SCARS Amateur Radio License Exams

You can register for our testing sessions online at: https://w5nor.org/vereg/. Here are some frequently asked questions about the FCC Amateur Radio process.

How much does an amateur radio license cost?

Beginning in April of 2022, Congress has directed the FCC to collect an application fee from each amateur radio licensee.  The fee is $35 and is collected by the FCC on their website, not by the SCARS exam team (or any other exam team).  Candidates who do not currently have an amateur radio license will be assessed the fee by the Commission.  Candidates who have a license and are upgrading will not be assessed a fee.  If a candidate is upgrading and their license is expiring within 90 days of the date of the exam, the team can include that renewal as part of the data upload but the candidate will have to pay the fee through the Commission’s website.  Any candidate who will be required to pay a fee will be notified at the session and will receive detailed instructions on how to pay.

Volunteer Examiner Coordinators, the groups that accredit Volunteer Examiners, are permitted to charge a fee to recover the cost of administering and processing license exams.  The Laurel Amateur Radio Club VEC, through whom the SCARS Exam Team is accredited, does not charge and has never charged, a cost-recovery fee since the FCC delegated amateur exams to the community nearly 40 years ago.

When does SCARS hold test sessions?

The South Canadian Amateur Radio Society Exam Team conducts examinations for Amateur Radio licenses on the first Thursday of each month in the Training Center at Norman Fire Department Station #7, 2207 Goddard Ave, in Norman, Oklahoma. The exam session begins at 6:30 p.m. central time. Candidates cannot be accepted after 7:00 p.m. central time except by prior arrangement.

Pre-registration is strongly suggested so that we can be ready when candidates arrive.

If you are not yet licensed, you must obtain an FCC Registration Number (“FRN”) from the FCC CORES site before registering for the SCARS test session. 

Upcoming Exam Dates and Past Results
Register for an upcoming test session
Date Elements Passed New Hams Upgrades
January 5 2 1 0

January 28
Ham In A Day

7 7  
February 2 1   1
March 2      

April 1
Ham In A Day
1530 CST
Norman Public Library (Central)

     
April 6      
May 4      
June 1      

Annual Team Statistics

Where is the test site located?

Norman Fire Department Fire Station 7
2207 Goddard Ave
Norman OK 73069-8412

Testing sessions are conducted in the Norman Fire Department Training Center, on the grounds of OU’s Max Westheimer Airport near the intersection of W Rock Creek Rd, and N Flood Ave.

This event is not sponsored by or endorsed by the City of Norman or the Norman Fire Department.

  • Google Map to the Fire Station.
  • From OKC and points north: I-35 south to Exit 113 (US-77 S – caution: left-hand exit). US-77 becomes N Flood Ave. Continue on N Flood Ave until the W Rock Creek Rd/Goddard Ave traffic signal. T]urn right on Goddard Ave. The firehouse is about 1/4 mile ahead on the left.
  • From Purcell and points south: I-35 north to Exit 110 (Robinson St). Turn left at the end of the ramp onto W Robinson St and head east. At the 3rd signal (N Berry Rd), turn left and head north. At the end of Berry, turn left and head west on Westheimer Dr. Westheimer Dr turns into Goddard Ave near the Airport terminal. The firehouse is about 1/4 mile ahead on the right.

Do I need to register in advance?

Yes!  Registering in advance speeds up the testing process.  Please use our online form to register and thanks! If you are not yet licensed, you must obtain an FCC Registration Number (“FRN”) from the FCC CORES site before registering for the SCARS testing session. Current licensees (in any service) can locate their FRN by visiting the FCC’s Universal Licensing System.

What do I need to bring with me to the test?

Identification A legal photo ID will be needed. A driver’s license, passport, Federal Common Access Card, or US Military ID is ideal. If a photo ID is not available, two forms of identification must be presented. A birth certificate, report card, library card, Social Security card, utility bill, bank statement, and non-photo ID/driver’s license are examples of these IDs. Students may bring a school ID card, minor’s work permit, school report card, library card, or a written note from a legal guardian.
CSCE, or other proof of exam credit If you have a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE – also original and copy) from another testing location for upgrades not yet reflected on your license.  The CSCE can be from any VEC (ARRL-VEC, W5YI-VEC, LARC-VEC, etc).
Fee The LARC-VEC does not charge a fee for administering exams. Incidental program costs such as printing, postage, et cetera, are generously covered by SCARS.
Pencil or pen Tests are multiple choice and hand graded, so pencil or pen are permitted. Please note that all forms (Form 605, CSCE) must be signed in ink. The team has a supply of pens and pencils. Note: Please do not write in the exam booklet – use the back of the answer sheet as scratch paper.
Calculator We have a few simple electronic calculators for candidates’ use. Sorry, no smart p]hones or any other network-connected devices are allowed!
   

Note: The FCC requires licensees to obtain an FRN (“FCC Registration Number”) from the FCC’s CORES system before doing business with them. This is a one-time task that can be done at any time. FRNs of existing licensees can be located by visiting the FCC’s ULS.

Am I ready for the exam?

If you’ve studied the ARRL or other license manuals and are comfortable with the questions in the question pool, then you are probably ready to take the test.

The Question and Answer Pools are in the public domain, per FCC regulation, but these provide no background material to help future hams understand the answers. There are many study guides available that do provide this background and the team has made some recommendations below.

