Amateur Radio Licensing Summary
Empirical metrics computed from weekly FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public access records.
Source:
Valid amateur licenses observed
739,274
Status A and not past the expiry date. A license past it is in the 2-year grace period: it can be renewed, but its holder may not operate.
Expired, in the 2-year grace period observed
83,037
Status A but past the expiry date: renewable without a new exam, but the holder may not operate.
Active amateur licenses observed
822,351
FCC license status A: valid licenses and those in the grace period.
Club stations observed
11,029
Valid club, military recreation and RACES station licenses. They're held through a trustee and carry no operator class.
New license applications YTD observed
23,634
2026 Same period last year: 20,757
License upgrades since 9 Sep 2026 observed
1,499
2026-09-09/2026-11-05
Expiring in the next 12 months projected
82,501
Active vanity call signs (HV) observed
171,161
Recent Pipeline Activity partial 2026-09-09 to 2026-11-05
View daily flow details Daily record covers 2026-09-09 to 2026-11-05: 50 of 58 days carry FCC data. Dates without a value are days the FCC published no batch (Sundays always, plus federal holidays and occasional missed runs); they're left blank rather than zero because no activity was measured.
Added (New Grants) +4,577
Removed (Losses) -6,237
Net Change -1,584
Vanity Share 21.9%
Top States by Valid Licenses
Mailing addresses of valid licenses across the United States.
| Rank | State | Valid Licenses | Share of Total | First Grants (12 Mos) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA | 89,927 | 12.2% | +3,225 |
| 2 | TX | 53,290 | 7.2% | +2,332 |
| 3 | FL | 41,958 | 5.7% | +1,452 |
| 4 | WA | 32,562 | 4.4% | +1,099 |
| 5 | OH | 26,560 | 3.6% | +810 |
| 6 | NY | 25,916 | 3.5% | +1,432 |
| 7 | PA | 23,657 | 3.2% | +866 |
| 8 | NC | 23,478 | 3.2% | +1,060 |
| 9 | AZ | 20,959 | 2.8% | +616 |
| 10 | MI | 20,525 | 2.8% | +792 |
License Classes & Privileges
Breakdown of active licenses by operator class (47 CFR § 97.9) and vanity station authorizations.
Primary Entry Class: Technician
357,679
49.1% of valid individual licenses
Technician class: VHF/UHF privileges and foundational operating authorization for new operators.
Worldwide HF: General & Extra
341,097
46.8% of valid individual licenses
General (184,056) and Amateur Extra (157,041) licensees with worldwide high-frequency privileges.
Data Provenance
License Dataset (l_amat) 1,699,846 manifest rows
Application Dataset (a_amat) 3,429,758 manifest rows
Snapshot Version 2026-11-06T1900Z