Yes, at least 48 hours after you pass the test, you can go on the FAA website and apply for your certificate. After you have done that, upon approval (the vetting process) about 10 days to 2 weeks, a temporary certificate is issued. You can legally fly under the temporary certificate.
If you take the course from remotepilot101.com, Jason has a video that will walk you through making the application for your certificate.
Hi trumpetturner, you mention "After you have done that, upon approval (the vetting process) about 10 days to 2 weeks, a temporary certificate is issued. " When you say issued, how do you know that ? I just passed the test yesterday, created an IACRA account, went through the process. I also took the Remotepilot101 course, a big thanks to Jason ! I was following along Jason's video registering and then found out about the 48 or more hours I have to wait. Are you able to print out a temporary certificate from the IACRA site once it is issued?