1. The license itself is free.
2. You may have to pay for study materials and/or licensing classes.
3. Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VEC) and Volunteer Examiners (VE) are allowed to charge a fee to recoup the expenses related to creating exams, reproduction of forms, and travel.
4. 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.

1. No.
2. If you bring your own calculator and if it has a programmable memory, the memory must be cleared before you can take your exam. The VEs will need to inspect it.

1. No! 
2. In fact, all cell phones must be turned off. If it makes any kind of noise you could be dismissed from further participation in the exam session.

1. You don’t.
2. However, you do have to provide it to the Federal Communications Commission.
   • The Debt Collection Act of 1996 requires that anyone applying for or renewing any federally issued license must provide their Taxpayer ID Number (TIN) which is your Social Security Number. 

1. If you don’t want to give your SSN to a bunch of strangers, there is an alternative way and you will still meet the requirement of providing your SSN to the FCC.
   • You may apply for an FCC-assigned Federal Registration Number (FRN) via their secure website and provide it in lieu of your SSN when you apply for your amateur radio license. 
   • You can register your SSN with the FCC and apply for an FRN at this website:
   • Here is a short video describing the process of registering and applying for an FRN. 

1. We strongly recommend that you get an FRN before your take your first license exam.
   • By doing, you don’t have to share your SSN with a bunch of strangers, and it protects us from being exposed to your SSN, which we really don’t want to happen.

1. In a Public Notice dated 17 August 2017, the FCC announced that effective 7 September 2017, a question would be added to the FCC’s multi-purpose Form 605 that asks if the applicant has ever been convicted of a felony. 
2. The FCC stated that the reason for adding this question to this form, is to have consistency across their various application forms.
3. Check out the Felony Question Q&A document for more information about the felony question.

1. A photo ID. (Note: Children without photo IDs may be tested providing that they can prove their identity to the satisfaction of the LARC VEC Team Leader.)
2. An official copy of your current, signed, amateur radio operator’s license. (If you are currently licensed)
3. The original and a copy of any document(s) for which you want to use as element credit. 
4. A positive attitude and some patience. 

Note: The people who are conducting the exam session are dedicated volunteers. They will do their best to assist you and treat you with respect. They will conduct every aspect of the exam session in accordance with the FCC’s rules and the policies of the Laurel VEC as quickly as possible but never at the expense of accuracy and completeness. If you have any questions or complaints, please contact Diane Zimmerman [email protected]

1. An unexpired Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) which indicates the element credits that were earned - Elements 2, 3 and/or 4.
2. A current or expired less than 2 years, Technician class license granted or effective prior to 21 March 1987 - Element 3.
3. An expired Technician license granted or effective prior to March 21, 1987 - Element 3. 
4. An expired and subsequently cancelled General class license - Element 3. 
5. An expired and subsequently cancelled Advanced class license. - Element 3. 
6. An expired and subsequently cancelled Amateur Extra class license - Elements 3 and 4. 

Note: A CSCE is valid for 365 days from the date the CSCE was issued

1. The original and a photocopy of an unexpired CSCE.
2. The original or official copy and a photocopy of an expired and subsequently cancelled license.
3. A reference copy of an expired and subsequently cancelled license from the FCC ULS website.
4. 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.
5. A photocopy of a page from the QRZ call sign database indicating the applicant previously held a Technician class license with an Effective Date prior to 21 March 1987. 
6. 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.

Note: 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. However, 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

1. It depends on your current status.
2. Show up to an exam session and explain what you want to do.
3. You must provide proof that you are eligible for the element credit(s) and copies of your element credit.
4. 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.
5. 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; inspect the original version of your current, unexpired license and other applicable documentation; and provide copies of your current, unexpired license and other applicable documentation.
• 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 examinerswill 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 of which 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 an existing license, as applicable, 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.
  • 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.

1. 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.
2. Until your upgrade is shown in the FCC’s 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.
3. When transmitting using your new privileges via phone (e.g., voice), you must identify yourself as follows:
   1. Upgraded to Technician - Say your call sign followed by the words "temporary" or "Interim" KT or Kilo Tango. Example: “This is WN4FUI temporary Kilo Tango (or KT)”. 
   2. Upgraded to General - Say your call sign followed by the words "temporary" or "Interim" AG or Alpha Golf. Example: “This is WN4FUI temporary AG (or Alpha Golf)”.
   3. Upgraded to Amateur Extra - Say your call sign followed by the words "temporary" or "Interim" AE or Alpha Echo. Example: “This is WN4FUI temporary AE (or Alpha Echo)”.
4. When transmitting using your new privileges via CW (Morse code) or Digital modes including images, you must identify yourself as follows:
   • Your call sign followed by a slant bar and the appropriate suffix: 
     • WN4FUI/KT 
     • WN4FUI/AG
     • WN4FUI/AE
5. Once your upgrade is in the FCC database, you may drop the suffix when using your new privileges.

1. You can start operating as soon as your license grant is shown in the FCC's ULS license database.
   • Depending on the coordinating VEC, this can take 7-14 days or longer following your exam date.
   • The Laurel VEC typically submits exam results the next business day so that new licenses appear in the ULS database 1-2 business days following the exam date.

Note: If you included an email address on your 605 form and the ULS has processed your information, the FCC will send you an email (From "[email protected]") that has a subject line similar to this: "FCC Application Grant OR Official FCC License". This email will also include a link and instructions that guide you to your new license. You may view, download and save, and print an official copy of your license by following the link provided in that email.

1. 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. 
2. 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 you go home and continue studying.

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

• A current or a current but expired less than two years, Technician class license, that was granted or effective prior to 21 March 1987.
• An expired and subsequently cancelled Technician class license granted or effective prior to 21 March 1987 - Element 3. 
• An expired and subsequently cancelled General class license - Element 3. 
• An expired and subsequently cancelled Advanced class license - Element 3. 
• An expired and subsequently cancelled Amateur Extra class license - 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.