Ham Radio License Cost 2026: $35 FCC Fee Plus the Exam Fee

What the FCC charges

The FCC’s amateur fees took effect on April 19, 2022, and they’re charged per application:

Item	Fee
New license	$35
Renewal	$35
Vanity call sign	$35
Rule waiver	$35
Upgrade to a higher class	No fee
Name, mailing or email change	No fee
New sequential call sign	No fee
License cancellation	No fee

ARRL says fees for dismissed applications may not be refunded, and that includes a vanity request that doesn’t get the call sign you wanted. You can ask for one anyway, and the FCC decides case by case.

ARRL’s copy of the FCC fee filing guide lists the no-fee filings.

FCC: Public Notice DA 22-307 (PDF) ↗ARRL: FCC Application Fee ↗

How much does a ham radio license exam cost?

FCC rules let Volunteer Examiners (VEs) and VECs recover their out-of-pocket costs from examinees, so each VEC sets its own session fee. ARRL says the fee is usually $15 or less, and to ask the session’s organizer which fee applies.

At ARRL VEC sessions, the 2026 fee is $15, and it covers one attempt at each of the three exam elements. If you fail an element and want to retest it at the same session, you pay again. Candidates under 18 pay $5.

ARRL: ARRL VEC Exam Fees ↗Find an exam session →What’s on the Technician exam →

How to pay the $35 FCC fee

After your session, the VEC sends your results to the FCC, and the FCC emails you a link with payment instructions.
Log in to the FCC’s Commission Registration System (CORES) with your FCC Registration Number (FRN) and pay. You don’t have to wait for the email if your application already shows as pending in the FCC’s application search.
Pay within 10 calendar days of the date your application file number is issued, or the FCC dismisses the application.
Once the FCC processes it, a second email links to your official license. The link is valid for 30 days.

Don’t pay the $35 to the examiners. ARRL says the FCC fee goes straight to the FCC, never to a VE team. If you miss the 10 days, you don’t retest: the VEC on your certificate can refile while the certificate is valid.

FCC: CORES login ↗FCC: Application search ↗Find your FRN and look up your license →

Help with fees for young people

ARRL’s Youth Licensing Grant Program pays back the $35 FCC fee for new license candidates under 18 who test at an ARRL VEC session. The refund comes by check to whoever paid, after ARRL VEC gets the reimbursement form and the FCC has issued the license.

W5YI-VEC lists student exams that are free, and it says it pays the $35 when the student passes Element 2, the Technician exam. Contact W5YI-VEC to find a team that runs them.

ARRL: Youth Licensing Grant Program ↗W5YI-VEC: Find An Exam Session ↗

What renewing through a VEC costs

You can renew yourself online for just the $35 FCC fee. If you’d rather someone else files it, ARRL VEC files renewals and changes free for ARRL members and charges non-members a $25 processing fee, and you pay the $35 to the FCC yourself. W5YI-VEC offers a Basic service at $45, which is $10 to W5YI plus the $35 FCC fee, and a Complete service at $80 that includes the FCC fee and a mailed license certificate.

How to renew your license →W5YI-VEC: License Renewals and Address Changes ↗

Sources: FCC · eCFR · ARRL and 4 more. Checked October 2026.