Get Your Amateur Radio License

All ARES/RACES/ACS members need to have a valid FCC amateur radio license to use a radio on frequencies assigned to amateur radio by the FCC. There are many options for learning the necessary rules and taking the license exam. Santa Clara County ARES/RACES/ACS does not recommned any particular method or provider; the options provided below are to help you find a study and testing option that best meets your individual needs.

There are currently three classes of FCC licenses used by Amateur Radio: Technician, General, and Extra. If you are obtaining your license for emergency communication purposes, such as CERT or ARES/RACES/ACS, the Technician class license is all that you will need in most cases.

Self-study options include study manuals and practice tests.

If you want to study on your own and then take the license exam, there is an exam just about every weekend somewhere in the Bay Area.

A popular option is a “ham cram: a full day directed study memorization exercise – not an education session, usually on a Saturday, with the license exam at the end of the day. These are generally offered quarterly.

One-day training with live instructors teaching you the material for each question in the question pool. Having either a basic knowledge of electronics theory or taking some pre-tests before the event is helpful.

If these options don’t work for you, the ARRL website has a search tool for locating amateur radio license classes and exam sessions.