Aircraft radio license requirements under FCC Part 87 split cleanly along one line: if your aircraft stays inside U.S. borders and doesn’t talk to foreign stations, it’s licensed automatically by rule and you file nothing. Cross a border, or communicate with a station in another country, and you need an individual FCC aircraft station license before you go, plus a Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit for whoever works the radio.
When an Individual Station License Is Required
An aircraft station that flies only domestically and isn’t required by treaty to carry a radio is licensed by rule under 47 CFR § 87.18. No application, no fee, no FCC paperwork.1eCFR. 47 CFR 87.18 – Station License Required You still have to follow every Part 87 operating rule, but the license itself is automatic. This covers most private pilots flying inside the United States.
The exemption ends the moment the aircraft makes international flights or communicates with foreign stations.1eCFR. 47 CFR 87.18 – Station License Required A trip to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, or anywhere outside U.S. airspace triggers the individual license requirement. Operators with multiple aircraft can hold a fleet license instead of one license per tail number.
One boundary worth flagging: the FCC license question is separate from whether the FAA makes you carry a radio in the first place. FAA airspace rules decide the carriage question; Part 87 decides the licensing question for whatever radio you carry.
How to Apply for an Aircraft Station License
Applications go through the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) on FCC Form 605. You log in with your FCC Registration Number (FRN) and file electronically; if you don’t have an FRN yet, you register first in the Commission Registration System.2Federal Communications Commission. Applying for a New License in the Universal Licensing System (ULS)
Aircraft-specific entries on the form include:
- Radio Service Code “AC” for the Aircraft Radio Service.
- Your FAA registration (N-number), entered without the leading “N.”
- Schedule C, which asks whether you will make international flights or communicate with foreign stations.
- Classification as private or air carrier.
- For a fleet license, the total number of aircraft covered.
The application fee is $35.3eCFR. 47 CFR 1.1102 – Schedule of Charges for Applications and Other Filings in the Wireless Telecommunications Services Aircraft station licensees also owe a $10 annual regulatory fee per station.4Federal Register. Review of the Commission’s Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2026 Payment is handled online after you submit. Once the license is issued, keep a copy with the aircraft’s station records.
Term, Renewal, and Changes During the License Period
An aircraft station license runs for ten years from issuance or renewal.5eCFR. 47 CFR Part 87 Subpart B – Applications and Licenses Renewal uses the same Form 605 in ULS and costs the same $35.3eCFR. 47 CFR 1.1102 – Schedule of Charges for Applications and Other Filings in the Wireless Telecommunications Services
If your name, mailing address, email, or FAA registration number changes without a change of ownership, file an Administrative Update through Form 605 rather than a full modification.6Federal Communications Commission. FCC Form 605 Swapping in a replacement transmitter that operates in the same frequency band requires no notification to the FCC.7Federal Communications Commission. Aircraft Stations
Selling the aircraft is a different matter. The license does not follow the airplane automatically. Seller and buyer can file for FCC approval of the assignment through ULS at no fee, and the new owner then files a consummation notice within 30 days of closing.7Federal Communications Commission. Aircraft Stations The buyer can also skip that route and simply apply for a fresh license; the old one cancels automatically once the FCC grants a new one for the same tail number.
The Operator Permit Most Pilots Overlook
The station license covers the equipment. A separate rule covers the person using it. Under 47 CFR § 87.89, an aircraft station operator generally must hold a commercial radio operator license or permit, and for aircraft stations the minimum credential is the Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit.8eCFR. 47 CFR 87.89 – Minimum Operator Requirements
The exception that saves most domestic pilots: no operator license is required to work a VHF telephony transmitter providing domestic service or used on domestic flights.9eCFR. 47 CFR 87.89 – Minimum Operator Requirements Since general aviation communication inside the U.S. is almost entirely VHF, the typical private pilot flying at home is covered. You also don’t need an operator license to work a transponder, radar altimeter, or ADS-B transmitter, or to test an ELT.
The permit becomes mandatory when you operate on aeronautical frequencies below 30 MHz or when the flight goes international. To qualify you must be a legal U.S. resident or eligible for U.S. employment, able to speak and hear, able to keep a rough written log, and familiar with the applicable radio rules.10Federal Communications Commission. Commercial Radio Operator Types of Licenses There is no exam. File Form 605 in ULS, pay $35, and the permit is issued for your lifetime as long as you remain eligible.11Federal Communications Commission. Personal Service and Amateur Application Fees
What Equipment and Traffic Rules Apply
Every aircraft radio transmitter must hold FCC certification under Part 87. The FCC ID on the unit confirms it has been tested and approved under the process in 47 CFR § 87.147.12eCFR. 47 CFR 87.147 – Authorization of Equipment Whether you hold an individual license or you’re licensed by rule, using non-certified equipment breaks the rules.
Traffic on aircraft frequencies is limited to communications related to safe, efficient, and economical aircraft operation and the protection of life and property in the air.13eCFR. 47 CFR Part 87 – Aviation Services Personal conversations, music, and public correspondence are prohibited.
ELTs Have Their Own Registration Rule
Emergency Locator Transmitters sit outside the station-license question but come with a Part 87 obligation of their own. Every 406 MHz ELT must be registered with NOAA before installation, and failure to register can result in a monetary forfeiture.14eCFR. 47 CFR 87.199 – Emergency Locator Transmitter Requirements Each unit carries a unique identification code issued by NOAA, and the manufacturer must include a prepaid registration card with every unit sold.
Older 121.5 MHz ELTs lost satellite monitoring on February 1, 2009, when the international COSPAS-SARSAT system stopped receiving those frequencies from orbit; they still work as local homing signals but are no longer detected by satellite.15Federal Aviation Administration. Aeronautical Information Manual – Emergency Services Available to Pilots FAA rules also require ELT batteries to be replaced when the transmitter has been in use for more than one cumulative hour, or when half the battery’s useful life has expired, whichever comes first, with the new expiration date marked on the unit and recorded in the aircraft maintenance log.16eCFR. 14 CFR 91.207 – Emergency Locator Transmitters
What Non-Compliance Costs
Operating a radio without the required station license or operator permit violates federal communications law, and the FCC can pursue monetary forfeitures on its own authority. The FAA and FCC regulate different aspects of the same equipment: the FAA cares whether you have a working radio in the airspace you’re flying, while the FCC cares whether that radio is properly licensed and operated within its technical parameters.13eCFR. 47 CFR Part 87 – Aviation Services Either agency can act without waiting on the other.
The practical result is simple. Stay domestic and stick to VHF and you can fly with no FCC paperwork beyond an ELT registration. Plan a trip outside U.S. borders and file for the station license and the operator permit before departure. Both applications run through ULS on Form 605, both cost $35, and neither requires an exam. Arriving at a foreign airport without them costs far more to fix.