The FCC issues three amateur license classes today: Technician, General and Amateur Extra (47 CFR 97.9, 97.17). What you may transmit always depends on the license class of the control operator, the person responsible for the transmission, not on who owns the radio (47 CFR 97.105).
Each higher class keeps everything the lower one has and adds frequencies. The table summarizes the exams and the privileges set out in 47 CFR 97.301.
| Class | Exams (97.501, 97.503) | Below 30 MHz (HF and MF) | 50 MHz and up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technician | Element 2 (35 questions) | CW on parts of 80, 40 and 15 m; CW, data and SSB voice on part of 10 m | All amateur bands |
| General | Elements 2 and 3 (35 questions each) | Every HF band, all or most of each | All amateur bands |
| Amateur Extra | Elements 2, 3 and 4 (Element 4 has 50 questions) | All amateur frequencies | All amateur bands |
Technician
Technicians have every amateur privilege on the bands from 6 m (50 MHz) upward (47 CFR 97.301(a)). That includes the microwave bands and the 2 m and 70 cm bands, where the voluntary ARRL band plan sets aside segments for FM repeaters and where the FM satellites on AMSAT’s list have their uplinks and downlinks.
On HF, Technicians have segments on four bands (47 CFR 97.301(e), 97.305(c), 97.307(f)(9) and (10)):
| Band | Segment | What Technicians may send |
|---|---|---|
| 80 m | 3.525 to 3.600 MHz | CW (Morse code) only |
| 40 m | 7.025 to 7.125 MHz | CW only |
| 15 m | 21.025 to 21.200 MHz | CW only |
| 10 m | 28.000 to 28.300 MHz | CW, RTTY and data |
| 10 m | 28.300 to 28.500 MHz | CW and single sideband (SSB) voice |
Technician transmitter power in all of these segments is limited to 200 W PEP (47 CFR 97.313(c)(2)). The 10 m segment is the only place a Technician may use voice or digital modes below 30 MHz. Long-distance 10 m contacts by way of the ionosphere’s F region come mainly from dawn to shortly after sunset when sunspot activity is high (Technician pool question T3C09). The CW segments on 80, 40 and 15 m reward learning Morse code; the Morse trainer can help.
General: where HF opens up
General adds most of the HF spectrum (47 CFR 97.301(d)):
- all of 160 m, 30 m, 17 m, 12 m and the rest of 10 m;
- most of 80, 40, 20 and 15 m (everything except the Extra segments described below);
- 60 m (see the next section);
- the low-frequency 2200 m and 630 m bands, which have extra requirements: fixed stations only, and notifying the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) and waiting 30 days before transmitting (47 CFR 97.303(g)).
General phone (voice) segments sit at the top of each shared band: 3.800 to 4.000 MHz on 75 m, 7.175 to 7.300 MHz on 40 m, 14.225 to 14.350 MHz on 20 m and 21.275 to 21.450 MHz on 15 m. CW and data segments sit in the lower part: 3.525 to 3.600, 7.025 to 7.125, 14.025 to 14.150 and 21.025 to 21.200 MHz (47 CFR 97.301(d), 97.305). The 30 m band allows CW and data only, with no voice.
Why does this matter? The maximum usable frequency (MUF) for communication between two points depends on the time of day, the season and solar activity (General pool questions G3B02 and G3B08), so access to more bands gives a General operator more options as conditions change. General licensees may also run up to 1,500 W PEP except where a band has a lower limit (47 CFR 97.313(b)), and may become volunteer examiners for Technician exams (47 CFR 97.509).
The 60 m band in 2026
The 60 m rules changed on February 13, 2026, replacing the old arrangement of five channels (91 FR 1405), so study material written earlier may show rules that no longer apply. Under the current rules, as summarized by the ARRL and set out in 47 CFR 97.303(h) and 97.313(i):
- Only General, Advanced and Amateur Extra licensees may use 60 m. Amateurs are secondary users who must not interfere with, and must accept interference from, the fixed service and some foreign mobile services.
- Four channels centered on 5332, 5348, 5373 and 5405 kHz allow up to 100 W ERP. For phone, data and RTTY, the carrier may be set 1.5 kHz below the center frequency; CW goes on the center frequency.
- A segment from 5351.5 to 5366.5 kHz is open for phone, CW, RTTY and data (97.307(f)(14)) at up to 9.15 W ERP. The former 5358.5 kHz channel now falls inside this segment.
- No emission anywhere on 60 m may be wider than 2.8 kHz.
ERP (effective radiated power) is your PEP multiplied by your antenna’s gain over a half-wave dipole. A dipole counts as a gain of 1, so with a dipole the ERP equals your PEP. If you use any other antenna, you must keep a record of its gain (47 CFR 97.313(i)).
