The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a $50 fee for each application for an amateur radio license, under Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued by the Commission in late August.
According to a posting on the website of the ARRL, the NPRM is intended to implement portions of the “Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Service Act” of 2018, otherwise known as “Ray Baum’s Act.” The ARRL notes that the Act requires the FCC to switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee structure to a cost-based system of assessment. Under the Act, amateur radio services have been exempt from regulatory fees but not from application fees.
In addition to the $50 application fee, the NPRM would require amateur radio operators to pay an additional $50 fee for a printed copy of their amateur license.
Read the ARRL posting regarding the FCC’s NPRM.
Read the complete text of the NPRM on the FCC’s proposed schedule of application fees.
Interested parties can file comments in connection with the NPRM using the FCC’s Electron Comment Filing System (ECFS) (reference MD Docket No. 20-270).
