Amateur Radio License Requirements: Classes, Exams, and Fees

To get an amateur radio license in the United States, you must pass a written FCC exam, register with the FCC to receive a Federal Registration Number, and pay a $35 application fee. The license is good for ten years, renewable, and available to almost anyone: there is no age minimum, no citizenship requirement, and every exam question comes from a published pool you can study in advance. The full amateur radio license requirements cover who can apply, which class of license you want, what the exam tests, and the rules you agree to follow once you are on the air.

Who Can Apply

Federal regulations set the eligibility bar deliberately low. Any person who passes the examination may apply, regardless of age or nationality.¹ Children test alongside adults, and non-U.S. citizens living in the country are eligible. The one categorical exclusion is representatives of foreign governments.

A felony conviction is not an automatic bar, but the FCC asks about it. Form 605 includes a question on whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony in any state or federal court.² If you answer yes, you have 14 days from the date the application reaches the FCC to submit a written explanation covering the offense, the punishment imposed, whether the sentence is complete, and what you have done since. The FCC decides whether a “material and substantial question” exists about your character. Missing the 14-day deadline gets the application dismissed.

The Three License Classes

Amateur licensing is a three-rung ladder. Each higher class opens more of the radio spectrum, and each requires a harder exam.

The Technician class is the entry point. It grants all amateur frequencies above 50 MHz — the VHF and UHF bands used for local repeaters, satellite work, and digital modes — plus limited privileges on the 80, 40, 15, and 10-meter HF bands (mostly Morse and digital, with full privileges on 10 meters). Power is capped at 200 watts on HF and up to 1,500 watts on VHF and above.³

The General class opens most of the HF bands, which is where long-distance worldwide contacts happen. You either hold a Technician license already or pass both the Technician and General exams in the same session.³

The Amateur Extra class is the top tier and grants access to every frequency allocated to the amateur service. The exam is the hardest of the three, and you must have satisfied all lower-class requirements first.³ If you already hold a lower-class license and test up, the volunteer examiners give credit for the elements you have already passed.

What to Set Up Before the Exam

Before you show up to test, register for an account in the FCC’s Commission Registration System (CORES) and get a Federal Registration Number. The FRN is a ten-digit identifier that replaces your Social Security number on FCC filings and keeps your SSN out of public databases.⁴ You register with an email address and password. Without an FRN, the volunteer examiners cannot process your paperwork on exam day.

You also need a valid mailing address. That address becomes part of the public FCC license database, so many operators use a P.O. Box or work address instead of a home address. Any valid mailing address is accepted, and your SSN, phone number, and email address are not published.⁴

On test day, bring a government-issued photo ID and your FRN. If you hold an existing amateur license or have credit from a previously passed exam element, bring documentation of that too.

What the Exams Cover

Each class has its own written exam element, and every question comes from a publicly available pool. You can review every possible question and answer before you sit down.⁵

Element 2, the Technician exam, is 35 multiple-choice questions on basic electronics, radio safety, FCC regulations, and operating procedures. You need at least 26 correct to pass, about 74 percent.⁵

Element 3, the General exam, is another 35 questions on intermediate radio theory, signal propagation, and circuit components. The passing threshold is the same: 26 out of 35.⁵

Element 4, the Amateur Extra exam, is 50 questions covering advanced topics such as filter design, digital signal processing, and antenna modeling. You need at least 37 correct, again roughly 74 percent.⁵

If a disability makes a standard written exam difficult, volunteer examiners are required to accommodate you and may ask for a physician’s note describing the disability before arranging an alternative testing procedure.⁵

Where to Take the Exam

Most exams are given by teams of Volunteer Examiners coordinated through a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC).⁶ These are licensed operators who proctor sessions at libraries, churches, ham club meetings, and community centers. Sessions run regularly around the country, and you can search by zip code on sites like HamStudy.org or the ARRL’s exam finder.

VECs may charge a fee to cover their costs. The ARRL, the largest VEC, charges $15 per session in 2026, with a reduced $5 fee for candidates under 18. Some smaller VECs, such as Laurel VEC, charge nothing. That fee is separate from the $35 FCC application fee and goes to the exam team on test day.

