Ham radio vanity call signs: who can apply, and which call signs are open?

Who may apply

The person named in an operator/primary station license grant, or in a club station license grant, may apply to modify the grant (or to renew it) so that it shows a call sign selected through the vanity system. Military recreation stations are not eligible. There is a club-specific limit added in 2011: a person named in a club grant whose call sign was selected by a trustee is not eligible for an additional vanity call sign, although that person can still seek a vanity call sign for his or her own operator/primary license on the same basis as anyone else. Applications are filed under section 1.913 of the FCC's rules.

Which call signs are available

Unassigned call signs are available, with these exceptions. A call sign on an expired license grant is out of the system for 2 years after expiration. A call sign on a surrendered or canceled grant is out for 2 years after that action. A call sign on a license canceled because of the holder's death (under section 97.31) is out for 2 years after the death or 2 years after the license expired, whichever is sooner; if the cancellation comes more than 2 years after the death, or within the 30 days before the second anniversary, the hold is 30 days from the cancellation.

If an application was granted to someone who turned out not to be eligible for an exception, and the grant is later canceled or set aside, the call sign stays out of the system for 30 days after that action, or for the original hold period it would have had without the intervening grant, whichever is later.

Exemptions from the 2-year hold

The previous holder is exempt: an applicant to whose operator/primary license, or club license for which the applicant is trustee, the call sign was previously assigned may request it back without waiting. For a call sign tied to a deceased holder there are two more exemptions: a close relative named in the rule (spouse, child, grandchild, stepchild, parent, grandparent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew or in-law of the deceased holder or of any other deceased former holder of the call sign), provided the call sign requested comes from the group matching the same or lower class than the applicant's own license; and a club trustee who has a written statement of consent signed by the licensee before death or by at least one such relative, where the deceased was a club member in life.

Class groups and how the list works

The call sign must be selected from the group of call signs corresponding to the same or a lower class of operator license than the applicant holds, as designated in the sequential call sign system. The application asks the FCC to vacate the call sign currently shown and supplies a list of up to 25 call signs in order of preference. The first assignable call sign from the list is shown on the license grant. If none is assignable, the call sign you gave up stays on the license. Vanity call signs are chosen from those assignable at the time the FCC processes the application, not at the time you filed.

Only one application per applicant per receipt day is processed: if the FCC receives more than one vanity application from the same person on the same receipt day, only the first one entered into the Universal Licensing System is processed, and later same-day applications are not accepted.

Regional call signs

A call sign designated under the sequential system for Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean insular areas or the Pacific insular areas is assigned only to a primary or club station whose licensee's mailing address is in the corresponding state, commonwealth or island. The exception is a relative of a deceased former holder, as described above.

Renewal and the vanity call sign

A vanity call sign does not follow you automatically through renewal unless you handle it that way. Under section 97.21, a license showing a vanity call sign is renewed under section 97.19 if you want the vanity call sign reassigned to the station; a primary licensee who does not want it reassigned renews under section 1.913 instead. See the renewal and grace period page for the renewal rules, and the license-required page for what each type of grant covers.

What this page does not cover

The section read here does not state the application fee, the exact priority between competing applicants, or how to search which call signs are currently open; those live in other rules and on the FCC's Universal Licensing System. Check the FCC for the current fee before you file.

Sources

• 47 CFR 97.19, Application for a vanity call sign (eCFR). Read November 2, 2026.
• 47 CFR 97.21, Application for a modified or renewed license grant (eCFR), for the renewal cross-reference. 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.