How to get your ham radio license in 2026, step by step
Everything you need to get your Technician ham radio license in 2026: what to study, getting an FRN, finding an exam, the $35 FCC fee, and getting on the air.
By Jared, KG5OSL, licensed ham and creator of My HAM Hub · November 3, 2026
Getting a ham radio license is easier than most people expect. There's no Morse code, no age limit, and the test is 35 multiple-choice questions drawn from a public list of every question that can appear. With a couple of weeks of steady study, most people pass on the first try.
I'm KG5OSL, a ham here in Baton Rouge, and I built My HAM Hub to make this part easier. Here's the whole process, start to finish, for 2026.
The short version
- Pick the Technician license. It's where nearly everyone starts.
- Study the official question pool until you're scoring well on practice exams.
- Get a free FCC Registration Number (FRN) online.
- Take the exam with a volunteer examiner team, in person or online. You need 26 of 35 right.
- Pay the $35 FCC fee when the FCC emails you. Your call sign shows up online, usually within a few days to two weeks.
Total cost: about $35 to $50. Total time: often 2 to 4 weeks from starting to study to having your call sign.
Step 1: Pick your license
The US has three license classes. Each one is its own exam, and you take them in order.
| License | Exam | What it lets you do |
|---|---|---|
| Technician | 35 questions, 26 to pass | All amateur frequencies above 30 MHz, including the 2 meter and 70 cm bands most local repeaters use, plus a little HF (voice on part of 10 meters, Morse on a few bands). |
| General | 35 questions, 26 to pass | Most of the HF bands, for contacts across the country and around the world. |
| Amateur Extra | 50 questions, 37 to pass | Every amateur privilege. |
Start with Technician. It gets you on local repeaters and nets, which is where most new hams spend their first months, and it's the license you need before you can take General. If you catch the bug, General is the next step.
Not sure ham radio is for you yet? The New to Ham Radio guide covers what hams actually do on the air, from first contacts to checking into a net.
Step 2: Study the question pool
Every question that can appear on your exam comes from a public question pool written by the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC). The Technician pool has about 410 questions, split into 35 groups. Your exam takes one question from each group.
Make sure you study the current pool. A new Technician pool took effect on July 1, 2026, and it's used for every Technician exam through June 30, 2030. About 30 old questions were removed, 27 are new, and many were reworded, so older books and apps can leave gaps. Here's what changed in 2026.
What works for most people:
- Learn a little, then answer questions on it. Reading a short lesson and then answering the questions it covers sticks far better than memorizing hundreds of answers cold.
- Know why each answer is right. It's what gets you through a question when the wording feels different on exam day.
- Go back over your misses. Spend your time on the questions you get wrong, not the ones you already know.
- Take full practice exams. When you're passing practice exams comfortably (30 or more out of 35 a few times in a row), you're ready to book a session.
- Study a little every day. Twenty to thirty minutes a day for two or three weeks beats one long cram session. Here's a day-by-day two-week plan.
That's exactly how the My HAM Hub Technician course works: short lessons with the real exam questions after each page, an explanation for every answer, a Smart Drill that brings back the questions you miss, and full practice exams with an estimate of your chance of passing. The first lessons are free.
You can also browse every Technician question group with its correct answers, free.
Step 3: Get your FRN
Before your exam, register with the FCC for a free FCC Registration Number (FRN). It's a 10-digit number that identifies you in every FCC system, and the examiners will ask for it. Getting one first also keeps your Social Security number off the exam paperwork.
- Go to FCC CORES and create a username (your email address) and password.
- Choose "Register New FRN," then "an individual."
- Enter your name, mailing address and contact details, and save your FRN.
Use an email address you check. The FCC sends everything by email now: the payment link after your exam and your license itself.
Step 4: Take the exam
Exams are given by teams of Volunteer Examiners (VEs), licensed hams who give exams for free in their spare time. You can test in person or online.
- In person: local clubs hold sessions at libraries, churches and emergency operations centers, often once a month. Find one with the ARRL exam session search or HamStudy's session list.
