GMRS Licensing Information

You must have an FCC-authorized GMRS license (or be an eligible station operator under someone else's existing GMRS license), or be authorized to operate under a "temporary callsign," before you may legally transmit with a GMRS radio. Due to recent changes in FCC Rules and licensing fees, the licensing instructions that accompany virtually all GMRS radio models, meager as they are, are now out of date or incomplete.

Over the past three decades of our service to the GMRS community, we have distributed more information and literature about GMRS licensing than about any other single subject. Our Web pages about licensing are now receiving more than 50,000 "hits" per year. Fortunately, some members of the GMRS user community have taken on the initiative of creating and maintaining Web pages about the latest licensing policies and procedures.

Since you have a computer and an Internet capability, you can initiate the license application process by following the steps now described in Ben Gore's comprehensive, step-by-step instructions.

Latest Updates on GMRS Licensing

August 21, 2994

• As of August 10, 2004, the "application fee" for a new or renewed GMRS license) increased from $$50 to $55. For a five-year GMRS license, this results in a $5 increase, from $75 to $80.

September 2, 2001

• As of September 10, 2000, the "regulatory fee" (the time-based "user fee" for a GMRS license) will REDUCE from $7/year to $5/year. For a five-year GMRS license, this results in a $10 reduction, from $85 to $75 for a new or renewed license.

August 10, 2000

• As of September 11, 2000, the "application fee" for GMRS applications increases to $50. (It has been $45 for several years now.)

August 13, 1999

• As of this date, the FCC no longer accepts the FCC Form 574 for GMRS applications.

April 5, 1999

• The FCC released a Public Notice (quoted in its entirety above [deleted]) that outlines the new licensing procedures to be used under the rules adopted in the ULS docket.

January 30, 1999

• The FCC has recently adopted new rules for the GMRS, and is about to implement a new method of electronic licensing. Paper-based licensing will still be retained. A description of the new rules is on a new page.

September 9, 1998

• The annual "user fee" will jump from $5 to $6 for applications received on and after September 14, 1998. This will increase the total fee for new or renewed licenses from $70 to $75 ($45 application fee, plus [$6/year for 5 years] $30 for the user fee). The fee for license modification ($45 application) will not be affected, since the FCC does not assess a user fee during modifications filed more than three months before the license's current expiration date. If your current GMRS license expires before December 14, 1998, you can save $5 by submitting your renewal so that it arrives at the Pittsburgh "drop box" before the September 14 deadline.

May 5, 1998

• The FCC has extended the deadline for submitting comments to its proposal to implement a new "Universal Licensing System" (ULS) until May 22. The deadline for submitting replies to others' comments is now June 8. More information about this important FCC consideration follows below.

May 1, 1998

• A discussion of the background, impact and implications of the FCC's NPRM to implement a new "Universal Licensing System" (ULS) is available on [deleted]. These proposed changes, if implemented, would have a radical impact on the GMRS as it is currently used. A paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the current GMRS rules and those that the FCC has [recently adopted] in this docket is also available.

March 19, 1998

• The FCC today released a massive Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to implement a new "Universal Licensing System" (ULS) in most of its numerous radio services. Scope of the proposals includes the GMRS and all of the other Private Land Mobile Radio Services. In the NPRM, the FCC proposes substantive policy changes for GMRS beyond merely licensing, including again the introduction of "all-channel" licensing for GMRS. (The FCC had proposed all-channel licensing in its 1987 rulemaking that eventually adopted today's current restrictions on licensing eligibility, but dropped that proposal in the face of massive user opposition.)

March 1, 1998

• The FCC has begun the inquiry required by Congress in the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996. If you are a GMRS licensee, you may have already received one of these inquiry letters (FCC Form 606). The Congressional intent seems to have been to tie debt collection and potentially other federal government actions (including Internal Revenue Service actions!) to the FCC licensing process. In the past, when the FCC has imposed monetary violations for violation of FCC Rules, some violators have just ignored those fines. Federal prosecutors have sometimes seemed reluctant to enforce this debt collection ("it's just too low a priority," they may have felt). The "Big Brother-ish nature" of this new information collection was mandated by Congress, so don't blame the FCC (at least, not entirely!) this time. There will be more information in the upcoming March 1998 PRE newsletter.

February 20, 1998

• The FCC will shortly release an NPRM ("Notice of Proposed Rulemaking") that proposes to incorporate GMRS into the "Universal Licensing System," an automated licensing system now in development. If the changes that we expect the FCC to propose are adopted, applicants for a new, modified or renewed GMRS license will be able to apply electronically. We can anticipate certain changes specific to GMRS, including a simplification of the technical information required for most GMRS stations. There will be more information in the upcoming March 1998 PRE newsletter.

January 28, 1998

• We have received separate reports in recent days that the FCC has returned GMRS applications filed on the older (pre-September 1995) FCC Form 574 version (14 inches long, printed green-on-white). Applicants thought that the FCC would now accept only the September 1995 version of the 574 (11 inches long, printed black-on-white). Our inquiry to the FCC indicates that they will continue to accept the older version, and that this is unlikely to change in the immediate future. Applications are being returned if they are not accompanied by an FCC Form 159. The FCC will also return applications filed by ineligible entities, along with a copy of the FCC Form 600 and instructions that these entities are not eligible to license in GMRS, and must instead license in one of the Part 90 services.

January 14, 1998

• As of January 1, 1998, the FCC requires that all distances and heights provided on the FCC Form 574 be in metric units. Previously, applicants using the older (pre-9/95) 14-inch long, green-on-white versions could provide these measurements in either English or metric, but only if the applicant indicated the particular unit of measure.

• As of December 15, 1997, the FCC requires that all GMRS applicants also complete and submit a copy of the FCC Form 159 along with their FCC Form 574. To obtain an FCC Form 159, call the FCC's automated "Forms Line" (1-800-418-3676) or the FCC's "Consumer's Assistance Line" (1-888-CALL-FCC). If you have access to a local FAX machine, you can also download a copy from the FCC's FAX-on-Demand service: (202) 418-0177.