An NTSB notice under 49 CFR 830 is a separate duty on the same record. |
RotorLab does not determine your regulatory obligations and does not decide what is reportable. It keeps the record of what you decided, when, and what you filed. Read the rule, or ask counsel, for what applies to your operation.
One download answers the request
When the FAA, an insurer or a client asks, the answer already exists. Log who asked, why and when it is due, then produce an evidence package for the period and scope, or the whole program as one binder.
- Registers to read, documents to file. The flight register, a register of aircraft, people and training, and a maintenance log per aircraft, each PDF with its own document code.
- A manifest with a checksum for every file. Change one byte and it no longer matches, and the package carries plain written steps to check it with no account.
- Independent timestamps. Records are timestamped daily by independent time-stamping services, and the proofs travel with the package.
- Nothing quietly disappears. Records are voided with a reason rather than erased, and an open legal hold stops disposal.
Where each record lives in the platform
One record per aircraft, from design through flight, repair and sign-off.
Flight records
The flight from its log, the pilot flight log, checklists and currency.
Flight records →Maintenance on real hours
Programs, work orders, the numbered tech log and life-limited parts.
Maintenance →Manual, safety and evidence
An operations manual that reads the records, a hazard register with named acceptance, and the binder that proves it.
Ops manual → Safety management →Flying outside the United States too? Each of the 11 jurisdictions RotorLab keeps records for has its own flight fields, reportable categories and manual outline. See coverage by country.
Questions Part 107 operators ask
The short answers. For what applies to your operation, read the rule or ask counsel; for the product, sales will walk through it.
What records does Part 107 actually require me to keep?
Less than people assume, and more than people produce. The rule asks you to hold the certificate and present it with any required record on request (107.7), keep your knowledge recency inside 24 calendar months (107.65), register the aircraft (107.13), inspect it before every flight (107.49), operate inside any waiver's conditions and report qualifying accidents within 10 calendar days (107.9). The flight log, the maintenance log and the checklist are what show those things happened.
Does Part 107 require a pilot logbook?
Not by itself. Many waivers do, insurers and clients ask for hours, and your own recency rules need something to count. RotorLab keeps the flight from the aircraft's own log and prints a pilot flight log whose totals are the sum of its rows.
How does RotorLab help with the 107.9 accident report?
File the occurrence, record your determination of whether it is reportable, and the clock runs from the day it happened: 10 calendar days to the FAA under 107.9, and the NTSB's notice under 49 CFR 830 as its own duty. The filing and its reference go on the same record. The determination is yours.
Can an FAA inspector or an insurer check a document without an account?
Yes. Every PDF RotorLab issues prints a document code, and rotorlab.app/verify says whether a document with that code was issued through RotorLab, for which organization, and whether the file in hand is byte for byte the file issued.
Does RotorLab hold any FAA approval?
No, and no recordkeeping software does. RotorLab is an independent company that keeps records which support your own answers to a regulator, an insurer or a client. It claims no approval, endorsement or certification from any aviation authority, and the Trust Center says plainly what it does and does not claim.
What does it cost to keep Part 107 records in RotorLab?
Flight records and the free Log Analyzer come with every plan; maintenance, authorizations, the manual and safety management are add-ons, and the Studio bundle includes them. Everything is on during the 14-day trial. See the pricing page.
Keep the record from the flight.
File one flight today and the certificate, the recency clock and the maintenance counters all read from it.
