Becoming a drone surveyor runs on two tracks, and neither track's requirements begin with gear.
The flying half's legal requirement is an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate under Part 107, earned by passing a knowledge test — the FAA's eligibility list names no course.
The surveying half — missions, ground control, processing — is learned on the job in BLS's description.
Here are the steps, the requirements, the credentials that help and a realistic timeline.
What are the requirements to become a drone surveyor?
Our research found no state license called "drone surveyor."
The job is a survey-crew role that flies under federal aviation rules, so its requirements stack from two directions: what the FAA requires to fly, and what a survey employer needs on the ground.
On the flying side, operating a drone for a survey firm's mapping work happens under the FAA's Small UAS Rule, 14 CFR Part 107, which requires a Remote Pilot Certificate.
The certificate's eligibility list at 14 CFR 107.61 is short: be at least 16 years old, read, speak, write and understand English, have no known condition that would interfere with safe operation, and pass the initial aeronautical knowledge test.
Current Part 61 pilots instead complete FAA online training.
On the surveying side, BLS's entry profile for surveying and mapping technicians is a high school diploma or equivalent, no related work experience, and moderate-term on-the-job training.
Drone work sits inside that occupation: O*NET's 2026 task list for surveying and mapping technicians includes using drone technology to capture aerial images or video for mapping.
BLS recommends high school math — algebra, geometry, trigonometry — plus coursework in drafting, mechanical drawing and computer science for people heading into technician work.
It also states that licensing is not required for surveying and mapping technicians, certification is optional, and employers may prefer candidates with a valid driver's license.
Confirm the current rules before you plan
Do you need a degree or certificate?
The short answer: no degree and no training-course certificate.
The one certificate the flying side requires is the FAA Remote Pilot Certificate, and its eligibility list names no degree and no course.
BLS's typical entry-level education for crew-side work is a high school diploma or equivalent.
The FAA's eligibility list for a first-time Part 107 remote pilot names age, English proficiency, fitness to fly and passing the UAG knowledge test — completing a paid training course is not on it.
Paid drone-mapping courses are optional, skills- or employer-driven training rather than an FAA requirement.
On the crew side, O*NET rates the occupation Job Zone Three — vocational training, related on-the-job experience or an associate's degree — and in its education survey 33% of respondents said a high school diploma is required, while 24% said an associate's degree.
The lean toward degrees is stronger on the sensing-and-data side of the work.
Our sources put drone tasks in two federal occupations: surveying and mapping technicians for the crew side, and Remote Sensing Technicians for sensor operation and data processing — O*NET's task list there includes operating remote sensing equipment on drones.
That second occupation is rated Job Zone Four, and 62% of its O*NET education survey respondents said a new hire needs a bachelor's degree; 9% said a high school diploma and 9% an associate's degree.
BLS puts the degree bar highest for the mapping specialties: cartographers and photogrammetrists typically need a bachelor's degree in cartography, geography, geomatics, surveying or a related field, and some may need to be licensed depending on the state and the duties.
If you are weighing a degree or certificate against going straight to a crew job, see our comparison of surveying degree options.
What experience do employers expect first?
Start with the honest limit of the data: our research found no primary-source sample of drone-surveyor job postings, so there is no verified figure for how much experience a typical posting asks for.
Requirements vary by employer.
What the sourced data does show is how the learning happens: it happens at work.
BLS describes surveying and mapping technicians as learning on the job under lead staff, starting with simple tasks and moving up.
Technicians often begin with work like placing markers and entering data, and eventually help decide where and how to measure the land.
Drone duties sit on that same ladder.
BLS notes survey technicians help surveyors with tasks including using drones to take photos, and help process the data — calculating angles and elevations and working in CAD.
A second door is the sensing-and-data side, where the work is sensor operation and processing.
O*NET's tasks there include calibrating data-collection equipment, monitoring raw data quality during collection, correcting raw data for errors and collecting ground-verification data with GPS receivers.
Expect more processing time than field time on that route: 88% of O*NET's survey respondents for that occupation said they work indoors in an environmentally controlled setting every day.
Public-agency class specs show what trainee-level requirements look like on paper.
Washington State defines Transportation Technician 1 as the trainee, beginning level of its Transportation Technician series, with high school graduation or a GED as the desirable qualification.
Its survey duties run from holding rods and prism poles to learning to run a level and assisting with the data collector.
Arkansas DOT's District Surveys Technician class (effective July 31, 2026) requires a high school diploma equivalent and a valid driver's license, plus the ability to lift up to 50 pounds and traverse rugged terrain.
Apprenticeship is a third, documented route: O*NET lists four DOL-approved Registered Apprenticeship titles tied to surveying and mapping technicians — Chief of Party, Geodetic Computator, Photogrammetric Technician and Surveyor Assistant Instrument.
See our guide to surveying apprenticeships for how registered programs work.
Which optional credentials help (FAA Part 107)?
