Information for amateur radio licensees
| Amateur Radio Licence Class | Current fees | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Via online applications | Via postal applications if aged under 75 years | Via postal applications if aged 75 years or over | |
Foundation | No fee | £20 | No fee |
Intermediate | No fee | £20 | No fee |
Full | No fee | £20 | No fee |
Full (Club) | No fee | £20 | No fee |
Full (Temporary Reciprocal) | Not available | £20 | No fee |
Guidance for licensees (PDF, 558.8 KB)
Guidance on how to become a radio amateur in the UK (PDF, 207.8 KB)
Licence terms and conditions (PDF, 397.9 KB)
Licence terms and conditions (audio version) (MP3, 51.6 MB)
Policy on temporary call signs and call sign enhancement
(PDF, 230.9 KB)
Amateur Radio licence revocation (PDF, 213.8 KB)
Interference between short range devices and Amateur repeaters (PDF, 34.7 KB)
Use of Amateur Radio overseas by UK Amateur Radio licensees
(PDF, 191.2 KB)
IR 2028 - Amateur Radio licences - foundation, intermediate and full (PDF, 226.5 KB)
Updated 15 October 2018
Callsigns are issued in the following formats:
Foundation licence
Now issuing
M7 + 3 letters
Formerly issued
M3 + 3 Letters
M6 + 3 Letters
Intermediate licence
Currently issuing
2E0 + 3 letters
Formerly issued
2E1 + 3 letters
Full licence callsigns
Currently issuing
M0 + 3 letters
Formerly issued
G1 + 3 letters
G2 + 2 letters
G2 + 3 letters
G3 + 2 letters
G3 + 3 letters
G4 + 2 letters
G4 + 3 letters
G5 + 2 letters
G6 + 2 letters
G6 + 3 letters
G7 + 3 letters
G8 + 2 letters
G8 + 3 letters
G0 + 3 letters
M1 + 3 letters
M5 + 3 letters
An applicant for a new Full Licence (or a Full (Club) Licence) may request a call sign with three trailing letters, using any valid Full Licence prefix in the list, above, except ‘G2’. Call signs using formerly issued prefixes are not available via the licensing portal and must be requested on a paper application form (a fee is payable). A callsign with only two trailing letters or which starts with ‘G2’ is only available if the applicant previously held it. Our policy that a station may change its call sign only in exceptional circumstances remains unchanged though Ofcom may, on occasion, require a station to change its call sign.
You can apply for and issue a Special Event NoV via our Online Licensing System.
Applying for Special Event Station Notice of Variations Online
To apply the following NoVs you will need to complete and application form and send it Spectrum Licensing via post or emails.
- Special, Special Event Station NoV
- Permanent Special Event Station NoV
OfW287 Application for a Notice of Variation (NoV) for a Special Event Call sign PDF, 35.9 KB
- Special research permit
OfW306 Application for an Amateur Radio special research permit PDF, 28.9 KB
Arrangements for special event stations to mark the centenary of the cub scouts and events in the Great War
Variation for a special contest callsign
The RSGB processes applications for Special contest callsigns for Ofcom, although it remains Ofcom's decision on whether or not to grant a variation.
Who may apply for a Notice of Variation? (PDF, 187.2 KB)
Special Event Stations and COVID-19
An Amateur Radio Special Event Station (‘SES’) is designed as a showcase for the hobby. As a consequence, it is a qualifying requirement that an SES be open to members of the public, to maximise the hobby’s exposure.
However, in light of the guidance from HM Government on the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be both unreasonable and undesirable to continue to impose this restriction.
Until further notice, therefore, Ofcom is relaxing the requirement that Special Event Stations be open to members of the public. Applicants may therefore disregard that requirement in the application form and on the online portal. We shall amend the application form and the online portal to remove it. If your NoV shows the original intended location of the SES, there is no need to get the NoV changed to show the actual location.
SES NoVs are available for immediate download and free of charge from our online portal. If you submit a paper application, it will take significantly longer than normal to process it, in light of the current disruption. You may not therefore get your NoV in time for your event. If you do not currently use our licensing portal, registering is a simple process https://ofcom.force.com/licensingcomlogin.
The requirement that a station be open to the public is also relaxed for Special Special Event Stations. Again, there is no need to get the location in NoV changed. However, the other qualifying requirements for a Special Special Event Station remain:
- An SSES must be applied for in writing; it is not available from the online portal
- It must be associated with a non-amateur radio event or commemoration
- That non-amateur radio event must be of national significance
- The organisers of that non-amateur radio event must agree to the amateur radio SSES being associated with their event
American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
Emerging Technology Coordination Committee (ETCC)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
International Shortwave League
Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB)
Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) 5MHz Working Group
The International Amateur Radio Union
Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) Contests Committee
Frequently asked questions
A licence remains valid unless we notify the licensee that the licence has been formally revoked. If we wish to revoke a licence, we must follow a prescribed process. This is set down in legislation (Schedule 1 to the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, as amended). We must formally notify you of our proposal to revoke your licence and allow you to make representations about that proposal, within a set period of time. That notification will include reasons for the proposal. At the end of the period for representations, we have a month to reach our decision though we may not need that long. We must notify you of our decision within a week of making it. If we decide to revoke your licence, only then will it be revoked and it remains valid until then. If you use your station after your licence has been revoked you commit an offence. On conviction, you risk a fine, imprisonment and the forfeiture of your station.
If we have issued a reciprocal licence against a bilateral (or similar) agreement with a country that has not signed up to the CEPT recommendation, it is a (Temporary Reciprocal) licence. Licensees will not receive a UK call sign, they will use their own callsign issued to them by the licensing authority of their own country. The licence is only valid for a period of six months.
To apply for a (Temporary Reciprocal) licence you will need to complete a paper application form (PDF, 645.5 KB). Please note paper applications incur a £20 administration fee.
If you choose to apply online, it can take up to 10 working days for Ofcom to receive your candidate number from the Radio Society of Great Britain.
To apply for a Club licence, the applicant must be a full licence holder and be supported by 2 other nominated full licence holders. You can now apply for Club licences online, provided you have registered with our online licensing service.
If the individual club licensee has died in the last five years, the other two members who countersigned the application (or, if either or both of them have died or moved on, two duly appointed officers of the club) should write to us jointly and let us know, so that we can cancel that licence. If the notification is accompanied by a fresh application, we shall endeavour to issue the same call sign to the club to ensure continuity.
If the individual Club licensee has become estranged from the other members of the club in the past five years, then the other members must apply for a fresh licence. That will probably entail issuing a fresh call sign.
If you want to amend the details of your individual licence (Foundation, Intermediate, Full, or Full (Club), perhaps to notify us of a new address or telephone number, you can do so using our online licensing service.
If you want to amend any detail of a Full (Temporary Reciprocal) licence the you hold, you must complete and sign the Of346a amendment form (PDF, 758.2 KB) and either post it to us or scan it and email it to spectrum.licensing@ofcom.org.uk
No.
The current Ofcom policy, based on our international obligations, is that a call sign, once issued, remains with a station for the life of that station.
Licences are valid indefinitely, unless surrendered by the licensee or revoked by Ofcom. It is the responsibility of the licensee to confirm to us that your details (name, address and so on) remain valid.
To validate your licence, you will need to log in to the Online Licensing System. An on screen prompt will appear asking you to check and update or confirm your details, to do this use the Verify my details button.