Growth & Application Volume
Historical intake of new Amateur Radio license applications (purpose = NE) from 2000 to present.
All-Time Peak Year observed
33,369
2014 Highest single-year volume on record
Current Year (YTD) observed
23,686
2026 Same period last year: 20,757
Annual Application Volume (2000–2026)
Complete year-by-year new license application receipts.
| Year | Applications Received | Historical Context & Milestones |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23,686 | YTD / Partial |
| 2025 | 25,889 | Outage FCC ULS offline during the federal government shutdown beginning 2025-10-01. October has no receipts at all; November is partially recovered and is published as observed. |
| 2024 | 32,199 | |
| 2023 | 26,149 | |
| 2022 | 28,122 | FCC instituted $35 application fee (April 2022) |
| 2021 | 32,806 | |
| 2020 | 30,410 | Remote (online) exam sessions begin; COVID-19 lockdowns |
| 2019 | 30,487 | |
| 2018 | 32,125 | |
| 2017 | 32,606 | |
| 2016 | 33,053 | |
| 2015 | 32,577 | |
| 2014 | 33,369 | All-Time High |
| 2013 | 29,236 | |
| 2012 | 26,918 | |
| 2011 | 24,249 | |
| 2010 | 27,687 | |
| 2009 | 30,728 | |
| 2008 | 28,019 | |
| 2007 | 26,938 | Morse code testing requirement eliminated for all classes |
| 2006 | 21,174 | |
| 2005 | 16,910 | |
| 2004 | 17,141 | |
| 2003 | 21,097 | |
| 2002 | 21,281 | |
| 2001 | 20,779 | |
| 2000 | 19,262 | License restructuring: simplified to Technician, General, Extra |
Recent Monthly Intake (Last 36 Months)
Month-by-month filings.
| Month | New Applications | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-11 | 357 | Month in progress |
| 2026-10 | 2,166 | |
| 2026-09 | 1,772 | |
| 2026-08 | 1,913 | |
| 2026-07 | 1,681 | |
| 2026-06 | 3,041 | |
| 2026-05 | 2,433 | |
| 2026-04 | 2,483 | |
| 2026-03 | 3,170 | |
| 2026-02 | 2,563 | |
| 2026-01 | 2,107 | |
| 2025-12 | 2,420 | |
| 2025-11 | 2,712 | |
| 2025-10 | — | Upstream outage |
| 2025-09 | 1,770 | |
| 2025-08 | 2,086 | |
| 2025-07 | 1,998 | |
| 2025-06 | 2,221 | |
| 2025-05 | 2,228 | |
| 2025-04 | 2,687 | |
| 2025-03 | 2,770 | |
| 2025-02 | 2,524 | |
| 2025-01 | 2,452 | |
| 2024-12 | 2,475 | |
| 2024-11 | 3,079 | |
| 2024-10 | 2,756 | |
| 2024-09 | 2,132 | |
| 2024-08 | 2,274 | |
| 2024-07 | 2,078 | |
| 2024-06 | 2,669 | |
| 2024-05 | 2,276 | |
| 2024-04 | 3,441 | |
| 2024-03 | 3,523 | |
| 2024-02 | 2,953 | |
| 2024-01 | 2,543 | |
| 2023-12 | 1,929 |
Licenses Over Time (Weekly)
The license count in each weekly FCC snapshot. Valid licenses are active and not past their expiry date; the rest are in the 2-year grace period, renewable but not usable.
| Snapshot | Active Licenses | Valid Licenses | In Grace Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-01 | 822,407 | 740,484 | 81,923 |
| 2026-10-25 | 822,762 | 740,393 | 82,369 |
| 2026-10-18 | 822,947 | 740,364 | 82,583 |
| 2026-10-11 | 822,954 | 740,441 | 82,513 |
| 2026-10-04 | 823,141 | 740,424 | 82,717 |
| 2026-09-27 | 823,177 | 740,648 | 82,529 |
| 2026-09-20 | 823,264 | 740,843 | 82,421 |
| 2026-09-13 | 823,470 | 741,028 | 82,442 |
licenses with FCC status A in each weekly FCC snapshot, from the first archived weekly file (2026-09-13); nothing is recorded before it.