Ham Radio Exams

Exam Fee Increase to $10

Effective with the May 31, 2025 exam session (and going forward), the exam fee will increase to $10.   Unfortunately, as costs for supplies, web site hosting, etc. continue to increase, the exam fee must increase to offset those higher expenses.  Payment continues to be in cash only and we appreciate small bills whenever possible.

Congratulations Greg Wolfe!

Greg Wolfe (K9ZZZ) recently retired from the MRAC VEC management team after serving for 15 years as a Co-Manager, including leading exam sessions.   To celebrate this outstanding accomplishment, the MRAC VEC board members honored Greg's work with a plaque.  Greg will continue to assist the MRAC VEC as a Volunteer Examiner (VE).   Thank you Greg for volunteering your time and leadership over the last 15 years!

Test Sessions

Unless noted otherwise for a specific date below, testing is normally held at HRO Milwaukee.

Please do not call HRO.  If you have any questions, please use the Contact Us form on this web site or email us at mracvec@gmail.com

Test Sessions

Exams are held in the classroom, located to the west side of the showroom.  Look for signs directing you to the proper door to enter. 

If you are testing for your first Amateur Radio License (Technician), please make sure you OBTAIN A FRN NUMBER before you arrive at the exam session, and bring the FRN number with you to the exam session (include the leading zeros in the number - should be 10 digits long).  We cannot administer exams if you don't have a FRN number.   If you are testing to upgrade your current license, please bring a printout (copy) of your current license with you - it will have your FRN number on it.  You will also want to complete the pre-exam paperwork using the exact same information on your current license to ensure everything processes correctly with the FCC.  

Exams are provided from 9:30am to 10:30am unless otherwise noted on the schedule below, however the door will usually open before 9:30am.  This means the last exams provided during the exam session should be completed and turned in for grading about 11:00am.

Upcoming Test Sessions 

• July 26, 2025

• September 20, 2025

May 31, 2025 Test Session Summary

It was a busy exam session, with fifteen candidates attending.  Thirteen candidates either obtained a new amateur radio license or upgraded their current license.

Candidates earned the following licenses:

Technician:  12

General:  0

Extra:  1

A big "thank you" to the volunteer examiners who assisted with the test session. Congratulations to the candidates who obtained a new license or upgraded their existing license!  And a hearty "welcome" to those candidates who joined the hobby by earning their amateur radio licenses.

All applicants must have an FCC Registration Number (FRN)

New radio operator applicants must create a FCC user profile and register for a FCC Registration Number (FRN) before taking their first license examination. This process will generate a FCC Registration Number (FRN) to be used in place of a Social Security number on Form 605. The FCC produced a video about this process, which you can view here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a4doKEPN5M

When registering for a FRN number, please make sure you select "CORES FRN Registration"; do NOT select "Restricted Use FRN Registration".   You have the correct FRN if the number does not start with "213".  FRN numbers starting with 213 are Restricted Use FRN numbers.  More information is available here.   If you accidently request a Restricted Use FRN number, please Contact Us and we will help you get it corrected.

To register for an FRN, please go here: apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do  Any questions, contact the FCC. They provide an email address and phone number on that page.

Existing Amateur Radio License Holders Should Register in CORES

If you are a current FCC licensed Amateur Radio Operator, we strongly encourage you to register in CORES.  After you register and create your account in CORES you can link your existing FRN number (available on your Amateur Radio license) to your new FCC CORES account.

Download Official Authorizations (Download License)

We've added instructions on how to download Official Authorizations from ULS to our web site.

If you are taking an exam to upgrade your existing amateur radio license, please download an Official Copy of your current license, print it and bring it with you to the exam session.  We will keep this copy along with the rest of your examination paperwork for our records.

Copyright © 2025 MRAC VEC, Inc.