Applying for Special Event Station Notice of Variations Online
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
You can also download a pdf user guide (PDF, 504.1 KB)
Visit https://ofcom.force.com/licensingcomlogin
Enter your email address and password then click Login.
Under the My Licences section click the “Apply for a new licence” button.
Select Amateur Radio then click next.
Select “NoV Special Event Station” from the drop down list then click next.
Only licensees who hold an Amateur Full or Amateur Club Radio licence can apply for a NoV Special Event Station.
From the drop down list select the licence the NoV will be associated to.
Enter the desired call sign suffix then click “Check Call Sign Availability”.
Example: If the desired call sign is “GB0ABC” you will need to enter “0ABC” in this box.
"GB" is the prefix of a special event call sign and will be automatically applied to your call sign. Call signs that fall outside the normal format will need to be submitted in a separate request to Spectrum Licensing.
If the call sign is available, the following message will appear.
If the call sign is not available, the following message will appear. You will need to choose a different call sign.
Complete all other mandatory fields then click next.
The NoV duration can be no longer than 28 days.
The NoV can be applied for no earlier than six months before the NoV start date.
You must accept the terms and conditions by selecting “I accept Terms & Conditions” from the drop down box, then click Finish.
The NoV document will be automatically emailed to you via the licensing system. Please allow a few minutes for this to happen. If the email does not come through, check your junk and spam folders.
To view NoVs from the home page, go to “View my licences”
Hover over the relevant licence and click View.
NoVs will be displayed at the bottom of the screen in a table. You can view the NoV document by clicking the 
icon.
Only active NoVs will be displayed. Once they have expired you will no longer have visibility of them.