Several VECs also run fully remote sessions over video conferencing. The requirements are stricter: a computer with a webcam, a microphone (no headphones), a stable internet connection, and screen sharing. You test alone in a quiet, enclosed room cleared of unauthorized materials, people, and other electronic devices. Candidates under 13 need a signed parental consent form. The session is recorded.

Fees and How You Get Your License

When you pass, the examiners sign a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination and the VEC uploads your results electronically to the FCC.⁶ Once the FCC processes the file, you get an email with instructions for paying the $35 application fee through the CORES payment portal.⁷ Pay promptly. The FCC gives you a limited window, and missing it means the application is dismissed.

After payment clears, the FCC issues your license electronically and assigns a call sign from the sequential system based on your license class and the geographic region of your mailing address.⁸ No paper certificate is mailed. You look up your license in the FCC’s Universal Licensing System, and the electronic record is your official proof. You can begin transmitting as soon as it appears in the database. The whole process from exam to license typically takes a few days to two weeks.

License Term and Renewal

An amateur license is valid for ten years.⁹ You can file for renewal starting 90 days before the expiration date through the Universal Licensing System. Renewal costs another $35 and does not require retaking any exams.⁷

Miss the expiration date and you have a two-year grace period to file a late renewal.¹⁰ The catch: during that grace period, you cannot transmit. Your operating privileges are suspended until the renewal is granted. Once the two-year window closes, the license is gone, and you would have to start over with the exams.

One administrative note. Updating your contact information in CORES does not automatically update it on your license. You have to log into ULS separately and change your address there, or your license record still shows the old information.¹⁰

Rules You Agree to Follow

Station Identification

Every amateur station must transmit its assigned call sign at the end of each communication and at least once every ten minutes during an ongoing exchange.¹¹ You can identify by voice in English, by Morse code, or by certain digital modes. Transmitting without identifying, or using someone else’s call sign, is a violation.

Prohibited Transmissions

Amateur radio is for personal experimentation and communication, not commercial use. You cannot use your station to conduct business, advertise, or transmit on behalf of an employer, with narrow exceptions for emergency drills and classroom instruction.¹² Broadcasting one-way to a general audience is also off-limits, as are music, obscene language, encoded messages meant to hide meaning, and false or deceptive signals. Mentioning that you have amateur equipment for sale is fine; doing so regularly crosses into commercial activity.

Control Operator Duty

Whenever a station is on the air, a licensed control operator must ensure it is being used properly, and the station can only operate within the privileges of that operator’s license class.¹³ If you let an unlicensed friend use your radio, you are the control operator and you are responsible for everything they transmit.

Penalties for Operating Without a License or Breaking the Rules

Federal law requires a license for any radio transmission, and operating without one, or violating the rules while licensed, carries real consequences.¹⁴ The FCC Enforcement Bureau uses a graduated approach: notices of violation for minor infractions, formal citations, and Notices of Apparent Liability proposing monetary fines for more serious offenses. Intentional interference with other operators has drawn fines in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Criminal prosecution is reserved for willful violations. The general penalty under federal communications law is a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. A second conviction doubles the maximum imprisonment to two years.¹⁵ Transmitting on amateur frequencies without a license, causing harmful interference to emergency communications, or using the airwaves for criminal activity are the kinds of conduct most likely to draw serious enforcement.

1
eCFR. 47 CFR 97.5 – Station License Required
2
Federal Communications Commission. FCC Form 605 – Quick-Form Application
3
Federal Communications Commission. Amateur Radio Service – Operator Class
4
Federal Communications Commission. Commission Registration System for the FCC
5
Federal Communications Commission. Amateur Radio Service Examinations
6
Federal Communications Commission. Volunteer Examiner Coordinators
7
Federal Communications Commission. Personal Service and Amateur Application Fees
8
Federal Communications Commission. Amateur Call Sign Systems
9
eCFR. 47 CFR 97.25 – License Term
10
Federal Communications Commission. Common Amateur Filing Task: Renewing A License
11
eCFR. 47 CFR 97.119 – Station Identification
12
eCFR. 47 CFR 97.113 – Prohibited Transmissions
13
eCFR. 47 CFR 97.105 – Control Operator Duties
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 301 – License for Radio Communication or Transmission of Energy
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 501 – General Penalty