The FCC charges an application fee of $35 to:

• Apply for a new amateur radio license.
• Renew an existing license.
• Change the station call sign of an existing license.

(NOTE: This fee is paid online directly to the FCC. The Laurel VEC does not collect or handle this fee in any way.)

You may have to pay for study materials and/or licensing classes.

Some Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VEC) and Volunteer Examiners (VE) charge a fee to recoup the expenses related to creating exams, reproduction of forms, and travel.

The Laurel VEC and its VEs DO NOT charge any fees for any licensing related services (e.g., Exams, renewals, administrative updates, etc) and never have.

Every person applying for a new amateur radio license, to renew or upgrade an existing license, or to make any other changes to an existing license must provide certain information. Some of the information is required by the FCC Rules and some is required for the VEC to sucessfully process the application.

You will be required to provide:

• The purpose of your application (new license, upgrade, renewal, etc.).
• Your FCC Registration Number (FRN).
• Your name.
• Your mailing address (must be in the U.S. or its territories).
• A valid e-mail address.
• If already licensed, your class of license and station call sign.
• Whether you have ever been convicted of a felony.
  • If the answer is "Yes", you will also be required to provide an explanation of the conviction directly to the FCC (not to the VE Team). See the Felony Question Info page for more information.
• Whether you have another amateur radio application on file that has not been acted on by the FCC.
  • You will need to provide the file number and purpose of the previous application.

Maybe. It is best to contact the team and ask them. But you can bring your own just in case.

No. However, if you bring your own calculator and it has a programmable memory, the memory must be cleared before you can take your exam. The VEs will need to verify that the memory has been cleared.

No! In fact, all cell phones must be turned off. If you use your phone in any way, or if it makes any kind of noise, you could be prohibited from further participation in the exam session.

Yes.

No, FRNs do not expire.

No. FRNs that begin with the digits "213" are Restricted Use FRNs and cannot be used for an Amateur Radio application. You will have to apply for a regular FRN.

In a Public Notice dated 17 August 2017, the FCC announced that effective 7 September 2017, a question would be added to the FCCs multi-purpose Form 605 that asks if the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony.

The FCC stated that the reason for adding this question to this form, is to have consistency across their various application forms.

Check out the Felony Question Info page for more information about the felony question.

You will need to bring:

• A photo ID. (Note: Children without photo IDs may be tested providing that they can prove their identity to the satisfaction of the members of the VE team.)
• The original and a copy of any document(s) which you want to use as element credit. 
• A positive attitude and some patience.

The available element credits are:

• An unexpired Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) which indicates which element credits were earned - Elements 2, 3, and/or 4.
• A current or expired Technician class license that was granted prior to 21 March 1987 - Element 3.
• A General class license that expired more then 2 years ago - Element 3. 
• An Advanced class license that expired more then 2 years ago - Element 3. 
• An Amateur Extra class license that expired more then 2 years ago - Elements 3 and 4. 

To claim one or more of these credits, you must provide one of the following as proof of the credit:

• The original and a photocopy of an unexpired CSCE.
• Note: A CSCE is valid for 365 days from the date that it was issued.
• A photocopy of an expired license.
• The original and a photocopy of a letter from the FCC that states the applicant was previously licensed, the effective date of the license, and class of license.
• A photocopy of a page from the QRZ call sign database indicating the applicant previously held a General, Advanced, or Amateur Extra license, or a Technician class license with an Effective Date prior to 21 March 1987.
• A photocopy of the cover and applicable pages from a Flying Horse Radio Amateur Callbook of North America Listings that indicate the applicant's name, class of former license, and date of publication.
• The 1987 publication was published on 1 December 1986 and can be used for verifying that a Technician class license was effective prior to 21 March 1987.
• The 1987 supplement which was published on 1 June 1987 cannot be used since there is no way to verify the effective date of a Technician class license listed in that publication.
• License classes were added in the listings sometime between 1 March 1966 and 1 September 1967.
• Publication of the Flying Horse callbooks ceased in 1997.
• Some copies are available on-line

• You must provide copies of your proof of element credit.
• If you are currently unlicensed, you must pass the Element 2 (Technician exam) before you can apply any element credit. You may also take another exam element if desired and based on your element credit.
  • The VEs will verify the validity of your element credit and apply it to your application with any element exams you may have passed and submit it to the FCC.
  • The FCC will grant your new license based on you having passed the Element 2 exam and any other exams, and the element credit that was applied to your application.
• If you are currently licensed, you may also take other exam elements if desired and based on your current license class and element credit.
  • The VEs will verify the validity of your element credit and apply it to your application with any element exams you may have passed and submit it to the FCC.
  • The FCC will grant your new license based on your current license and having passed any other exams, and the element credit that was applied to your application.