Amateur Extra
Extra licensees may use every amateur frequency. Compared with General, they add these segments on 80, 40, 20 and 15 m (47 CFR 97.301(b) and (c); emission types from 97.305):
| Band | Extra-only | Shared only with grandfathered Advanced licensees |
|---|---|---|
| 80 and 75 m | 3.500 to 3.525 MHz (CW, data); 3.600 to 3.700 MHz (phone) | 3.700 to 3.800 MHz (phone) |
| 40 m | 7.000 to 7.025 MHz (CW, data) | 7.125 to 7.175 MHz (phone) |
| 20 m | 14.000 to 14.025 MHz (CW, data); 14.150 to 14.175 MHz (phone) | 14.175 to 14.225 MHz (phone) |
| 15 m | 21.000 to 21.025 MHz (CW, data); 21.200 to 21.225 MHz (phone) | 21.225 to 21.275 MHz (phone) |
Extra licensees are also the only ones who may serve as volunteer examiners for the Element 4 exam (47 CFR 97.509).
Reading the band strips
Each strip below draws one band to scale, with a lane for each license class: E for Amateur Extra, G for General and T for Technician. The fill shows what that class may transmit:
- solid: phone (voice) and all other authorized modes;
- stripes: CW and data (including RTTY), but no voice;
- dots: CW only.
An empty part of a lane means that class may not transmit there. Hovering over a segment shows its exact limits.
Segment details
| Frequencies | Class | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| 7.000 MHz to 7.025 MHz | Amateur Extra | CW, RTTY and data |
| 7.025 MHz to 7.125 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced, General | CW, RTTY and data |
| 7.025 MHz to 7.125 MHz | Technician, Novice | CW; 200 W PEP |
| 7.125 MHz to 7.175 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced | CW, Phone, Image |
| 7.175 MHz to 7.300 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced, General | CW, Phone, Image |
On 40 m, the Technician lane shows dots from 7.025 to 7.125 MHz (CW only, 200 W PEP). General has stripes over the same range plus solid from 7.175 to 7.300 MHz. Extra adds the bottom 25 kHz and the phone segment from 7.125 to 7.175 MHz (47 CFR 97.301). Phone between 7.075 and 7.100 MHz is allowed only for stations in ITU Regions 1 and 3, or in the parts of Region 2 west of 130 degrees west longitude or south of 20 degrees north latitude (47 CFR 97.307(f)(11)). From the mainland US, phone starts at 7.125 MHz.
Segment details
| Frequencies | Class | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| 14 MHz to 14.025 MHz | Amateur Extra | CW, RTTY and data |
| 14.025 MHz to 14.15 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced, General | CW, RTTY and data |
| 14.15 MHz to 14.175 MHz | Amateur Extra | CW, Phone, Image |
| 14.175 MHz to 14.225 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced | CW, Phone, Image |
| 14.225 MHz to 14.35 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced, General | CW, Phone, Image |
The 20 m band has no Technician privileges at all. General covers 14.025 to 14.150 MHz for CW and data and 14.225 to 14.350 MHz for phone. Extra adds 14.000 to 14.025 MHz for CW and data and 14.150 to 14.225 MHz for phone (47 CFR 97.301, 97.305).
Segment details
| Frequencies | Class | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| 28 MHz to 28.3 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced, General | CW, RTTY and data |
| 28 MHz to 28.3 MHz | Technician, Novice | CW, RTTY and data; 200 W PEP |
| 28.3 MHz to 28.5 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced, General | CW, Phone, Image |
| 28.3 MHz to 28.5 MHz | Technician, Novice | CW, Phone; 200 W PEP; Phone limited to single sideband (97.307(f)(10)). |
| 28.5 MHz to 29.7 MHz | Amateur Extra, Advanced, General | CW, Phone, Image |
On 10 m, Technicians have stripes from 28.000 to 28.300 MHz (CW and data) and solid from 28.300 to 28.500 MHz, where their phone privilege is limited to SSB. General and Extra have the whole band, including the 29.0 to 29.7 MHz segment, where the rules allow wider FM voice signals (47 CFR 97.305, 97.307(f)(1)).
The band chart shows every band in the same format, along with a frequency lookup.
Grandfathered Novice and Advanced licenses
The rules still list five operator classes: Novice, Technician, General, Advanced and Amateur Extra (47 CFR 97.9). No new Novice or Advanced licenses are issued (47 CFR 97.17), but people who hold them keep their privileges.
- Advanced licensees have all General privileges plus the extra phone segments in the right-hand column of the Extra table above (47 CFR 97.301(c)).
- Novice licensees have the same HF segments as Technicians, plus 222 to 225 MHz at up to 25 W PEP and 1270 to 1295 MHz at up to 5 W PEP (47 CFR 97.301(e), 97.313(d) and (e)).
Power limits
Every station must use the minimum power necessary to carry out the communication (47 CFR 97.313(a)). Within that, the main ceilings in 97.313 are:
| Limit | Where it applies |
|---|---|
| 1,500 W PEP | The maximum for any station on any band |
| 200 W PEP | 30 m (10.100 to 10.150 MHz), for every license class |
| 200 W PEP | Novice and Technician operators in their HF segments on 80, 40, 15 and 10 m |
| 100 W ERP and 9.15 W ERP | The 60 m channels and the 60 m segment |
PEP (peak envelope power) is the average power during one radio-frequency cycle at the crest of the modulation envelope (47 CFR 97.3). A few other bands and areas have their own limits, including 2200 m, 630 m, the 219 to 220 MHz segment, and parts of the country on 70 cm and 33 cm (47 CFR 97.313(f) to (l)); the band chart lists them.