Ham radio frequency bands by license class: who can use what

How the rule is organized

Section 97.301 applies to an amateur station located within 50 km of the Earth's surface, within the specified ITU Region, and outside any area where the amateur service is regulated by any authority other than the FCC. It then lists bands in five groups: (a) the VHF-and-above bands available to every class; (b) Amateur Extra; (c) Advanced; (d) General; and (e) Novice or Technician. The United States is in ITU Region 2, so this page uses the Region 2 column. The text as amended January 14, 2026 (91 FR 1430) is the one used. The rule text still lists the Advanced class, so its table is shown below for completeness.

Open to every class: VHF, UHF and above

Paragraph (a) covers a control operator holding Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra, or a CEPT radio-amateur license or IARP of any class. In Region 2 it includes 6 m (50-54 MHz), 2 m (144-148 MHz), 1.25 m (222-225 MHz, with a separate 219-220 MHz listing), 70 cm (420-450 MHz), 33 cm (902-928 MHz), 23 cm (1240-1300 MHz), 13 cm (2300-2310 and 2390-2450 MHz), and higher microwave and millimeter bands up to and above 275 GHz. Each row carries section 97.303 sharing notes, which say how amateurs must share with other services on that band. Paragraph (e), which names Novice and Technician, also lists 1.25 m (222-225 MHz) and 23 cm (1270-1295 MHz); the broader paragraph (a) listing of 1240-1300 MHz is the one that names Technician, so read both paragraphs together on that band.

Technician on HF: four segments

A Technician Class operator's HF access is limited to 80 m (3.525-3.600 MHz), 40 m (7.025-7.125 MHz), 15 m (21.025-21.200 MHz) and 10 m (28.0-28.5 MHz). Section 97.313(c)(2) caps power at 200 W PEP on those segments for a Technician control operator; see the power limits page.

General Class

General is the first class with broad HF access. It adds the low bands (2200 m, 630 m and 160 m), parts of 75 m, 20 m and 15 m, and the 30 m, 17 m, 12 m and 10 m bands. Some of 80, 40, 20 and 15 m is withheld for higher classes; the gaps are the reason the 40 m row has two ranges.

Advanced and Amateur Extra

Advanced Class has the segments shown below. Amateur Extra has all of the authorized spectrum: full 80 m, 75 m, 40 m, 20 m and 15 m segments with no gaps.

Advanced

Amateur Extra

Reading the sharing notes and the emission rules

Frequency is only one limit. Each band also has permitted emission types (CW, phone, data, image and so on) set in section 97.305; see the authorized emission types page. The footnote letters in section 97.301 point to the sharing paragraphs of section 97.303, which this page did not read. For the question "who can hold which license class" and who gives the exams, see the volunteer examiner page.

A worked example

A new Technician wants to talk on 20 m. Section 97.301(e) gives Technician no 20 m segment, so the answer under this section is no. The same operator can use 15 m from 21.025 to 21.200 MHz, 10 m from 28.0 to 28.5 MHz, and every VHF and UHF band above 50 MHz. A General on 20 m can use 14.025-14.150 and 14.225-14.350 MHz, but not the 14.150-14.225 MHz slice, which the General listing leaves out.

Sources

• 47 CFR 97.301, Authorized frequency bands (eCFR). Read November 2, 2026.
• 47 CFR 97.313, Transmitter power standards (eCFR), for power caps on some segments. Read November 2, 2026.

Text read: the eCFR (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations) text of Title 47 as it stood on October 29, 2026, retrieved through the eCFR versioner API on November 2, 2026. The eCFR is an editorial compilation and is not the official legal edition; the Federal Register and the annual CFR are. Rules change, so confirm the current wording on the eCFR before relying on it. This page paraphrases the rule and does not replace it.