Free Canadian drone exam practice test
20 practice questions pitched at Small Basic depth, covering all eight of Transport Canada's TP 15263 knowledge areas. Every answer is explained. Nothing is stored, nothing is emailed, and there's no account — it runs in your browser and then it's gone. The real Basic exam is 35 questions in 90 minutes at a 65% pass mark.
This is practice for the Transport Canada drone exam — the online Small Basic test you write through the Drone Management Portal. Most people fail it for one of two reasons: they studied the aircraft rather than the regulations, or they revised from material written before the 2025 amendments. This test is built to surface both problems quickly. Answer honestly, read the explanations on the ones you get wrong, and you'll know within ten minutes whether you're ready to pay the exam fee.
How the real exam works
The Small Basic exam is written online through Transport Canada's Drone Management Portal. It's 35 multiple-choice questions, 90 minutes, and you need 65% to pass. The minimum age is 14. There's no flight review for Basic — pass the exam and the certificate is issued.
The free Basic course covers every one of the eight knowledge areas in full, at no cost and with no email wall. The learning stays free; what we sell is practice under real conditions, and the course in print. If you're heading for the Advanced certificate instead, that's a different proposition — 50 questions in 60 minutes at 80%, plus an in-person flight review — and the Canadian RPAS Operations Guide is written for it.
Two full-length mock exams, timed like the real one.
The test above is 20 questions. The real exam is 35 in 90 minutes. Basic RPAS Practice Exams gives you two full papers in exactly that format — 70 original questions, every answer explained, and a map from each subject back to the free course. Sit one as a diagnostic, the other as a dress rehearsal.
Rather study on paper? The Basic Exam Study Pack — CA$19 is the free course in print, with a one-page cram sheet of every number the exam leans on.
Going on to Advanced? It's a different exam: 50 questions in 60 minutes at 80%, then an in-person flight review. The free Advanced practice test shows you the difference in ten questions, and the Advanced Exam Kit — CA$79 covers the rest.
What this test won't tell you
Scoring well here means you've understood the material these 20 questions cover. The real bank is far larger, and a practice test can only ever sample. Treat a strong score as permission to sit the exam, not as proof you'll pass it — and treat a weak score as genuinely good news, because you found out for free.
If a particular question has been bothering you — the altitude one, the distance-from-people one, what a safety assurance declaration actually covers — the ones candidates ask about most are answered in full here, with the reasoning and with each wrong option explained.
Questions about the practice test
Is this the real Transport Canada exam?
No. The real Small Basic exam is written through Transport Canada's Drone Management Portal — 35 questions, 90 minutes, 65% to pass. This is independent practice material written to the same knowledge areas so you can find your weak spots before you pay to sit the real thing.
Do I have to sign up or pay?
No. No account, no email, no payment. It runs entirely in your browser and nothing is stored or sent anywhere. If you want the rules reference afterwards there's an optional email signup, but the exam itself has no gate on it.
How many questions should I get right before sitting the real exam?
The Basic pass mark is 65%. If you're scoring below 80% here, keep studying — the real exam draws from a much larger bank and you want margin, not a coin flip. Consistently above 85% and you're ready. For practice in the real format, the Basic Practice Exams are two full 35-question papers.
Does this cover the Advanced exam too?
These questions are pitched at Basic depth. The Advanced exam is 50 questions in 60 minutes at an 80% pass mark and goes considerably deeper on airspace, meteorology and operational planning. The Canadian RPAS Operations Guide is written for that syllabus, and there's a 50-question Advanced practice exam in the store. If you want to see the style of the Advanced questions first, there's a free ten-question Advanced practice test.
Are the answers current?
They reflect the Canadian Aviation Regulations as amended by the RPAS Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight and Other Operations amendments, in force 1 April and 4 November 2025. A great deal of Canadian drone practice material online still predates those changes. If you spot an error here, email us and we'll fix it.
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Written by Chris Jones, Transport Canada-certified RPAS pilot and flight reviewer. Found an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.