The sessions will vary somewhat between teams but generally speaking, the session will be conducted as follows:

• Registration - You will be asked to complete one or two forms; show your photo ID, and provide a copy of any documents used for element credit (CSCE, expired license, etc.).
• The exam - You will probably be given some pre-exam instructions regarding the use of calculators, procedures for asking questions, rules for taking the exam, policy regarding retesting, bathroom breaks during the exam, etc.
  • If you are taking more than one exam you may take them in any order. Just let the examiners know your preference.
  • The examiners will continuously monitor you while you take your exam(s).
  • The Technician and General exams each contain 35 multiple choice questions. You must correctly answer 26 questions to pass (74.2%).
  • The Amateur Extra exam contains 50 multiple choice questions. You must correctly answer 37 (74%) to pass.
• Grading - Once you've completed your exam, it will be graded, and you will be informed of the result.
  • Once you are done taking exams, ff you passed you will receive a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) indicating which element(s) you've passed and, if appropriate, which license class you've earned.
  • If you didn't pass the exam, the VEs may, at their discretion, allow you to take a second exam.
• Paperwork preparation and signing - Once you have completed your exams and, if you passed any exams and/or have element credit that can be applied to your application for a new license or modification of an existing license, the VE team will prepare the necessary paperwork and then, after reviewing all of your paperwork to ensure that it is 100% complete and accurate, they will sign it and make certain that have you have signed the application.
  • If you didn't pass any exam elements, have no element credit, and did not request that your existing license be renewed, your call sign systematically changed, and or did not request any administrative changes to your license, your application and any documentation you provided will be returned to you and you will be excused from the exam session.
• Certificate presentation - After all of the paperwork has been signed by the VE team, you will be presented with a CSCE which you must sign. The CSCE will indicate which element exams, if any, that you passed, and the class of license, if any, for which you are qualified. Please review the CSCE for accuracy and completeness before you depart.

Note: The VE team will strive to score your test, inform you of the results, and process your paperwork as quickly as possible. The size of the test session and the number of VEs on-hand will be factors in how quickly this gets done. Please be patient.

§97.509(k) of the FCC Rules states, "The administering VEs must accommodate an examinee whose physical disabilities require a special examination procedure. The administering VEs may require a physician's certification indicating the nature of the disability before determining which, if any, special procedures must be used."

The special examination procedures may include, but are not limited to:

• Reading the questions to the examinee.
• Marking the answer sheet for the examinee after they have stated their answer.
• Conducting a special examination session at the applicant's home.

Applicants with disabilities that will require special examination procedures should always check with the VE team in advance to be certain that the team will be able to provide the necessary accommodations.

No! While a few VECs do offer online testing, the Laurel VEC does not. All examinees must be physically in the presence of three administering VEs at all times.

Maybe. The FCC does not require VEs to let you retake a failed exam. The decision to let you take a second exam during the same test session after failing a previous attempt is up to the VE team.

The team will make their decision based on several factors which include, but are not limited to the following:

• How long the facility is available for use.
• The number of applicants being processed.
• The number of VEs available and for how long they are available.
• How badly you failed the previous exam.
  • For example: If you missed passing by one or two questions, a team may let you take another exam (a different version, of course). On the other hand, if you missed passing by six or seven questions, the team may not allow you to retest and suggest that you go home and continue studying.

When you upgrade to a higher class of license, you may begin operating with your new privileges immediately after you receive a CSCE that indicates that you are qualified for a new license class.

Until your upgrade is shown in the FCC ULS database, whenever you transmit using your new privileges (e.g., new frequencies and/or modes authorized by your new license class), you must identify yourself by appending your call sign with the appropriate suffix.

When transmitting using your new privileges via phone (e.g., voice), you must identify yourself as follows:

• Upgraded to Technician - Say your call sign followed by the words "temporary" or "Interim" KT or Kilo Tango. Example: This is KX9ABC temporary Kilo Tango (or KT).
• Upgraded to General - Say your call sign followed by the words "temporary" or "Interim" AG or Alpha Golf. Example: This is KX9ABC temporary AG (or Alpha Golf).
• Upgraded to Amateur Extra - Say your call sign followed by the words "temporary" or "Interim" AE or Alpha Echo. Example: This is KX9ABC temporary AE (or Alpha Echo).

When transmitting using your new privileges via CW (Morse code) or Digital modes including images, you must identify yourself with your call sign followed by a slant bar and the appropriate suffix:

• Upgraded to Technician - KX9ABC/KT
• Upgraded to General - KX9ABC/AG
• Upgraded to Amateur Extra - KX9ABC/AE

Once your upgrade is in the FCC database, you may drop the suffix when using your new privileges.

You can start operating as soon as your license grant is shown in the FCC's ULS license database. This normally occurs the next business day after you pay the application fee.

No. While Morse code is still a popular mode of communication among hams, the FCC dropped the Morse code requirement effective 23 February 2007.

The FCC rules allow current and former licensees to earn lifetime exam element credit based on amateur radio licenses.

• A current or expired Technician class license that was granted or effective prior to 21 March 1987 gives credit for Element 3.
• An expired General class license gives credit for Element 3.
• An expired Advanced class license gives credit for Element 3.
• An expired Amateur Extra class license gives credit for Elements 3 and 4.

Note: If you are currently unlicensed, you must pass the Element 2 (Technician) exam before you can apply any grandfathered element credit.