Although April 19, 2021 is the date the rules in the FCC Report and Order adopted last December generally take effect – i.e., one month after the R&O was published in the March 19, 2021 Federal Register – certain parts of those rules, including collection of the application fees for the amateur radio service, will NOT begin on that date.

The effective date for new amateur radio fees has not yet been established. The FCC explicitly states in the published Notice that the fees will not take effect until:

* the requisite notice has been provided to Congress; AND

* the FCC’s information technology systems and internal procedures have been updated; AND

* the Commission publishes [FUTURE] notice(s) in the Federal Register announcing the effective date of such rules.

The League’s counsel for FCC matters estimates that the effective start date for collecting the fees will be some time this summer, but

regardless of the exact timing we will have advance notice. Stay tuned for further developments on this.

Keep in mind that one can only renew their amateur license within 90 days in advance of the expiration date. If you, or a club station

license you are trustee for, are within that 90 day window now, I’d renew as soon as possible to avoid the new fee.

If you are thinking of switching to a vanity call sign, I’d also seriously suggest you apply for that special call sign sooner rather than later. (Of course, if you are an Extra class seeking a new shorter 1X2 or 2X1 call sign, competition for those calls in the future MIGHT be a

bit less due to the new fees! We’ll see…)