Night operations under Part 107 changed on April 21, 2021. Before that date, flying at night meant a waiver of §107.29. Under the current rule, a routine night flight does not need a waiver when two conditions in §107.29(a) are both true. One condition is not enough. The older study guide, written in 2016, still describes the waiver-only world. Use the regulation.
The two conditions
First, the remote pilot in command must have completed an initial knowledge test or training under §107.65 after April 6, 2021. The current recurrent course covers the night-operations knowledge area. A certificate issued in 2019, with no test or training since, does not meet this condition even if the aircraft has a legal strobe. There is no grandfather clause that keeps pre-2021 certificates night-current forever.
Second, the small unmanned aircraft must have lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles, with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision. The remote pilot in command may reduce the intensity if safety requires it, for example to avoid blinding the crew, but may not extinguish the light. Steady navigation lights are not the anti-collision light. A NOTAM does not replace the light. A Part 61 certificate and a weight under 0.55 pounds do not replace either condition.
The distance is statute miles, not nautical miles. Three nautical miles is a longer distance and a different unit. Two statute miles is simply short of the rule.
Currency still sits on top. Section 107.65 says you may not exercise remote pilot privileges unless, within the previous 24 calendar months, you passed an initial knowledge test covering §107.73, completed recurrent training covering §107.73, or, if you hold a non-student Part 61 certificate and meet the §61.56 flight review, completed the §107.74 training. An initial test that satisfied the night condition years ago does not let you act as remote pilot tonight if that 24-calendar-month window has closed. Recurrent training can restore it. A flight review alone cannot. The details are on the recurrent training page.
Civil twilight is not "night," and it still needs the light
Section 107.29(b) covers civil twilight separately from night. During civil twilight the aircraft needs the same anti-collision lighting: visible for at least 3 statute miles, flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision, intensity reducible but not extinguishable.
For places other than Alaska, civil twilight is the 30 minutes before official sunrise and the 30 minutes after official sunset. It is not 60 minutes, and it is not "the first and last hour of daylight." Alaska uses the period of civil twilight defined in the Air Almanac.
A sunset shoot that ends 20 minutes after sunset is in civil twilight. The lighting rule applies even if you can still see the aircraft easily. If the flight continues into night, the training condition applies as well.
What a waiver is for now
Night waivers issued under the old rule do not carry the operation. Section 107.29(d) ended the use of pre-April 21, 2021 night waivers after May 17, 2021. You do not apply for a new night waiver merely because your certificate is old.
A routine night flight that meets both §107.29(a) conditions needs no waiver. The training condition in §107.29(a)(1) is not on the waiver list. Section 107.205(b) does allow a waiver of the anti-collision light in §107.29(a)(2) and (b), which covers night and civil twilight. A waiver of the light does not satisfy the training. If the light will not be used, the legal path is that waiver, not a launch without it. See waivers and authorizations.
Beyond visual line of sight and operating more than one aircraft at a time are separate waiver cases under §107.205. Meeting the night training and light rules does not cover those.
Seeing the aircraft is still required
Darkness does not relax §107.31. You, and a visual observer if you use one, must be able to see the aircraft with unaided vision other than corrective lenses, well enough to know its location, attitude, altitude, and direction, to see other traffic, and to see that it does not endanger people or property. Anti-collision lights help other people see you and help you keep the aircraft in sight. They do not let you fly beyond visual line of sight. Survey the site in daylight if you can. Unlit wires and towers are still there when the camera looks fine.