Is this call sign available?
Check any US amateur radio call sign: who holds it, when an expired or canceled call can be requested again, which license classes may request its format, and pending vanity applications that name it.
How it works
We read the FCC's amateur license and application files every morning. A call sign is in use while its license is active. When a license expires, the holder has a 2-year grace period to renew; the call can be requested by anyone else from the day after the second anniversary of the expiration. A canceled or surrendered call (including one given up for a vanity call) becomes available 2 years after the cancellation. A former holder can get their old call back without waiting, and when a holder has died, a close relative or the holder's club may request it as soon as the license shows expired or canceled.
Request a call with a vanity application in the FCC's ULS. You may list up to 25 calls; you get the first one that is assignable when the FCC processes your application.
Sources
- 47 CFR 97.19 (vanity call signs): a call on an expired license is not available for 2 years after the expiration; a canceled or surrendered license, 2 years after the cancellation; the former holder is exempt from that wait; you may request only calls from the group for your operator class or a lower one; Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean and Pacific calls go only to a mailing address there.
- 47 CFR 97.21(b): an expired license can be renewed during a 2-year grace period, with no operating privileges until it is renewed.
- FCC Amateur Call Sign Systems: the Group A-D formats, region numerals, and the call signs the FCC never assigns.
- FCC Vanity FAQ: a call that expired January 1, 2000 could first be requested January 2, 2002, the day after the second anniversary.
Not a product of the FCC. Always check the FCC's ULS before filing.