The FCC Universal Licensing System is the online portal where you apply for, renew, modify, and look up wireless radio licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission. Almost every wireless licensing interaction with the Commission runs through ULS, from a first amateur radio call sign to a GMRS renewal, and the same system houses a public database anyone can search by call sign, name, or location.1Federal Communications Commission. Licensing To file anything, you first need an account in a separate but linked system called CORES.
Get an FRN Before You Do Anything Else
Every ULS transaction is tied to a 10-digit FCC Registration Number. The FRN links your name, contact details, and Taxpayer Identification Number to your filings, and federal law requires the FCC to collect that TIN (your Social Security Number as an individual, or an Employer Identification Number for an entity) as part of the government’s debt-collection framework.2eCFR. 47 CFR Part 1 Subpart W – FCC Registration Number
You register through the Commission Registration System, or CORES. Create an account with a valid email address and password, confirm the email, log in, and register for an FRN by entering your contact information and TIN. The system issues the 10-digit number immediately, and it’s permanent — the same FRN will follow you through every future filing.2eCFR. 47 CFR Part 1 Subpart W – FCC Registration Number
Store your login somewhere you’ll find it years later. Three wrong answers to your personal security question lock the account, and unlocking it means calling the FCC at 877-480-3201, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern.3FCC. Reset Username Password
Filing a New License Application
How you file depends on the service. Amateur radio applicants can’t file directly. You have to pass an exam administered by volunteer examiners, and the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator batch-files the results and application to ULS on your behalf.4Federal Communications Commission. Examinations Your operating authority begins the moment the grant appears in the ULS database; there’s no need to wait for a paper document.
GMRS is different. The General Mobile Radio Service requires no exam, so you file directly through ULS, and once the license is granted, any family member can operate GMRS stations under your authorization.5Federal Communications Commission. General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS)
For any service you file directly (GMRS, or a modification to an existing amateur license), log into ULS Online Filing with your FRN and password and select “Apply for a New License” from the left-side navigation. Pick the Radio Service from the dropdown, which controls what questions appear, then fill in contact details, station location, and the regulatory qualification questions. You sign by typing your full name into the signature fields. That typed signature carries the same legal weight as a handwritten one and certifies that everything you submitted is accurate.6Federal Communications Commission. Applying for a New License in the Universal Licensing System (ULS)
Fees and the 10-Day Payment Window
The FCC charges $35 for most amateur radio and personal service filings. That covers new amateur licenses, renewals, modifications (including upgrades and sequential call sign changes), and vanity call sign requests.7Federal Communications Commission. Personal Service and Amateur Application Fees Purely administrative updates like a name change or new mailing address are fee-exempt.8Federal Communications Commission. Application Fee Exemptions
When a fee is due, ULS hands you off to the CORES payment module, which accepts credit cards or bank debits.9Federal Communications Commission. CORES Payment System Payment must reach the FCC within 10 calendar days of the application’s receipt date. Miss that window and the application is dismissed, and you start over.10Federal Communications Commission. Common Amateur Filing Task – Renewing A License
Renewing and Modifying a License
Amateur radio licenses run 10 years. You can file for renewal through the ULS License Manager starting 90 days before the expiration date, and as long as the FCC receives your renewal on or before that date, your operating authority continues without interruption while the filing is pending.10Federal Communications Commission. Common Amateur Filing Task – Renewing A License
Miss the expiration and you enter a two-year grace period. Renewal is still possible during those two years, but you lose all operating privileges until the FCC actually grants the renewal. After the grace period ends, the license is gone for good; the FCC cannot grant a renewal filed past that point.10Federal Communications Commission. Common Amateur Filing Task – Renewing A License
Modifications cover upgrades after passing a higher amateur exam, address changes, and updates to contact information. Upgrades and renewals cost $35; address updates don’t.7Federal Communications Commission. Personal Service and Amateur Application Fees
Vanity Call Signs
Amateur licensees can request a specific call sign in place of the sequentially assigned one issued with the original license. File through ULS; the $35 fee applies.7Federal Communications Commission. Personal Service and Amateur Application Fees Not everything is available. A call sign previously held by another licensee generally cannot be reassigned until two years after that license expired, was surrendered, or was revoked.11Federal Communications Commission. Amateur Call Sign Systems Check availability through the ULS public license search before filing.
Answering Yes to the Felony Question on Form 605
FCC Form 605, the standard wireless license application in ULS, asks whether the applicant has been convicted of a felony. A yes answer isn’t the end of the road, but it triggers a required exhibit that explains the circumstances and argues why granting the application still serves the public interest.12Federal Communications Commission. Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Announces Addition of Felony Question to FCC Form 605
The yes answer itself is publicly visible in ULS, but you can request confidential treatment for the exhibit. That request needs a written explanation of why confidentiality is warranted; stamping “Confidential” on the document is not enough. If a VEC batch-filed your amateur application, the VEC cannot submit the exhibit for you. Email it to attach605@fcc.gov or mail it to the FCC’s Gettysburg office after your application receives a file number in ULS. If the exhibit doesn’t arrive within 14 days, the application is dismissed.12Federal Communications Commission. Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Announces Addition of Felony Question to FCC Form 605
Cancellations, and Why You Cannot Transfer a License
Amateur radio licenses and other personal radio service licenses cannot be voluntarily transferred or assigned to another person. The rule allows no exceptions for family members, club partners, or anyone else.13eCFR. 47 CFR 1.948 – Assignment of Authorization or Transfer of Control, Notification of Consummation When a licensee dies or becomes legally incapacitated, the license must be surrendered for cancellation, and the call sign becomes available for vanity reassignment after the standard waiting period.
To cancel your own license, log into ULS License Manager, go to “My Licenses,” and use the “Cancel Licenses” link. The system walks you through selecting the licenses, optionally updating your contact information, and electronically signing the cancellation.14Federal Communications Commission. Common Filing Tasks
Searching ULS Without an Account
You don’t need to log in to search. The public license search and application search tools are open to anyone and cover every wireless service the FCC regulates. Look up a license by call sign, search by licensee name, or query by FRN.1Federal Communications Commission. Licensing
Results show license status, grant and expiration dates, authorized frequencies, and licensee contact information. A geosearch function returns all licenses authorized within a radius of a given location, and bulk license and application data can be downloaded in pipe-delimited format for offline work.
Recovering a Locked CORES Account
Amateur licensees often go years between logins, so lost access is common. The CORES portal handles a forgotten password through your personal security question. Three wrong answers, though, and the account locks.3FCC. Reset Username Password
A locked account requires a call to 877-480-3201 during business hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. After the FCC unlocks it, a temporary password is sent to the email address on file. Log in with the temporary password, then set a permanent one and update your security questions.3FCC. Reset Username Password
What Happens if You Operate Without a Valid License
Transmitting on frequencies that require a license without holding one exposes you to serious federal fines. Under the Communications Act, the base statutory maximum for violations outside the broadcast and common carrier categories is $10,000 per violation, with a cumulative cap of $75,000 for a single course of conduct.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 503 – Forfeitures Those figures get adjusted upward for inflation periodically. Pirate radio operations face substantially steeper penalties under the PIRATE Act, with inflation-adjusted maximums exceeding $120,000 per violation.
The FCC can also revoke an existing license or issue a cease-and-desist order.16eCFR. 47 CFR Part 1 – Practice and Procedure Renew on time, operate within your authorized privileges, and don’t let a license lapse while you’re still on the air.