- Online: several VE teams give exams over video. You'll usually need a computer with a webcam and microphone, a quiet room with nobody else in it, and a phone or second camera so the examiners can see your workspace. Sessions are listed on the same sites.
What to bring (or have ready online):
- A photo ID
- Your FRN
- The session fee, if there is one (often around $15, and some sessions are free; check the listing for how to pay)
- A pencil and a basic calculator for in-person sessions, if the team allows them
The examiners grade your test on the spot, so you'll know right away. If you pass, they send your results to the FCC for you. If you don't, you can usually try again, and each exam is a new random draw from the pool.
Feeling confident? If you pass Technician, many teams let you try General at the same session.
If you're nervous, don't be. On my exam day the examiners were friendly and welcoming, and the whole thing wasn't stressful at all. After I finished the Technician exam, they told me I could, and should, go ahead and take the General exam too. While I did not pass the General exam, I was surprised at how close I was able to come without studying for it. Volunteer examiners want you to pass, and most of them remember their own first exam.
Step 5: Pay the FCC and get your call sign
Within a few days after your exam, the FCC emails you a link to pay the $35 application fee. Pay it in CORES within 10 days, or the application is dismissed. (If that happens, your passed exam still counts for a year, and the examiners can resubmit it.)
Once you pay, the FCC issues your call sign. It usually appears in the FCC's license database (ULS) within a few days to two weeks, and you'll get a second email with a link to download your license. You can transmit as soon as your call sign shows up in the database. There's no paper license in the mail.
Your license is good for 10 years. Upgrading later to General or Extra has no FCC fee; renewing after 10 years costs the same $35. Once your call sign is in your My HAM Hub Profile, you can turn on renewal reminder emails so you never miss it.
What it costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| FRN registration | Free |
| Study material | Free to about $30 |
| Exam session fee | Often around $15, sometimes free |
| FCC application fee | $35 |
| First radio (dual-band handheld) | About $25 to $60 to start |
All in, you can be licensed for about $35 to $50, plus a radio. A basic dual-band handheld is plenty to get started on your local repeaters. Here's every cost in detail.
After you're licensed
- Look yourself up. Search your new call sign on the Friends tab to see your FCC record, then add it to your Profile.
- Pick a first radio. Here are four good budget handhelds.
- Program your local repeaters. Import your area's repeaters on the Repeaters tab and export a CHIRP file to load them into your radio in one step.
- Make your first contact. The New to Ham Radio guide has exactly what to say.
- Check into a net. Nets are scheduled on-air meetings, and new hams are always welcome. Save the ones near you on the Nets tab to get a reminder before each one.
- Keep going. When you want to talk across the country, the General course is the next step.
Questions people ask
Do I need to learn Morse code?
No. The FCC dropped the Morse code requirement in 2007. Every license class is a written, multiple-choice exam. Many hams learn Morse later for fun, but it isn't on any exam.
Is there an age limit?
No. There's no minimum or maximum age. Kids as young as 5 or 6 have passed the Technician exam, and plenty of people get licensed in retirement.
Do I have to be a US citizen?
No. Anyone except a representative of a foreign government can hold a US amateur license, but the FCC needs a US mailing address where you can receive mail.
How long is a ham radio license good for?
Ten years. You renew it online in the FCC's License Manager, starting 90 days before it expires, for the same $35 fee. If it lapses, there's a two-year grace period to renew, but you can't transmit until it's renewed.
What happens if I fail the exam?
You can take it again, often the same day at the same session for another session fee, or at a later session. Each exam is drawn at random from the pool, so you'll see different questions.
Can I take more than one exam in a day?
Yes. If you pass the Technician exam, many VE teams will let you try the General exam at the same session, and some let you keep going to Amateur Extra.
How long until I can get on the air?
As soon as your call sign shows up in the FCC's license database (ULS). After you pay the FCC fee, that's usually within a few days to two weeks. You don't need to wait for anything in the mail.