# Get a US ham radio licence (Technician) > Pass the 35-question Technician exam, pay the FCC's $35 fee, and hold a callsign within about two weeks — the whole path from zero to on the air. - **Section:** Licences & certifications · **Region:** US · **Difficulty:** easy - **Time:** 2–4 weeks of study · exam day 1–2 hours · callsign within ~2 weeks of passing - **Cost:** $35 FCC fee + $0–15 exam session fee - **You end up with:** An FCC Technician Class licence and a callsign, valid 10 years - **Last reviewed:** 2026-09-05 · **Canonical:** https://for.do/p/ham-radio-technician-licence-us/ ## Before you start - An FCC Registration Number (FRN) from the FCC CORES system — free, takes ten minutes, needed before exam day - A government photo ID for the exam session The Technician licence is the entry ticket to amateur radio in the United States: every frequency above 30 MHz, including the VHF/UHF bands where local repeaters, satellites and the International Space Station live. The exam is public — every one of the roughly 400 possible questions and their answers is published in advance — so passing is a matter of a few weeks of drilling, not a course. ## 1. Get an FRN before anything else An FCC Registration Number is your identity in the FCC's system and it is mandatory on the exam paperwork. - [ ] Go to the FCC CORES site (apps.fcc.gov/cores) and create a username account. - [ ] Register a new FRN under that account. It is issued immediately and is free. - [ ] Write the ten-digit FRN down; you will need it on exam day and for the payment step. ## 2. Study the current question pool, not last year's The Technician (Element 2) pool in force from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2030 has about 410 questions across ten subelements: rules, operating, radio waves, station setup, electrical principles, components, antennas, safety and so on. - [ ] Pick one study tool built on the 2026–2030 pool: HamStudy.org (free, web and app), the ARRL Technician manual, or Ham Radio Prep. - [ ] Drill until practice exams sit consistently above 85%. The pass mark is 26 of 35 (74%); a margin absorbs exam nerves. - [ ] Give the "radio wave characteristics" and "safety" subelements a real read — they carry the most questions people guess at. Two to four weeks of 20–30 minutes a day is the usual budget for someone with no electronics background. ## 3. Find an exam session Exams are given by Volunteer Examiner (VE) teams of three or more licensed amateurs, coordinated by a VEC such as ARRL or W5YI. - [ ] Search the ARRL exam finder or the W5YI-VEC session list for an in-person or remote (video) session. - [ ] Register with the team in advance; remote sessions in particular are pre-scheduled and capped. - [ ] Ask what the session fee is. Many ARRL-VEC teams charge $15; some clubs charge nothing. ## 4. Sit the exam - [ ] Bring photo ID, your FRN, and a pencil. Calculators are allowed if their memory is cleared. - [ ] Answer all 35 questions. There is no penalty for wrong answers. - [ ] If you pass, you can immediately attempt the General exam at the same session for no extra charge — many candidates do, having studied both pools. You leave with a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE). It is not the licence yet. ## 5. Pay the FCC's $35 within 10 days The VE team files your application electronically. The FCC then emails the address on your FRN with a payment link. - [ ] Watch the inbox (and spam) for the "Notice of Application Fee" email — usually within a day or two of the session. - [ ] Pay $35 through the FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS) payment page. Only the FCC takes this fee; nobody at the session does. - [ ] Miss the 10-day window and the application is dismissed and you re-file. ## 6. Get your callsign and get on the air - [ ] Search the ULS licence database for your name a few days after paying; the callsign appears there before any paper arrives. - [ ] Download the official licence PDF from ULS (the FCC no longer mails paper by default). - [ ] Program a local repeater into a handheld and make your first contact. Your licence is good for ten years. ## Where people get this wrong - Studying an old question pool. The Technician pool is replaced every four years; the 2026–2030 pool took effect on 1 July 2026. Practice apps that are not updated will drill you on retired questions. - Paying the $35 to the exam team. The FCC fee is paid online to the FCC after the exam, when you get the payment email from the Universal Licensing System — the exam team's $15 (or nothing) is a separate, local charge. - Missing the FCC payment email. It goes to the email on your FRN, and you have 10 days from the notice to pay or the application is dismissed. - Arriving without your FRN. Since 2021 an FRN is required on the exam form; a Social Security number is no longer accepted in its place. ## Questions **Do I need Morse code?** No. Morse code has not been required for any US amateur licence since 2007. **Can I take the exam online?** Yes. Several VE groups run remote sessions over video with the same 35-question exam; search for remote sessions on the ARRL or W5YI exam finders. **How long is the licence valid?** Ten years. Renewal is free apart from the FCC's $35 application fee, and there is no re-examination. ## Tools used - [HamStudy.org](https://find.do/t/hamstudy/) — Free flashcards and practice exams from the current FCC question pools. - [Anki](https://find.do/t/anki/) — Spaced-repetition flashcards, free on desktop and Android. - [FCC CORES (FRN)](https://find.do/t/fcc-cores/) (official) — Where a US ham applicant gets the FCC Registration Number required on exam day. - [ARRL exam session finder](https://find.do/t/arrl-exam-search/) — Find in-person and remote Volunteer Examiner sessions. ## Sources - [NCVEC — Amateur question pools (Technician 2026–2030)](https://www.ncvec.org/index.php/amateur-question-pools) - [ARRL — FCC application fee](https://www.arrl.org/fcc-application-fee) - [FCC — Amateur radio examinations](https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/amateur-radio-service/examinations) - [HamStudy — the 2026 Technician pool](https://blog.hamstudy.org/2025/12/the-2026-us-technician-question-pool-is-here/)