The FCC currently issues new licenses only for Technician, General, and Amateur Extra classes. Novice and Advanced class licenses are no longer issued to new applicants, though people who already hold those licenses may still renew them. The "Technician Plus" designation was used in the past to indicate a Technician who had also passed a Morse code (CW) exam; those endorsements have been folded into the Technician class.

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Any licensed amateur may apply for a vanity call sign. Entry-level Technician class licensees are allowed to choose a vanity call sign, but there are more restrictions on the formats and types of call signs a Technician may select than for an Amateur Extra class licensee. You may submit a vanity call sign application as soon as your license appears in the FCC (or relevant authority) database.

Memory aids:

• None.

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Amateur stations are allowed to make international contacts only when those communications are incidental to the purposes of the Amateur Radio Service or are remarks of a personal character. The Amateur Service is noncommercial, so transmissions related to conducting business are not permitted. Contests are just one type of permitted activity, but casual QSOs, technical experimentation, emergency communications, and other noncommercial exchanges are also allowed. Broadcasting — transmitting information intended for wide or public reception — is not permitted on amateur frequencies.

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The FCC requires an email address to be on file as the primary contact method for every amateur station and operator license issued. The FCC will no longer mail physical correspondence.

§ 97.23 Mailing and email addresses.

Each license grant must show the grantee's correct name, mailing address, and email address. The email address must be an address where the grantee can receive electronic correspondence. Revocation of the station license or suspension of the operator license may result when correspondence from the FCC is returned as undeliverable because the grantee failed to provide the correct email address.

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Technician-class call signs are issued with a three-letter suffix (the common 2x3 format: one or two-letter prefix, a single digit, and three suffix letters). A call sign that has only one or two letters in the suffix does not meet the Technician-class format requirement. Therefore, only the call sign in the 2x3 pattern qualifies for a Technician-class license.

Memory aids:

• Technicians need a 3-letter suffix (think "2x3" format).

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When in international waters on a US-documented vessel you need the ship master's permission (generally that's the captain) to operate with your US amateur radio license.

In an actual emergency where life or property is at significant risk you can generally do whatever you need to, but there is no special FCC maritime authorization – just the basic "captain's ship, captain's rules!" that one might expect for anything.

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This is purely a memorization question—something to remember. Once you are within 90 days of your expiration you can and should renew your license using the FCC License Manager portal. You can also pay W5YI to do it for you to avoid spending the time, but as long as you can get into your ULS / FCC License Manager account that's the cheapest and is pretty quick.

If you miss that window and your license expires you can't operate until it is renewed and you have 2 years to renew before you lose your call sign and have to take your test again.

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FCC Part 97.25(a) states: An amateur service license is granted for a 10‑year term. That means the normal license term is ten years. After that you must renew the license; if it expires there is a two‑year grace period during which you cannot operate but may still renew the license.

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The FCC rules (Part 97.21) provide a two-year filing grace period for renewal of an expired amateur station license. The rule states:

A person whose amateur station license grant has expired, may apply for renewal of the license grant for another term during a 2 year filing grace period. The application must be received at the address specified above prior to the end of the grace period. Unless and until the license is renewed, no privileges in this part are conferred.

Thus, the correct renewal grace period is two years. An application to renew must be received before the two-year period ends; until the license is renewed, the operator does not have any amateur privileges under Part 97.

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Your amateur radio privileges begin when the FCC posts your operator/station license grant in its official license database (the ULS). You cannot transmit immediately after finishing the exam because the Volunteer Examiners must submit the test report to the FCC and the FCC must process it and issue the license grant. The license grant will usually appear in the FCC database before you receive any mail from the FCC, and third‑party websites are not the authoritative source for the official license grant.

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"Grace period" refers to the time during which you may renew your license without having to retake exams, not a period that allows continued transmitting.

Once your license has expired you are not authorized to operate a transmitter on the Amateur Radio service. To resume transmitting you must have a current (renewed) license shown in the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS). Renewals through ULS usually take only a few minutes once submitted, and to avoid any lapse in operating privileges you may renew up to 90 days before the license expiration date.

Memory aids:

• "Grace period = renewal without retest, NOT permission to transmit."

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