UPDATE March 19, 2020 - When will the new FCC license fees take effect? Read here for details.
The FCC has just approved new license fees for Amateur Radio and the GMRS. These fees are actually lower than the original fees proposed in August, which were highly contested by hams, but welcomed by GMRS licensees. While the new FCC license fees may alleviate some of the sticker shock from the original fees proposed by the Commission, it is welcome news for fans of the GMRS.
According to the FCC Report and Order released December 29, 2020, Amateur Radio license fees will now cost $35. This same fee will apply to new licenses, renewal licenses, and vanity call signs. Previously, no fees were collected for ham licenses or vanity call signs issued to amateur radio operators, so technically it is a significant change. However, it is considerably less than the $50 fees originally proposed by the Commission, so it should be of some comfort to hams.
On the brighter side, a GMRS license will now cost significantly less than before. Up to now the application fee for a GMRS license was $70. With this Report and Order, the new GMRS license fee will be only $35, which is $15 less than the proposed fee and half the cost of the fees previously charged by the FCC. The license is still valid for 10 years and covers an entire family.
The amendment to the proposed fees was largely due to the comments and feedback the Commission received in response to the proposal in August. While the FCC disagreed with many of the assertions from hams and the ARRL why the original proposed $50 fees should not be charged at all, it did acknowledge on important point brought up by many that the fees did not fairly represent the amount of effort required to process the license applications, ,which is largely automated.
As the FCC put it, "We agree that the applications for amateur licenses, and other personal licenses, are largely automated, and for that reason the cost-based fee we adopt is only $35. With respect to the amateur licenses, while review is highly automated, staff must maintain the processing system to ensure applicants are qualified, vanity call sign procedures are followed, and off-lined applications are individually reviewed. Therefore, we cannot conclude that there are no costs involved in processing the applications and we do not have the discretion to exempt this service from application fees."
Since the same is true with the processing of GMRS licenses, the Commission amended the proposed $50 fee for that as well, bringing the cost of a GMRS license down to $35.
The new fees will take affect after the Report and Order is published in the Federal Register and is sent to Congress.
