Part 107 temporary certificate clarification: "pending" means good to go

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In case anyone (like me) recently passed the Part 107 test, and is confused about the status of their temporary certificate ... I had taken a prep course for the test with Peltier Photo Courses, which I thought was fantastic, and I passed the test pretty easily, with a 93% score. I'd highly recommend the prep course to anyone planning on taking the test. However, there was one thing related to the Part 107 temporary certificate that was incorrect on the website. Right now if you do a Google search for "IACRA temporary certificate number pending", the first item that comes up is an excerpt from a page on the peltierphotocourses.com site, which has the following text:

"If you see "Pending" for your Certificate Number, this means that your background check isn't complete - you do not have a temporary certificate yet."

However, doing some further searching, I came across several posts on other websites and forums saying that in fact you do have a useable certificate as soon as it is issued - regardless of whether or not the number is 'pending'. These posts stated that you can use it with LAANC; you just have to enter the certificate number as 'pending'.

Wanting to find something official from the FAA that might confirm this, I came across these instructions for applying for a Part 107 waiver: https://www.faa.gov/uas/commercial_...ers/media/waiver_application_instructions.pdf. Page 2 of this document has the following:

Remote Pilot Certificate Number (RPIC)
Enter the RPIC’s part 107 Airman Certificate number.
• Do not enter the 14 CFR part 61 Airman Certificate number (for manned aircraft operations), if the RPIC holds a part 61 Airman Certificate.
• Enter “pending” if the RPIC has a temporary certificate.

So the FAA confirms that a 'pending' certificate is valid and can be used immediately. I emailed John Peltier from Peltier Photo Courses about this - he invites emails and is very responsive and helpful when you contact him - and he acknowledged the error and has now removed the language about 'pending' certificates not being useable from his website. Google hasn't updated their search index yet so it still shows up on a Google search, but if you click through to the page referenced, that text is no longer there.
 

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