The ongoing federal government shutdown is having several impacts on amateur radio licensing, including:
Candidates wishing to obtain a new amateur radio license
Candidates wishing to upgrade their existing amateur radio license
Amateur license renewals
Other administrative tasks, such as changing your address, etc.
FCC ULS (Universal Licensing System)
FCC CORES (COmmission REgistration System)
The exact details of the impacts to amateur radio continue to be understood. We will update this information as additional details become known.
New Amateur Radio License
Candidates wishing to test for a new amateur radio license (test for the Technician license) are currently unable to obtain a FRN number from the FCC CORES system. Normally, we would not administer an exam until after the candidate obtains their FRN number; however during the government shutdown we are making an exception. Candidates will be provided an exam during the exam session; however, we will not file the results with the FCC until the candidate obtains an FRN number and communicates their FRN number to the MRAC VEC exam team. It is the candidate's responsibility to obtain and communicate their FRN number to the MRAC VEC exam team. Once you receive your FRN, please email it to VEC Co-Manager Tom Czaja at kg9ee@arrl.net
Upon passing the Technician exam, the candidate will be provided a CSCE showing they successfully passed the Technician Exam; HOWEVER they will not receive a callsign until the MRAC VEC exam team receives their FRN number AND has an opportunity to upload their information to the FCC. You cannot legally transmit until you are assigned a callsign in the FCC licensing database. The CSCE is valid for 365 days from the date the Technician exam was successfully passed.
Upgrade Amateur Radio License
Candidates may take an amateur radio exam to upgrade their current license during the federal government shutdown. The exam results will not be uploaded to the FCC until after the shutdown is over and the FCC license systems utilized by the MRAC VEC exam team are fully functional again.
Candidates wishing to take an exam to upgrade their current license must bring a copy of their current license with them to the exam session. The license copy will include their FRN number, which is necessary to file the upgrade information with the FCC after the government re-opens. The MRAC VEC exam team will retain the copy of the candidate's license with the candidates exam paperwork.
Candidates will receive a CSCE showing they have successfully upgraded their license, after which they can immediately begin to utilize their new frequency privileges. Candidates that upgrade their license must include /AG (upgrade to General) or /AE (upgrade to Extra) after their callsign while operating within their new band privileges, until the FCC database is updated to correctly show the candidates upgraded license information.
The CSCE is valid for 365 days from the date the candidate successfully passed their exam to upgrade their license.
Amateur License Renewals
The MRAC VEC exam group will not accept paperwork for amateur license renewals until after the federal government re-opens, and the systems utilized by the MRAC VEC exam group are fully functional again.
Here is information from the ARRL-VEC who received a notice from the FCC that addresses that very issue.
Expired or Expiring licenses during the shutdown.
For a license that expired on Oct. 1 or later:
If a renewal application was not submitted by Sept. 30, the licensee nevertheless may continue operating but must submit their renewal application within 48 hours of re- opening.
If a licensee submitted a renewal application on or before Sept. 30, the licensee may continue operating until the application is acted upon.
For a license that expired on or before Sept. 30 and for which a renewal application was submitted by Sept. 30: the licensee may continue operating until the application is acted upon.
For a license that expired on or before Sept. 30 and renewal application was not submitted by Sept. 30: If a licensee failed to submit a renewal application, the license has expired and the licensee may not operate until a renewal application is submitted and granted by the FCC. There is a 2-year grace period for renewing expired licenses.
Other Administrative License Updates
No administrative updates to amateur radio licenses can be processed by the MRAC VEC exam group until the federal government reopens and the FCC systems utilized by the MRAC VEC exam group are fully functional again. Any paperwork related to administrative updates will be retained by the MRAC VEC exam group for processing after the FCC systems are operational again.
FCC ULS
The FCC ULS system appears to be inaccessible as of this writing. NOTE: www.qrz.com receives their license information from the FCC ULS system, so the license information on QRZ is not updated during the shutdown.
FCC CORES
The FCC Cores System appears to be somewhat functional, in that searching for existing FRN numbers is working as of the time of this writing. However, the ability to create new FRN numbers is not functional at this time.
Candidates have 10 days to pay any license fees as needed to the FCC in CORES after the MRAC VEC exam group uploads their information. While the candidate should receive an email notice regarding a pending payment, we have heard of cases where an email message wasn't received correctly. Because of this, the MRAC VEC exam team recommends checking the CORES system for a pending payment a couple of times a week after the federal government reopens if you took an exam to obtain a new amateur radio license or submitted paperwork to the MRAC VEC exam group to renew your license. The MRAC VEC cannot reach out to every individual regarding the date when their license information was submitted to the FCC.
Copyright © 2025 MRAC VEC, Inc.