The Technician and General exams are 35-question, multiple-choice exams while the Amateur Extra exam has 50 multiple-choice questions. Questions are drawn from a pool of over 400 questions. The subject breakdown for the Technician exam is covered in the next table.

The SCARS Exam Team recommends the following study guides for people interested in obtaining a Technician-class license (the links below are Amazon Associates links and SCARS will get a commission on the sale):

For candidates studying for the General- and Amateur Extra-class licenses, the team recommends the following ARRL study guides:

As reference material, particularly for the Technician exam, the team recommends the FCC Rules and Regulations for the Amateur Radio Service (an ARRL publication)

For further background, we also recommend ARRL’s Basic Radio and The ARRL Handbook for Radio Communications 2020.

Technician Exam Breakdown
Sub Element Subject Number of
Questions on Exam
(Total 35)
T1 FCC Rules 5
T2 Methods of Communication 2
T3 Radio Phenomena 2
T4 Station Licensee Duties 3
T5 Control Operator Duties 3
T6 Good Operating Practices 3
T7 Basic Communications Electronics 3
T8 Good Engineering Practice 6
T9 Special Operations 2
T0 Electrical, Antenna Structure, and RF Safety Practices 6

Successful candidates should be familiar (very familiar) with the following:

  • FCC Amateur Service Rules (47 CFR 97), especially amateur radio frequency allocations (47 CFR 97.301).
  • Basic station operation and RF safety
  • Basic radio wave propagation (D/E/F layers, tropospheric effects, etc)
  • Ohm’s Law and other basic electronics
  • Formulae like “E = I x R”, “468 / f” and “300 / f”

I passed the test, what is my callsign?

After the exam session is complete, the team’s results are submitted electronically to the Laurel ARC VEC.  Once the VEC confirms the validity of the session, a file is sent to the FCC.  Once received by the Commission, a “File Number” is assigned and the candidate is then instructed to pay the application fee.  If it the session is held on a weekday and the fee is paid as soon as practical, the Commission will often grant the license the next business day.  There are several steps to this process and delays are common.  Once a candidate’s information and callsign appear in the FCC database, the license has been legally granted and Amateur Radio operations may begin! A variety of databases are available on the net where candidates may check to see if the FCC has acted on their application.

I can’t make it to the SCARS exam session; are there others nearby?

CORA, the Central Oklahoma Radio Amateurs, a club council, has links to the exam schedule of affiliated clubs. The ARRL also maintains a database of upcoming exams.

What the heck is ham radio?

Please visit the ARRL site that explains hamradio. We’ll open the link in a new window or tab so you’ll remember to come back.

Years ago I was licensed, but I foolishly let it lapse. Can I get it back?

Not quite. If you hold a Technician-class amateur license but once held a higher class license, you can use that expired license to claim exam credit.  An expired General or Advanced license gives credit for the Element 3 exam, qualifying you for General, while an expired Amateur Extra license gives credit for the Element 3 and 4 exams, qualifying you for Amateur Extra.  An expired license showing that the candidate was licensed as a Technician before 1987-03-21 can also be used for Element 3 credit.

If you do not currently hold an amateur license, you must take and pass Element 2, the Technician exam, before the credits can be applied.

Proof of Credit

Applicants claiming credit for an exam element must provide the original and copies of all documentation supporting a claim of exam element credit including and limited to the following:

  1. A CSCE that was issued 365 or fewer days before the date of the current exam session.
  2. An expired (or unexpired) Technician class license granted before 1987-03-21 for Element 3 credit.
  3. An expired General class license for Element 3 credit.
  4. An expired Advanced class license for Element 3 credit.
  5. An expired Amateur Extra class license for Element 3 and/or Element 4 credit.
  6. A letter from the FCC indicating the applicant was previously granted a specific class of license and when the license was granted.
  7. A copy of the cover and applicable page from a call sign directory (“Call Book”) showing the date of publication, the applicant’s name, call sign, and the class of license.
  8. A copy of the cover and applicable page from the applicable directory available from https://archive.org/search.php?query=subject%3A%22callbook%22&sort=date&page=2

I passed the General written test a few years back but never passed the code. Now that Morse is gone, am I automatically a General?

No!  However, if you held a Technician-class license issued before 1987-03-21 and you can supply proof of that, you can receive credit for the current Element 3. This is true even if that Technician license has expired.  See above.

My eyesight is not what it used to be – do you have exams in large print?

Yes. Mention it to the team member at the exam session and we will ensure that you get an exam that is easier to see.

Additional Resources

The SCARS Exam Team

 N5UWY - Peter Laws, Team Leader - 18 (213)
 N5HZR - Mark Kleine, Deputy Team Leader - 13
KK5IO - Wayne Dutton, Deputy Team Leader - 12 (16)
 W5MQC - Michelle Carey, Deputy Team Leader - 16 (12)
WW5DAV - David Clare - 2 (1)
AG5DV - Ed Hatch - 7
AE5F - Bill Lockett - 17 (54)
 W5HLG - Lea Greenleaf - 1
 W5JA - Jud Ahern - 1 (40)
 N5KUK - Ken Brown - 6 (31)
KZ5OH - Jim Henry - 1 (2)
KG5SSW - Carl Purser - 17 (6)
WG5T - Bill Baker - 17 (169)
KD5UGO - Phil Sinnett - 17 (32)
KH6AAA - Tom Seale - 9 (43)

Statistics as of 2019-07-31. Numbers are LARC-VEC sessions since the team switched affiliation; numbers in parentheses are ARRL-VEC sessions.