Start Here

What It Costs

Two separate payments, and only one of them is the FCC’s.

• The test session. Paid to the volunteer examiners on the day. The FCC lets them recover their out-of-pocket costs of running the session (47 CFR 97.527), and each Volunteer Examiner Coordinator sets its own amount — some charge nothing at all. One session fee covers every exam element you attempt that day, so trying for General, or even Extra, after passing Technician costs no more in session fees. Ask the team when you book.
• The FCC application fee: $35. Paid to the FCC, not the examiners, after you pass, for the application that puts your callsign on the air (47 CFR 1.1102 — checked September 2026). The same $35 applies to a renewal or a vanity callsign.
• Study material is optional. Every exam question and its answer is public, and they are all on this site, free.

Fees change. Check the current figures with your VE team and the FCC before you go.

What It Actually Takes

The whole question pool is published in advance, so nothing on the exam is a surprise. Most people pass the Technician after a few evenings with the practice exams. There is no Morse code requirement for any class and has not been since 2007.

Exams are run by volunteer examiners, often at a local club, sometimes online. Expect a modest exam fee to the examining team plus a separate FCC application fee. Your callsign appears in the FCC database within a couple of weeks, and you can look it up right here once it does.

Question pools are revised on a rolling four-year cycle, so make sure whatever you study from is the current one.

Look up a callsign →