Amateur Radio Licensing Summary
Empirical metrics computed from weekly FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public access records.
Source:
Active amateur licenses observed
823,427
New license applications YTD observed
20,347
2026
License upgrades YTD observed
261
2026
Expiring in the next 12 months projected
82,632
Active vanity call signs (HV) observed
170,780
Recent Pipeline Activity partial 2026-09-09 to 2026-09-18
View daily flow details Day-by-day licensing activity parsed from daily FCC ULS delta archives.
Added (New Grants) +511
Removed (Losses) -734
Net Change -223
Vanity Share 20.7%
Top States by Active Licensees
Mailing addresses of active licenses across the United States.
| Rank | State | Active Licenses | Share of Total | New (Last 12 Mos) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA | 102,164 | 12.4% | +7,966 |
| 2 | TX | 59,188 | 7.2% | +5,477 |
| 3 | FL | 47,054 | 5.7% | +4,013 |
| 4 | WA | 36,432 | 4.4% | +2,947 |
| 5 | OH | 29,548 | 3.6% | +2,492 |
| 6 | NY | 28,822 | 3.5% | +2,900 |
| 7 | PA | 26,148 | 3.2% | +2,329 |
| 8 | NC | 25,670 | 3.1% | +2,480 |
| 9 | AZ | 23,530 | 2.9% | +1,912 |
| 10 | MI | 22,801 | 2.8% | +2,101 |
License Classes & Privileges
Breakdown of active licenses by operator class (47 CFR § 97.9) and vanity station authorizations.
Primary Entry Class: Technician
407,126
49.4% of active licenses
Technician class: VHF/UHF privileges and foundational operating authorization for new operators.
Worldwide HF: General & Extra
368,541
44.8% of active licenses
General (202,155) and Amateur Extra (166,386) licensees with worldwide high-frequency privileges.
Data Provenance
License Dataset (l_am) 1,695,551 manifest rows
Application Dataset (a_am) 3,415,177 manifest rows
Snapshot Version 2026-09-19