The credentials divide into one you need if you fly, and others that may help you demonstrate competency.
To pilot the aircraft for a survey firm's mapping work, the FAA's Remote Pilot Certificate under Part 107 is the requirement.
It is a pilot certificate, not a state surveying license, and whether drone mapping crosses into licensed surveying practice is each state licensing board's call.
The FAA requires no paid course to earn it.
The sequence below follows the FAA's own process pages, from profile to certificate to keeping your currency.
Set up your IACRA profile
Create your profile in the FAA's IACRA application system before you test. It is where your FAA Tracking Number comes from, and where you will later file your certificate application.Pass the UAG knowledge test
The initial test, Unmanned Aircraft General – Small, is 60 questions in 2.0 hours with a passing score of 70, per the FAA's testing matrix revised September 25, 2026. You can take it from age 14, and no instructor endorsement is needed to test or retest. Topics include regulations, airspace, weather, loading and performance, emergency procedures, airport operations and night operations.Apply through IACRA and clear the TSA check
You file FAA Form 8710-13 in IACRA, and the FAA issues a temporary certificate once a TSA security background check clears.Keep currency on a 24-month cycle
Exercising Part 107 privileges requires passing the initial knowledge test or completing recurrent training within the previous 24 calendar months. The FAA's own online recurrent course on FAASafety.gov costs nothing, and the certificate does not expire — what lapses is your currency.
Two ages matter, and they are different: the FAA lets you sit the test at 14, while the certificate itself requires age 16.
Hireable drone surveyors also know the operating rules their missions run against.
Part 107 caps altitude at 400 feet above ground level unless the aircraft stays within 400 feet of a structure, and it requires the drone to remain within unaided visual line of sight of the remote pilot or a visual observer for the whole flight.
Flying beyond visual line of sight requires an FAA waiver, and the FAA's proposed Part 108 rule for those operations was still not final as of October 9, 2026.
Two more credentials come later in the career than at the door.
On the crew side, the Certified Survey Technician program is a national certification for survey technicians sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors; see our guide to CST certification for its levels and exams.
On the mapping side, ASPRS certifies people in Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, Lidar and UAS at two levels — Mapping Scientist and Technologist — through a voluntary, exam-based program that is open to non-members and requires recertification.
The experience bar is real: 6 years of active specialty experience for the Scientist level, 3 for Technologist.
How long does it take?
The FAA half is fast in sitting terms: one knowledge test of 60 questions in 2.0 hours, then the administrative sequence — IACRA profile, application, TSA background check, temporary certificate.
Our research found no verified figure for how long test scheduling or the TSA check takes, so treat any timeline you see elsewhere as unconfirmed and check the FAA's current processing pages.
The surveying half runs longer, because it is on-the-job learning: BLS classes the typical technician path as a high school diploma followed by moderate-term on-the-job training, with no related experience required at entry.
Currency adds a fixed rhythm once you hold the certificate — recurrent training comes due within every 24-calendar-month window, and the FAA's recurrent course itself is free.
Above the entry rung, the ladder has no verified clock.
Our research found no primary-source figure for how long technicians spend in role before taking on senior flight or processing work; it varies by employer.
The dated points that do exist sit on the credential ladder.
ASPRS asks for 3 years of active specialty experience at its Technologist level and 6 at the Mapping Scientist level.
BLS, meanwhile, describes licensed-surveyor advancement as something technicians with many years of experience and formal training may be able to reach.
If the destination is the license rather than the drone work itself, that route is its own sequence; start with how to become a land surveyor and confirm your state's requirements with its board.
How to land your first drone surveyor job
Start with where the work actually sits.
BLS counted 60% of surveying and mapping technician jobs in architectural, engineering and related services in 2025, with 11% in local government, 9% in other support services, 4% in utilities and 1% self-employed.
Drone duties appear on that occupation's task list, so your employers are the survey and mapping employers: firms providing engineering, surveying and mapping services on contract, plus highway or planning departments in local government.
The demand picture is workmanlike rather than explosive: BLS expects drones and other advances to make some survey work more efficient, while technicians remain the people who review and interpret the output.
So the profile to work toward is someone who can fly the mission and interpret what it produced.
Before you apply, work through this list:
- Earn the Remote Pilot Certificate before you apply — it is the FAA requirement for the flying half of the job.
- Hold a valid driver's license; BLS notes employers may prefer one.
- Practice the mapping workflow, not just the camera: flight planning, ground control and the processing steps that turn imagery into deliverables.
- Look at trainee-level public-agency posts, which can hire on a high school diploma or GED, as a way to learn the ground side.
- Keep your currency on the 24-calendar-month cycle so it never lapses mid-search.
To understand the work itself before you interview, see how drone surveying works at a survey firm, and start with the drone surveyor career guide for the role in full.
Career information, not legal, tax or licensing advice. FAA requirements and state surveying rules change; confirm current requirements with the FAA and your state licensing board before you plan your route.